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| Off to my first run! |
I wish I could be lazier, but I just don’t have it in the budget. There’s a myth out there that being active and leading a healthy lifestyle is too expensive to do. And sometimes I catch myself falling into that mind-set as well like when I need to buy yet another pair of shoes, or feel that I NEED the latest cool fitness gadget. And I do acknowledge that, of course, there is a certain amount of spending that is required on basic equipment, but, trust me folks, my family is definitely NOT rollin’ in the dough (quite the opposite!) and we manage to stay pretty darn healthy and active; and we find ways to do fun things!
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| Our little snow bunny! She's almost better than me already! (Though, that's not sayin' much!) |
For example, this past week we went on a ski vacation! Isn’t that what rich people do? Rich people and us, when we get free ski tickets! Here’s how we did it: In the fall, we went to a ski movie for $15/ticket, got to see a cool movie, won free ski goggles, and got 2 free ski tickets to Eagle Point Ski Resort in Beaver, UT (usually $45). Plus, we entered a drawing and won five more free tickets! We found a reasonable hotel to stay in for a few nights and crammed our own skis and board – which are old but work just fine (plus we never have to worry about them getting stolen!) – and our own pantry staples into our small, crappy Jeep (but we do love you Jeepie – please keep running!) to drive 4 hours to a resort that, while not top-of-the-field, was just fine – in fact, great – for our whole family to enjoy.
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| All smiles after a fun day on the slopes. Worn-out and ready to hit the ... pool! |
No, it wasn’t the celebrity-type ski vacation that involves flying to Aspen, staying in a 4-star hotel with room service and spa treatments and springing for heli-skiing lessons. Ours was a budget-friendly, awesome adventure that we enjoyed immensely.
I’m always wishing I could buy more fitness equipment. Over the years, we've slowly added to our home fitness arsenal, but I always want more, more. more! (Just for the record: although I like "things," I am of the mindset that you only need your own body weight and a maybe couple pairs of dumbbells to get a killer workout - I do it all the time!). To save money on the ones we do have, I’ve just had to be patient and wait for sales or lucky opportunities. I scored an awesome barely-used True treadmill when someone needed to sell it cheaply because they were moving. They even threw in a really nice set of dumbbells with it for free! Our bikes and elliptical machine were given to us for free by family members who weren’t using them. We waited for deals on a heavy bag and a Bosu and over the years have managed to put together a pretty good home-gym! That has saved us from spending money on a gym membership. I’m a personal trainer who feels like I’m in the best shape of my life yet I haven’t worked out in a gym in over two years! (That’ll be a blog post for the near future). We buy season passes to the community pool and to Red Rock Canyon and definitely get our money’s worth out of those because we go to both places so often.
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| Z didn't get to ski this year but LOVED the warm indoor pool and hot tub. |
So, yes, you do have to spend some money on living a healthy, active lifestyle, but I think a person spends more on lazy luxury pursuits such as eating out often, sedentary entertainment (movies, video games, etc), seldom-used gadgets that promise quick fixes and the like.
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