Did you make a New Year’s resolution to get fit? How’s it going… not so well? Brits are wasting millions of pounds on unused gym memberships – not the best use of our money in these cash-strapped times.
A couple of weeks back I wrote about the cost of joining a gym. A survey showed that a third of people thought it was too expensive – I didn’t disagree.
I’ve been gyming since my uni days, which back then came with the advantage of a student discount.
But I have a dirty secret – I’m still paying for that same (unused) gym membership I started all those years ago. It’s come with a pretty unhealthy repeated direct debit.
Naturally, I haven’t been stupid enough to pay full price all this time. Instead, I’ve had my contract on a ‘freeze’ fee at just a few pounds a month. Why? The contract’s with one of the big gym franchises and if I wanted to re-enrol I’d be able to carry over my student rate monthly subscription. Plus, there’s also that cancellation fee.
Nevertheless, there’s no hiding the fact that this contract should have been cancelled a long time ago. And it’s not just because I’ve been too lazy to get on the treadmill for quite some time – I’ve now joined another, completely different gym at a knock down £27 a month.
Millions wasted on unused gym memberships
Many of us make the New Year’s resolution to get fit or lose weight, but how long do we actually follow through? A couple of months? A year at best? Do we cancel our gym membership? No.
Research by online accountants Crunch.co.uk has found that three-quarters of the 3,000 people it asked weren’t keeping their get-fit resolutions. This means that a staggering £37m is being wasted on gym memberships, exercise and slimming classes every year in the UK.
Forgotten direct debits deduct cash months after we’ve ditched the dumbbells, causing the average adult to lose £303 a year, with another £158 spent on unused sports equipment.
Just do something about it
And we’re in a recession – we should be saving money, not wasting it! Which? Convo commenter Danny had to take action when cash was short, ‘When a change of circumstances meant we had to drastically cut back financially, my gym membership unfortunately had to be sacrificed,’ he said.
Yes, you might join the gym with good intentions, but if you don’t end up going, what’s the point? So here’s the dilemma – are you going to cancel your unused gym membership, or are you going to get up and go?
If it’s the latter, check out our tips to save on gym membership, such as trying to find a cheaper gym (if you can) or going with someone else to egg you on. Otherwise that money will keep draining out of your account while you continue to pile on the pounds.
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