Why We Gave Up Our Gym Subscription

 Soon after we got married, we joined a YMCA right around the corner from our apartment. It was convenient, helped us feel more motivated to work out, and also made us feel like we were contributing our money toward a worthwhile organization (read more on what the YMCA does in local communities).

Once it was decided that I would be going to seminary full-time this fall, we quickly re-evaluated our monthly expenses.  Certain things stood out to us right away as things that would have to go in order to get our monthly spending more in line with what we could manage on one income.  The first thing to go? Our YMCA membership.

I loved being a member of the YMCA for a variety of reasons, and still encourage others to consider joining if they can afford it because of its work in the community.  However, I also knew that the $60 a month we were spending for our family plan (which included a pool, gym, and class membership) was too much for us at this point in our lives.  So we cancelled our membership, said goodbye to our convenient treadmill workouts, and embarked on the good-old-fashioned way of exercising - in our neighborhood and at home.