What are your favorite simple or frugal sports?
Everyone needs a good dose of exercise and sunshine, and seeking to lead a simple life, save money or consume less shouldn’t mean cutting back on basic needs. In fact, I’d argue that when a sport or athletic pastime is a passion, it just might qualify as a frugal luxury.
As always, I’m curious to know what you think. How do you save on sports? When do you splurge?
Why sports and exercise are frugal:
Free fun, social time and entertainment! While many sports require some equipment, after an initial investment, you can participate in a number of sports for absolutely nothing. Have a pair of tennis shoes? A bike? Then you’re set to ride or run anytime on your own or with a social organization. I find that physical hobbies ‘compete’ with time and energy for more expensive and consumer oriented ones. If I know there are only so many hours in my weekend and I want to ride my bike with a friend or head out with my hiking group, then dinner and a movie get pushed to the back burner. And shopping for ‘fun?’ There’s no time in my schedule.
Health benefits: The readers of this blog are an educated bunch, so I’m sure you’re aware that staying in decent athletic condition will keep you healthier and with fewer aches and pains. We had our own personal reminder of the health benefits of exercise this year as DH was recovering from his car accident. Several of his physical therapists and doctors told him that he could thank at least a part of his relatively speedy progress to the fact that he was in excellent physical condition to begin with.
Sports and exercise on a budget:
Obviously, some sports cost more than others. One of my favorite sports for a long time, running, cost me one pair of good running shoes a year. I occasionally splurged on a rain jacket for runs or the entry fee for a race, but generally, running cost me next to nothing, required no real storage of equipment and was completely portable. Some other great (and potentially frugal sports):
Extremely Frugal Sports:
- Any free social sport–I’ve seen people have a blast being on soccer teams, softball teams or showing up for pick up basketball games, dodge-ball, ultimate Frisbee or even splendid Frisbee. . .if you don’t already have friends involved in local activities, it’s not hard to start up your own group of enthusiasts using meetup, craigslist or, here in France, by starting and listing an association with the town hall.
- Individual sports with low equipment requirements–once again, running, hiking, swimming (provided you have access to a low-cost neighborhood pool or the ocean).
Sports that can be as frugal as you make them:
- High equipment sports: As long as you don’t fall into the trap of constantly buying more or confuse being well-equipped with having a good time, you can do a number of equipment heavy sports without murdering your budget. If you’re just starting out, you can almost always find used gear online or through a local exchange or garage sale: bikes, hockey sticks, surfboards–the sky is the limit really. If you find that you’re really smitten with an athletic activity and you want to splurge on some high quality gear, I’d argue that it’s still a frugal choice if you intend to make the gear last 10-20 years.
- Activities you can learn on your own with books, podcasts or videos. Back when I lived in Seattle, I had a friend who would force me to do Tae Bo with her in time with a video in an apartment. Quite frankly, it is such a ridiculous process that half the workout came from the belly laughing, but on a rainy day (or for six months straight of rainy days), a cheap indoor workout can be a lifesaver. No gym membership required! Yoga is a similar athletic pastime that can cost a pretty penny. . .but that doesn’t have to. You can pay for expensive yoga classes that will run you 7-20 dollars per class depending upon where you live or you can learn yoga from books, videos, and podcasts.
Your favorite sports and how you keep them frugal:
I know that a number of you are already engaged in a variety of frugal athletic activities as well as a few that would qualify more as frugal luxuries. I’d love to hear your tips and ideas on the topic.
My husband and I have a book on local hikes. We pick one and try it out. Then log our reactions at localhikes.com.
Pair of hiking tennis shoes (one time I picked some up at a thrift store for $5 – they were practically brand new). And we pack a healthy lunch and water. We’re good to go. The only other charge is usually a $5 Day pass. Now that its almost sunny again, we are rearing to get outdoors!
I love to walk—my recent back problems are making me miserable for that reason.
Mr. FS loves biking and suits up in those stretchy clothes and rides 30 miles/3x a week. Except for the bike itself (bought on ebay, but still very expensive), it’s cheap.
Both my kids do ultimate frisbee and–if they choose–can take advantage of the free facilities at college.
I just go outside and play a little basketball. Dirt cheap activity once you have the goal and ball. I try to play for 30 minutes each night because it seems to help decompress from the day’s activities.
My only participation in sport in recent years has been when my husband has a good workout pushing my wheelchair; I’m the ballast!
Throughout my life, the only sport I’ve been interested in is those involving horses. As a teenager, I used to work for my rides at various stables; therefore it was free, after I’d got the right clothing. At two different points, I had to cycle 5 miles each way just to get to the stables; boy! I was the fittest person on the planet!! And it became my career when I left school. Not so now, sadly. Generally, riding a horse is NOT a frugal pastime!
Jenna–I’ve always wanted to try T’ai Chi, but not necessarily for the simplicity of it–that makes it sound even better.
Frugal Scholar–Eek–those back problems do get in the way of exercise, don’t they? I remember when I had mine the only thing I could do was a recumbent stationary bike, then I was ‘graduated’ to a tread mill so I could stop anytime. As for stretchy biking clothes–I think you have to watch out for those too. We have a stockpile because my in-laws retired from their cycling shop not too long ago, but the retail prices are a killer.
Money Funk–Hiking is one of my favorite cheap sporting outings too. I also have used boots–inherited my mom wasn’t using hers anymore so I snagged them. They’re very comfortable, waterproof, breathable etc.
Brian–Basketball is a great way to get your heart rate up. I still remember my surprise when I tried to play basketball again after training for a marathon–phew! I was not prepared for all that sprinting around. And I find that really intense exercise does clear the head.
Attila–thanks for sharing that. I was kind of hoping people would chime in on ways to make expensive sports more frugal. I haven’t got much experience with horses, but it sounds like you really found a way to make that pastime more affordable by working at the stables. Plus, I’d assume you probably also know more about horses for having done that. It is unfortunate that you can’t continue to do it.
Hiking. All you need is a decent pair of shoes and some good socks. Here in the Grand Canyon State, the ordinary landscape would be state or national parks anywhere else, so there are lots of beautiful places to hike–including a mountain park in the middle of the city.
Cross-country skiing. The gear is much cheaper than downhill ski equipment, and you can usually find places to ski off the beaten track–no fees.
Yoga. It helps the back, BTW, Frugal. A DVD is a lot cheaper than yoga classes and guides you through the same routines. You can also find a bunch of yoga routines demonstrated on YouTube.
I like hiking, which I do when I visit my grandparents who live in a forest. I used to walk as well with a buddy, but said buddy flaked out and I stopped.
My husband enjoys Curling which includes the beginning equipment costs (shoes were $150 and I’m about to buy him a cool broom for about $125) and $130 league fees 3 times a year. Not that frugal, but he LOVES it.
One of my favorite “sports” is to go fly the kite. The kite itself was $20 and has lasted us three years. It’s an upper arm workout, but barely. It’s more social than anything else.
Lately, I’ve been getting into training my dog. We don’t go to classes; we look everything up online and learn in the yard. Running and jumping and getting the dog to do things is great exercise. Although it’s not really frugal unless you already have a willing dog.
Funny about Money–I do all of those things. Hiking is probably my favorite (and Arizona is a beautiful place to hike!). We Cross-country ski as well and own our own equipment. A season pass (or even day tickets) are no where near the cost of downhill. I wish I’d thought of that! Plus, cross-country skiing is more like an outdoor sport where you can appreciate nature. Downhill skiing reminds me of being at Disneyland with all the lines and the people. Yuck. As for yoga–now that I feel I know what I’m doing, I use books quite a bit, but I’ve been thinking of getting a video or two to learn some new things. And yes, I once saw an entire Ashtanga series on you tube.
Savvy Christine–Training the dog does sound like good exercise. Although I suppose the non-frugal part is the treats?? I don’t have a dog. I also have great memories of flying kites when I was younger. I just loved it and would even walk 1/2 hour to the park to do it alone. I think being out in the cold, blustery air is so much better for you than languishing indoors–who cares if it’s a sport or not?
I vote for martial arts as a frugal activity. I love martial arts.
I have a budget of 400 euros/year for martial arts, and I do 2 martial arts!
A dobok (kimono/gi) costs money (60 to 80 euros), but it will last more than a year.
Insurance + lesson fees for a year are around 200 euros per martial art.
That makes 17 euros a month per martial art. There are cheaper sports or even completely free ones, but it keeps you healthy and helps you develop as a person. The martial arts culture also goes well with a frugal mindset.
I thinks it’s worth those 17 euros per month. Perhaps it’s not very frugal to do 2 of them, but you shouldn’t cut back too much on the stuff that makes you better as a person.
SIF — I guess my point was that it’s not frugal unless you already have a dog! There’s no sense in getting a dog and training it just so you can have some exercise. You should get a dog because you want to add to your family. A dog is not an object or a tool, it’s a living being. Does that make more sense?
Dogs are expensive, their food is expensive, and so is their veterinary upkeep. But if you have one and you’re already committed to making that financial investment, then consider training the dog as a form of exercise for the two of you. Sort of a bonus to owning a dog. I hope I explained that better this time around! It just goes to show you shouldn’t comment when you need sleep.
This post is quite timely for me because yesterday when I was hiking with my family I exclaimed “ALL THIS FOR FREE!!!” Later my 13 year old daughter asked “is hiking a sport” so I will be sure to tell her of all the people in the comments section who have said hiking is one of there favorite “sports”.
(I’ve been lurking for awhile)
Andy–I wonder if martial arts are more frugal in Europe. I say this because back when I was looking into Judo (looks fascinating) here in France, the costs seemed quite reasonable. Possibly because many martial arts ’studios’ are run as associations/not for profit. I agree with you that it makes no sense to cut back on the things that ‘make you a better person.’ Martial Arts sound very grounding and they may very well help you spend consciously in other ways.
SavvyChristine–ok! I hear you. I haven’t had a pet since I was a child and had forgotten about the vet fees etc.
Patricia–yipes! I know, I have some family here in France that has had to cancel travel to Portugal. Strange times. It’s good that you have ways to work around this in your budget and friends around to help you out.
Jackie–that’s a good way of looking at things: anything that’s not an absolute must is on the chopping block.
Jennifer–I should take a look at that site. I should also take a look at ordering contacts online–um 27 euros per month is unacceptable to me. I just don’t know the cheap places in France yet. And I suppose I could always have the glasses shipped to the US and then to me later. . .
Bucksome Boomer– Cable and eating out sound like the first two places I’d strike as well. But it’s always nice to know you have options.
Shelley– home brewed wine is one of my many dreams 
. I also think it’s great fun to have people over instead of going out. Good luck with the retirement plans and I’m sure you’ll have the chance to experience a youth hostel. (Some are far better than others!!).
Lean Life Coach–I like the fact that you had a detailed contingency plan and sharing your plans with your kids sounds like a great way to make them aware of how money works–and to help them appreciate things like music lessons.
Macs–wow, I’d never thought of it like that but certainly, cutting out things that are actually bad for you– ‘vices,’ as you put it–seems like a good way to go. That is quite amazing how much you could strip from your budget that way. But, I must admit that if we lived in the UK our beer budget would be higher. When we head into a big town here in France, we often hit up a ‘Pub’ so we can drink some real beer.
JMK–that’s a nice feeling. Back in the States, we lived on just over half of our combined salaries, which was very reassuring when I kept getting laid off! I always had options available to me when it came to the job search and taking my time. A very nice position to be in. And with our move to France, we’ve taken roughly a 50% cut in income, but haven’t really felt any pain (although our savings rate is obviously down for now).
Elise–thanks for stopping by and for commenting. It’s great that your kids also enjoy hiking. I loved it when I was young and it’s such great, healthy (and free) exercise.
I don’t have a driving license, and I take the train to work. I walk to the train station, and from the station in my work town to my job. That ’s about 4km a day, and it costs me nothing (my employer pays for the train)
In my free time I do all my errands by bike, and when the weather is better, I do bike tours using the biking network in my province. Often I combine them with a walk. A good bike is not cheap, but compared to the cost of a car it doesn’t cost very much.
Joris–a biking network. . .sounds interesting! I love that your exercise is built into your day. I’m sure that makes you a much healthier person–and when you want to go for your bike tour, you’re already prepared.
I like T’ai Chi. All I need to participate is myself and enough open space. So I can do it anywhere at any time I choose and never have to worry about not having the right gear with me.