Summer Tips: Drop The Gym Membership

Use the summer months to create an exercise regimen you can do at home. Ditch the gym membership. Yes, really. It's expensive, boring and a general pain. And you know that the guilt induced by missing a gym session can make you eat more and gain weight, right? And think of all the money you can save on gym clothing when you can exercise at home in your bra and knickers and give your significant other a treat when he gets home from work. Yes boys, you can watch your wife's six-pack with a six-pack every night after work in your easy chair...

Seriously though, if you have had a membership for a year do the following calculation. Add up the number times you've been to the gym in the last three months and be honest with yourself. If you don't do it at least five nights a week then you're wasting your money. This is one area where you can really save money and precious time without affecting your health or lifestyle.

Exercising at home takes no more discipline than going to the gym does. All you need is a floor mat, a pair of weights, a computer and an exercise video. You can literally get home from work, pull off your clothes and get down to it. You don't even have to wait until you get home if you have an accommodating office. Plus, you're not restricted by the weather or traffic conditions and you don't have to use precious gas or pay to get there. If you combine it with cycling, walking and running during the warm, summer months, you're more likely to stick with it when winter sets in.

My sister introduced me to exercise videos over a year ago and I'm a big proponent; it changed my life. I can't recommend it enough. In England, television presenter Davina McCall produced a video of 20-minute boxercise workouts after having her fourth child. For my US laptop, I buy Jillian Michaels whose short, intensive 20-minute workouts are the anti-thesis of "phoning it in at the gym" for hours and then having to drag myself home afterwards. And in the last 15 months, I've spent about $40.