In the Spirit of a New Year.....

I'm making some changes.  I will be adding an expense to our budget.

I have been given a free week at our local Curves franchise.  I just got back from Curves and I am very impressed.  Perhaps it is because I live in a small town and I recognized a lot of the women that were working out there or perhaps it is because our local Curves exhibits that small town friendliness that everyone enjoys.  The bottom line is that I had a great workout and it was wonderful to get out of the house and be around other women.  The location is perfect and I can walk there in good weather.

The coach that trained me on their machines and workout routine spent 1 hour with me.  I never expected one on one attention during my free week.

I have been working out at home for years and it wasn't a problem until a few months ago.  I came to a roadblock and looking back I realize that as days turned from fall to winter, I was becoming more isolated.  My workout had become monotonous and boring.  I struggled to make fitness a priority. It wasn't fun anymore.  What else wasn't fun was that some of my clothes were getting tight on me. 

In the spirit of frugality I have the perfect workout equipment here at home and to think of going elsewhere to workout was not necessary. 

Last month when I realized that I was fighting depression, I knew that I had to get out of the house and going somewhere else to workout was the answer.

So next week when my free week is up I plan to sign up for a membership.  Right now there is a sweet deal going on and the one time sign up fee is $49.  After that I will pay a monthly fee of $34.  I researched other gym options and by far Curves meets my needs and just happens to be an amount I can afford.

How do you fit something like this into a budget?  First of all we are progressing along paying our bills and paying off debt.  We are not in a survivor mode, but we are doing fine.  I am fitting this into our budget as it has become a need.  I need to workout, I need to get out of the house and be around other women and I need to stay healthy. 

We are wives, moms, sisters, daughters and we tend to extend ourselves to others, to help, and we put ourselves on the backburner too often.  We work hard in our careers, be it at home or work, and we burn the candle at both ends more times than we want to admit. 

A lot of us have financial goals of paying down debt or perhaps our financial goals are simply to pay what bills we have and maybe have a little left over and others may be in a survivor mode and need assistance to put food on the table or pay bills.  In the midst of it all, we need to take care of ourselves and get away for a walk, for some time alone or with friends for some girl talk.  We owe it to ourselves and our family to be happy and healthy.

No matter what your budget, find a way to pamper or take care of yourself.  I stretched myself for months trying to get housework done and projects and then went into the holiday season drained. 

One month later I am feeling wonderful.  Lesson learned.