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NWR: Trying to Cut Back on Spending, Vent
I have seen a few threads on this. Luckily DH and I are on the same page that we need to make some cuts to save some more money, especially with a little one on the way and there is the possibility of DH being laid off in the next 2 months, but thats a separate post for another day. We have already cut back on eating out and are looking at options to cut back on the cable bill (seriously we don't even watch half of the channels we have). I coupon and save in the grocery store where I can and buy in bulk from Coscto when needed.
Our student loans are something we can't cut back on, but luckily I have 4 payments left on one of them so that will be some money saved. Our CCs are being paid off so thats not a problem.
Our problem is with the trainer we have at the gym. Neither of us want to give up the membership, which is fine, its not a big dent in our budget to begin with. We have a small apartment and we do workout at home with the small space we have set aside, but with a baby coming that small space is going to get smaller and there are times where I want to take a fitness class or just use the treadmill instead of walking outside.
The trainer costs us $304 a month. We are locked into a 6 month commitment. Even after I found out I was pregnant, the gym and the trainer worked with us to still keep it but at the $304 cost. Essentially its a 2-for-1 deal since we workout together. DH loves working out with the trainer and it has been so good for him, he's gotten into amazing shape and I think its partly because he has someone kicking his @$$ in the gym for a 1/2 hour. He doesn't want to give it up and wants to find a way to make it work. I, on the other hand, think its an expense that needs to get cut when the contract is up, which is still a few months away. With him being laid off, as it appears now, thats $304 we can save each month or put towards another household bill. He just wants, like I said, wants to make it work so he can still keep the trainer.
It's very frustrating, to say the least. Any suggestions or ideas on how I can open his eyes to saving this money?
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Re: NWR: Trying to Cut Back on Spending, Vent
DH has been trying to quit smoking. When we first met, he was smoking half a pack per day. Now he's pretty much quit (he smokes about 2 cigarettes/month). He didn't want to quit. He new he needed to but he loves smoking. He also wanted cable.
The math:
1 pack = $9
15 packs/month = $135.
Quit smoking and he could get HBO. My beloved is cheap so we got a $55/month package (the cheapest option with a DVR in our market).
Obviously, we have different things going on in our lives. However, there are trade-offs. He needs to figure out what he wants to give up in order to keep this.
Second, tell him that if he wants luxury goods he'd better step up and be finding a new job to pay for them. If he has a new job when the contract expires, great! If not, he'll have to make do.
I know that health is one of (if not) the most important things in the world and not something to skimp on. However, that is just way too much in my opinion when there are so many things he can do for free or cheaper. After the few months are up, he should have his gym "routine" down pat. He should know exactly when and how to do each set/ move. He can just pay the general gym membership and do those skills on his own, or with a friend if he really needs the accountability.
If he does get laid off, he will have all the time and daylight in the world to run, bike, hike, swim for free! That would be my first cut.
I'm not sure how you could convince him of that, but I'd start off by saying the things you are giving up. I'm sure you like something such as massages but at $75 a wack, it prevents you from having 3 a month.
Any chance you can compromise and he gets to keep the trainer. But he only goes to the trainer once per week and you stop seeing the trainer? How much would that reduce the cost per month? If your contract is up soon, you should be able to remove yourself and change your current contract to something more manageable.
I agree with you that he is oversimplifying that his parents will watch the baby every single time you have the nights with the trainer.
For instance, does he have a friend who likes to work out who can motivate him and be his work out buddy just joining a cheaper facility. The Y has dual memberships (if you wanted to work out there, too, separately) for $110/mo. Individual memberships are something like $66/mo. And they usually have a variety of free group classes in addition to the ones they have for an additional fee.
Or do you have a community center? The community center in my town has a fairly nice fitness room with pretty much every weight machine you could want. A family membership is something like $40/month if you're a resident of the town, $60 if you're not a resident and you get a discount on classes so that residents only pay $20/month per class. The next town over has similar. Both towns offer a discount if you pay for a full year in advance. Also, some health insurance plans offer a partial reimbursement (for us, it's $40/mo for most participating gyms and $20/mo for the community center making the community center basically half price).
Another option is find another trainer elsewhere and don't go as often. For instance, my friend runs a training business and charges $35 per half hour session with no commitment - you just schedule as you see fit. He could do one session every month or every two weeks just to keep himself accountable and fine tune his workout program.
His sister even went to a psychic and she told SIL that he will be where he's supposed to be in the next few years and that everything is going to be ok.
He's been looking for the past few weeks before all this started.
Please don't take this as patronizing but maybe your husband could take a note from this? You two could still workout together without the personal trainer. Especially if you have been seeing this person for a while. You should have some kind of training schedule down pat. So you could do something together but cut out the middle man and save $X. Also, I know you don't have much space in the apartment but could you do some exercises outside like running, bike riding, hiking, etc? Or something low impact? You can do it together to maintain a checks and balance on one another.