How to Afford a Home Gym
Are you tired of paying a monthly membership at your local gym? Or do you simply prefer exercising in private? Installing a home gym can be beneficial to your own health, and it will also exponentially increase the value of your home. However, it can quickly become an expensive endeavour if you don’t do your research beforehand. Read on for our best tips on installing a home gym or even a garage gym your friends will envy, that’s both effective and affordable.
“Tattooed arms and weight on the floor.” (CC BY 2.0) by shixart1985
The Cost of Installing a Home Gym
A home gym will typically cost several thousand dollars to install. While it’s a daunting upfront cost, you have to consider how much you’ll save in the long run. For example, if you pay $100 per month on a gym membership, you’ll end up spending a whopping $12,000 over the course of ten years. With a home gym, you’ll actually own the equipment you use, and you’ll add a great asset to your property should you wish to sell in the future.
There are plenty of things you can do to reduce the cost of installing a home gym, and make it affordable for your budget.
How to Install a Home Gym Affordably
Installing a home gym can be notoriously costly, but there’s no need to kiss your dream goodbye yet. Here are some ways you can make it more affordable:
Use Smarter Methods to Buy Your House
If you’re just about to buy a property, it’s important to work out your budget. A good first step would be to calculate your affordability with a mortgage in principle from Trussle. While it’s not a guarantee, it’s an indication of how much you’ll be able to borrow from your chosen lender. Additionally, using a broker will give you peace of mind that you’re getting the best mortgage deal available; therefore, you’ll have more money to play around with when it comes to installing your home gym.
Check Out Second-Hand Equipment
It’s worth checking out local buy-and-sell pages to see if anyone near you is selling their old gym stuff. Whether it was an unwanted gift or the original owner is upgrading, you’ll often be able to get near-perfect equipment for a fraction of the original price. Just make sure you test it out before buying it.
Wait for the Sales
You’ll likely buy most, if not all, of your home gym equipment from online retailers. If you wait until big sale times like Black Friday and the New Year, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll save, especially on bigger, more expensive items.
Start with the Basics
You might be tempted to deck out your attic or spare bedroom to look exactly like your local gym, but this is how you’ll end up paying an eye-wateringly high amount. If you’re on a tight budget, you should think about the equipment that you use most often while exercising; for example, if you’re a running fanatic, you can make do with a treadmill and gradually build up your equipment when you can afford more.
“Home gym” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Sergey Galyonkin
Be Patient
Similarly to the last point, there’s no use in buying tons of equipment when most of it will sit gathering dust. Ultimately, your home gym will be built up and look very different as the years go on. You can’t expect it to be a full, professional set up right away, so concentrate on getting the basics in, and worry about the rest later down the line.
Overall, installing a home gym doesn’t have to be the enormous expense that it can seem on the surface. These tips will definitely help you make it a more affordable process.
Thinking of building your own home gym? Get some tips here.
