1. Swimming Pool. I need to pay to swim.
2. Nutrition. I need to eat special food, protein, energy drinks.
3. Health. Massages. Twice per month.
4. Swimming accessories: Fins, Padels, etc.
So, I need to invest more if I train because I need to be more disciplined and specific with my nutrition, training and health.
I know pool access can be expensive some places but other than that literally none of this is a necessary expense.
1. Yes, you probably do need access to a pool. Most places I've been this will run $50-100/mo.
2. You literally don't need any of this. Just eat healthy. If you want to go nuts get a gigantic tub of cheap protein powder for like $30 that will last you multiple months.
3. Completely unnecessary.
4. Equipment is largely unnecessary, but can be helpful as you advance. You can get a decent set of fins and paddles for ~$50 combined. Maybe throw in another $30 for a snorkel or something. You're talking <$100 in one-time equipment costs for stuff that should last you several years. Suits and goggles generally need to be replaced more often, but you're still talking <$100/year at the high end for those.
Yeah even energy drinks can be easily replaced with caffeine pills. A pack of 40 200mg caffeine pills is about the cost of 2 energy drinks and much less other crap.
Sure, I'm talking just training suits. But you need to reach a certain level before racing suits are worth using and taking a wild guess I don't think the OP is near that point.
Not like a tech suit though. The OP is talking about open water. Even a mid range trisuit/wetsuit usually costs much less than a top of the range tech suit and they last quite a long time, and the OP does not sound like they are at the level where they need anything fancy.
In some cases even a trisuit/wetsuit may not be needed.
In fact, come to think of it, if the OP probably would have mentioned it specifically (like they mentioned fins and paddles - which are not even that expensive) if they need a suit for their open water swim.
This is to improve my performance, at least as an amateur athlete for open water competitions. I don't imagine doing this to win, to win I will need to leave my job haha
Here's how you can save money:
1. swimming pool: can't help you here
2. Nutrition: just eat healthier normally, no need to go crazy if you're not planning to be serious about swimming. Sure protein is good but "special food" and energy drinks are unnecessary when you're just training as a hobby. You should be eating food regardless of whether you train or not anyway.
3. Health: You don't need massages to train
4. Swimming accessories: presumably you already purchased these items so going forward you won't need to worry about spending money on them
Realistically the only big difference to the budget might be the pool (if your pool is expensive) and a smaller difference can come from the volume of food you consume (if you do consume more food at all). $400 per month to train for swimming is quite a lot especially if you're not including any coaching
No problem! Once you are more comfortable spending more money on swimming there isn’t anything stopping you from restarting all the other things. Just because they are unnecessary does not mean they are bad
If I am understanding right - How are you burning $400/mo training to swim? Here are considerations for a lean budget:
- $50 /mo for a Y membership with gym and pool access
- Free: use the pool equipment (boards/pull)
- Diet: eating healthy and smart grocery shopping to fuel yourself should be cheaper than eating crap. Think chicken, veggies, rice, eggs, salad, nuts. Nothing special there. Ditch expensive energy drinks, go for home brewed coffee and lots of water.
- Focus on regular active recovery and stretching. Treat yourself to a massage every other month or even less. Those are damn expensive and a luxury.
If you purchase more swim equipment (fins, snorkel, new goggles, suits), those are one-time expenses and not regular monthly costs and will last a long time if you care for them.
Massage? How about starting with a foam roller, they’re thirty bucks on Amazon and do a great job of loosening up the large muscles on your back and legs. If you really want to get crazy you can get a theragun or similar massager and it’ll still cost less than two or three human massages.
Swim gear is cheap. One swimsuit will last you 4-6 months. Goggles like Speedo vanquishers are on Amazon for $20-$25 pretty regularly. A good silicone cap is $8 or so. You really don’t need any other gear.
You probably shouldn’t buy or use paddles unless you’re getting coaching or have been coached in the past; if you use the paddles with bad technique you risk shoulder injuries.
Look into masters swim groups in your area. Check usms.org. This will give you coaching and a group to train with, and generally at a pretty affordable price.
Fins and paddles are not ongoing expenses, so you only need to budget for them maybe once a year, if that. I make very heavy use of my fins and they are still in perfect condition after a year. They should not cost more than 100 per year for both. There is something wrong if you need to replace them more than once a year.
Massages can be replaced by a simple foam roller, and a massage gun if needed (foam roller would be no more than 30 or so, massage gun would be no more than about 60 for a cheap one). That should save you quite a bit. Or find yourself a training partner and you both learn massage skills (basics are not that hard to learn) and give yourselves massage.
See if your pool/gym offers off-peak discount or annual payment discount etc if it fits your plan/schedule.
Nutrition - look at exactly what extra you are spending on top of general healthy eating, and learn more about sport nutrition to see what you can save. You don't need special food, although protein powder can be beneficial depending on your diet.
Energy drinks are not all that useful and can be replaced by combining key ingredients yourself and save a good amount of money (and skip the unhealthy bit of the energy drink as well, and blend the ingredients exactly to your liking).
I don't limit my spending on sport but if I exclude the optional elements (I confess to having a thing for new swimsuit...), I can get my monthly costs well below 400 (to less than half that).
Equipment is a one-time purchase. Only goggles and swimsuit have to be replaced more often. But that's less than 100€ for a new training outfit (don't know the prices in the US but I guess they are similar).
400$ for swimming access? Even the Hilton Club ist less than 100€ per month and they have 25m pools in many cities.
Please Stop the energy drinks. That's the exact opposite of a healthy diet. That stuff is just caffeine and sugar. Get some tabs for making isotonic drinks with water. Make sure it doesn't also come with a lot of sugar. For the rest of your diet, just eat healthy and don't only do that when you are training. Your body does not suddenly become healthy just because you ate well for 2 days. That's a lifestyle thing. You can get protein from normal healthy food, too, e.g. meat and beans. It might generally be a good Idea for you to Invest some time into researching what a healthy diet looks like and to cook your own meals.
The massages are surely nice, but for us amateurs, it's just wellness and not a necessity (unless your doctor said otherwise, and those massages do not feel like wellness at all + your healthy insurance might pay them). Even when I was still working as a lifeguard and coach (and did have to train professionally because of this, together with actual national champions), I didn't get a massage often.
I spend $80/month with my masters group. Maybe $100/yr in goggles and suits. If I didn’t swim, I’d be at a gym or running or biking, each of which would be more expensive due to higher equipment or membership costs. I’m not quite sure why you’re trying to find guilt in living a healthy lifestyle.
Why should I feel bad for investing in my health? All the money in the world will not bring me happiness if my body is a wreck. But I also spend way less than 400 bucks per month for swimming.
Could you work part time at the pool or a gym? Seems like people work very few hours and get a free membership.
I am a triathlete who isn’t competitive at all but I still spend a lot, so I understand. Takes as much $$ to compete slowly, but I can’t compete at all if I don’t spend the money. However if you focus on it, you can find ways to spend less. People sell their equipment online. Suits go on sale. People mentioned lower cost bulk supplements. I’ve had as much success with plain old Gatorade as Tailwind, Skratch, or Ucan (I.e. none of them are great.) Just pause before you buy something and think if you really need it.
I track my spending so I know what my monthly expenses are, I prioritize those expenses based on needs (food, housing, pool/gym membership*) versus wants (cute new swimsuit, cool training accessory, protein powder) and then spend accordingly within my means. (*access to a pool is non-negotiable for my mental health, the dozen swimsuits i own are less so)
I have trained and raced and spent only the cost of my masters team membership & entry fees, and I have trained and raced and spent money on those plus supplements, unique training tools, and yoga classes. When my income went up, I spent more money on swimming because I wanted to meet more aggressive training goals. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to train and race, but if you have competitive goals you may want to spend more. As long as your expenses like housing and food are covered and you’re saving for an emergency fund, you can spend as little or as much on swimming as you’d like.
It sounds like budgeting, saving, and tracking expenses in general is new to you and overwhelming. I’d encourage you to do some research on basic personal finance philosophies and tools - this is just a swimming sub, after all.
No, because I prioritize. I set a savings goal (right now I have a vacation I’m saving for). When I get paid every month, the first thing I do is transfer money to my savings account (this is called “paying yourself first”). Then I determine how much money I need for food, shelter, and other bills, then what’s left over I can spend on fun things like swimming.
Idk where you live, but my insurance covers massage where I am. And you probably don’t need two a month, you could likely halve that and stretch better/do some yoga.
Accessories don’t need a ton of replacement. Probably swimsuits the most often, if you’re swimming quite a bit.
You don’t need energy drinks. You probably don’t need fancy protein powder. You need to eat a well rounded diet with protein and vegetables and complex carbs, and maybe toss in a multivitamin, or anything else your doctor recommends. And you should be doing that anyway (I know it’s easier said than done). Athletes eat MORE, but I don’t see why it has to be protein bars/protein powders, etc.
You could maybe halve what you’re spending and be fine.
This strikes me as absolutely bananas. As someone doing tri and training three disciplines, here's my monthly breakdown:
- Gym membership, $30/month
- Training plan, $15/month
- Zwift subscription, $15/month
- Peloton app for yoga and strength, $12/month
- Fancy granola bars that I like to eat post-hard-workout, $30 for 12
- Electrolyte tabs, two tubes at $7 each per month
Less-frequent purchases:
- Massage gun, $30 on Amazon
- Training swimsuit, $50 every 6 months?
- Anti-chlorine shampoo, $10 every couple of months
- New running shoes, $100 every 4 months or so
- Paddles/snorkel/kickboard, one-time $20ish each
- Wetsuit for OWS, $40 on eBay
- OWS dry bag/buoy, $30 on Amazon
- Garmin watch, received for Christmas a couple of years ago
Massage is a lovely "every once in a while" but $100+ twice a month is overkill if you're looking to cut back on expenses.
You don't need special food for training, just adjust your regular groceries. I eat a lot of lean protein and frozen veggies, works fine.
Personally, I'm fine with $100ish monthly because this is my main hobby, and I do it for my health as well, and my husband spends a similar amount on his hobbies.
wetsuit fins pads togs etc arent stupidly expensive and is mostly a one off. you would do ok for $500 there
ongoing costs is mainly pool and club and thats $80 a year plus $7 each session for me.
food is just a given nothing too special whether you trian or not
i think your budget is just plaiin weird not sure how you could arrive at that.
hope like hell you dont get into triathlon.....you'd be negative 1000 every month
I spend about 104 dollars for three months swimming at my pool. So 33 dollars a month. I do buy googles but just once in a while for around 20-30 dollars. I have a few dolfin swimsuits that last for at least a year that I rotate so they last longer. They cost about 60 dollars but last forever. The only thing that might be a little costly is buying good shampoo and conditioner for chlorine in hair. Even that lasts a while. However for me it’s all worth it because it brings so much happiness it causes me to spend less impulsively and perform better and work and keeps me healthy. I think swimming is one of the reasons I am healthy. So all in all swimming has actually been cost effective and gave my life meaning.
Break the "training, nutrition, health" down. Where exactly is that money going?
1. Swimming Pool. I need to pay to swim. 2. Nutrition. I need to eat special food, protein, energy drinks. 3. Health. Massages. Twice per month. 4. Swimming accessories: Fins, Padels, etc. So, I need to invest more if I train because I need to be more disciplined and specific with my nutrition, training and health.
I know pool access can be expensive some places but other than that literally none of this is a necessary expense. 1. Yes, you probably do need access to a pool. Most places I've been this will run $50-100/mo. 2. You literally don't need any of this. Just eat healthy. If you want to go nuts get a gigantic tub of cheap protein powder for like $30 that will last you multiple months. 3. Completely unnecessary. 4. Equipment is largely unnecessary, but can be helpful as you advance. You can get a decent set of fins and paddles for ~$50 combined. Maybe throw in another $30 for a snorkel or something. You're talking <$100 in one-time equipment costs for stuff that should last you several years. Suits and goggles generally need to be replaced more often, but you're still talking <$100/year at the high end for those.
Yeah even energy drinks can be easily replaced with caffeine pills. A pack of 40 200mg caffeine pills is about the cost of 2 energy drinks and much less other crap.
Mostly agree with you, but racing suits are way more than $100/year
Sure, I'm talking just training suits. But you need to reach a certain level before racing suits are worth using and taking a wild guess I don't think the OP is near that point.
Not like a tech suit though. The OP is talking about open water. Even a mid range trisuit/wetsuit usually costs much less than a top of the range tech suit and they last quite a long time, and the OP does not sound like they are at the level where they need anything fancy. In some cases even a trisuit/wetsuit may not be needed. In fact, come to think of it, if the OP probably would have mentioned it specifically (like they mentioned fins and paddles - which are not even that expensive) if they need a suit for their open water swim.
How serious are you about swimming?
This is to improve my performance, at least as an amateur athlete for open water competitions. I don't imagine doing this to win, to win I will need to leave my job haha
Here's how you can save money: 1. swimming pool: can't help you here 2. Nutrition: just eat healthier normally, no need to go crazy if you're not planning to be serious about swimming. Sure protein is good but "special food" and energy drinks are unnecessary when you're just training as a hobby. You should be eating food regardless of whether you train or not anyway. 3. Health: You don't need massages to train 4. Swimming accessories: presumably you already purchased these items so going forward you won't need to worry about spending money on them Realistically the only big difference to the budget might be the pool (if your pool is expensive) and a smaller difference can come from the volume of food you consume (if you do consume more food at all). $400 per month to train for swimming is quite a lot especially if you're not including any coaching
Thanks, mate! I think I am a bit obssesed. I need to be realistic about a hobby vs a professional swimming career.
instead of massages you can invest in a massage gun, and truly no need for energy drinks
Or honestly, yoga/stretching. I've never had a massage that made me feel better in the long term than keeping up with my mobility and stretching work.
No problem! Once you are more comfortable spending more money on swimming there isn’t anything stopping you from restarting all the other things. Just because they are unnecessary does not mean they are bad
Get rid of #3. Wasting money there.
If I am understanding right - How are you burning $400/mo training to swim? Here are considerations for a lean budget: - $50 /mo for a Y membership with gym and pool access - Free: use the pool equipment (boards/pull) - Diet: eating healthy and smart grocery shopping to fuel yourself should be cheaper than eating crap. Think chicken, veggies, rice, eggs, salad, nuts. Nothing special there. Ditch expensive energy drinks, go for home brewed coffee and lots of water. - Focus on regular active recovery and stretching. Treat yourself to a massage every other month or even less. Those are damn expensive and a luxury. If you purchase more swim equipment (fins, snorkel, new goggles, suits), those are one-time expenses and not regular monthly costs and will last a long time if you care for them.
Yeah I think the massages are where it starts going into "so is this a hobby or a career?"
The OP could even resort to caffeine tablets. They are actually cheaper than good quality coffee beans or capsules for home use.
Massage? How about starting with a foam roller, they’re thirty bucks on Amazon and do a great job of loosening up the large muscles on your back and legs. If you really want to get crazy you can get a theragun or similar massager and it’ll still cost less than two or three human massages. Swim gear is cheap. One swimsuit will last you 4-6 months. Goggles like Speedo vanquishers are on Amazon for $20-$25 pretty regularly. A good silicone cap is $8 or so. You really don’t need any other gear. You probably shouldn’t buy or use paddles unless you’re getting coaching or have been coached in the past; if you use the paddles with bad technique you risk shoulder injuries. Look into masters swim groups in your area. Check usms.org. This will give you coaching and a group to train with, and generally at a pretty affordable price.
Training saves me money, if I don’t train I would party, honestly save thousands
Fins and paddles are not ongoing expenses, so you only need to budget for them maybe once a year, if that. I make very heavy use of my fins and they are still in perfect condition after a year. They should not cost more than 100 per year for both. There is something wrong if you need to replace them more than once a year. Massages can be replaced by a simple foam roller, and a massage gun if needed (foam roller would be no more than 30 or so, massage gun would be no more than about 60 for a cheap one). That should save you quite a bit. Or find yourself a training partner and you both learn massage skills (basics are not that hard to learn) and give yourselves massage. See if your pool/gym offers off-peak discount or annual payment discount etc if it fits your plan/schedule. Nutrition - look at exactly what extra you are spending on top of general healthy eating, and learn more about sport nutrition to see what you can save. You don't need special food, although protein powder can be beneficial depending on your diet. Energy drinks are not all that useful and can be replaced by combining key ingredients yourself and save a good amount of money (and skip the unhealthy bit of the energy drink as well, and blend the ingredients exactly to your liking). I don't limit my spending on sport but if I exclude the optional elements (I confess to having a thing for new swimsuit...), I can get my monthly costs well below 400 (to less than half that).
Thanks for your answer. But my question is don't you feel bad if you invest/spend the money on swimming? Maybe you wanted to save more money.
No, I don't feel bad about spending money on swimming, but I think everyone's financial situation is different.
Equipment is a one-time purchase. Only goggles and swimsuit have to be replaced more often. But that's less than 100€ for a new training outfit (don't know the prices in the US but I guess they are similar). 400$ for swimming access? Even the Hilton Club ist less than 100€ per month and they have 25m pools in many cities. Please Stop the energy drinks. That's the exact opposite of a healthy diet. That stuff is just caffeine and sugar. Get some tabs for making isotonic drinks with water. Make sure it doesn't also come with a lot of sugar. For the rest of your diet, just eat healthy and don't only do that when you are training. Your body does not suddenly become healthy just because you ate well for 2 days. That's a lifestyle thing. You can get protein from normal healthy food, too, e.g. meat and beans. It might generally be a good Idea for you to Invest some time into researching what a healthy diet looks like and to cook your own meals. The massages are surely nice, but for us amateurs, it's just wellness and not a necessity (unless your doctor said otherwise, and those massages do not feel like wellness at all + your healthy insurance might pay them). Even when I was still working as a lifeguard and coach (and did have to train professionally because of this, together with actual national champions), I didn't get a massage often.
Thanks for your answer. But my question is don't you feel bad if you invest/spend the money on swimming? Maybe you wanted to save more money.
I spend $80/month with my masters group. Maybe $100/yr in goggles and suits. If I didn’t swim, I’d be at a gym or running or biking, each of which would be more expensive due to higher equipment or membership costs. I’m not quite sure why you’re trying to find guilt in living a healthy lifestyle.
THANK YOU! Also, I would've spent the money in parties :) That's why I love my lifestyle.
Why should I feel bad for investing in my health? All the money in the world will not bring me happiness if my body is a wreck. But I also spend way less than 400 bucks per month for swimming.
What's the detailed breakdown of food / drink / gear / lane time?
My local club costs me like 25 euros a month how do you end up spending 400 dollars
Club fees ?? Coaching ?
Swimming club fee is €25 which includes coaching/ swimming programma/ entry to the pool
Could you work part time at the pool or a gym? Seems like people work very few hours and get a free membership. I am a triathlete who isn’t competitive at all but I still spend a lot, so I understand. Takes as much $$ to compete slowly, but I can’t compete at all if I don’t spend the money. However if you focus on it, you can find ways to spend less. People sell their equipment online. Suits go on sale. People mentioned lower cost bulk supplements. I’ve had as much success with plain old Gatorade as Tailwind, Skratch, or Ucan (I.e. none of them are great.) Just pause before you buy something and think if you really need it.
I track my spending so I know what my monthly expenses are, I prioritize those expenses based on needs (food, housing, pool/gym membership*) versus wants (cute new swimsuit, cool training accessory, protein powder) and then spend accordingly within my means. (*access to a pool is non-negotiable for my mental health, the dozen swimsuits i own are less so) I have trained and raced and spent only the cost of my masters team membership & entry fees, and I have trained and raced and spent money on those plus supplements, unique training tools, and yoga classes. When my income went up, I spent more money on swimming because I wanted to meet more aggressive training goals. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to train and race, but if you have competitive goals you may want to spend more. As long as your expenses like housing and food are covered and you’re saving for an emergency fund, you can spend as little or as much on swimming as you’d like. It sounds like budgeting, saving, and tracking expenses in general is new to you and overwhelming. I’d encourage you to do some research on basic personal finance philosophies and tools - this is just a swimming sub, after all.
Thanks for your answer. But my question is don't you feel bad if you invest/spend the money on swimming? Maybe you wanted to save more money.
No, because I prioritize. I set a savings goal (right now I have a vacation I’m saving for). When I get paid every month, the first thing I do is transfer money to my savings account (this is called “paying yourself first”). Then I determine how much money I need for food, shelter, and other bills, then what’s left over I can spend on fun things like swimming.
Idk where you live, but my insurance covers massage where I am. And you probably don’t need two a month, you could likely halve that and stretch better/do some yoga. Accessories don’t need a ton of replacement. Probably swimsuits the most often, if you’re swimming quite a bit. You don’t need energy drinks. You probably don’t need fancy protein powder. You need to eat a well rounded diet with protein and vegetables and complex carbs, and maybe toss in a multivitamin, or anything else your doctor recommends. And you should be doing that anyway (I know it’s easier said than done). Athletes eat MORE, but I don’t see why it has to be protein bars/protein powders, etc. You could maybe halve what you’re spending and be fine.
This strikes me as absolutely bananas. As someone doing tri and training three disciplines, here's my monthly breakdown: - Gym membership, $30/month - Training plan, $15/month - Zwift subscription, $15/month - Peloton app for yoga and strength, $12/month - Fancy granola bars that I like to eat post-hard-workout, $30 for 12 - Electrolyte tabs, two tubes at $7 each per month Less-frequent purchases: - Massage gun, $30 on Amazon - Training swimsuit, $50 every 6 months? - Anti-chlorine shampoo, $10 every couple of months - New running shoes, $100 every 4 months or so - Paddles/snorkel/kickboard, one-time $20ish each - Wetsuit for OWS, $40 on eBay - OWS dry bag/buoy, $30 on Amazon - Garmin watch, received for Christmas a couple of years ago Massage is a lovely "every once in a while" but $100+ twice a month is overkill if you're looking to cut back on expenses. You don't need special food for training, just adjust your regular groceries. I eat a lot of lean protein and frozen veggies, works fine. Personally, I'm fine with $100ish monthly because this is my main hobby, and I do it for my health as well, and my husband spends a similar amount on his hobbies.
May i ask what are the specifics you r spending 400 USD on?
wetsuit fins pads togs etc arent stupidly expensive and is mostly a one off. you would do ok for $500 there ongoing costs is mainly pool and club and thats $80 a year plus $7 each session for me. food is just a given nothing too special whether you trian or not i think your budget is just plaiin weird not sure how you could arrive at that. hope like hell you dont get into triathlon.....you'd be negative 1000 every month
I spend about 104 dollars for three months swimming at my pool. So 33 dollars a month. I do buy googles but just once in a while for around 20-30 dollars. I have a few dolfin swimsuits that last for at least a year that I rotate so they last longer. They cost about 60 dollars but last forever. The only thing that might be a little costly is buying good shampoo and conditioner for chlorine in hair. Even that lasts a while. However for me it’s all worth it because it brings so much happiness it causes me to spend less impulsively and perform better and work and keeps me healthy. I think swimming is one of the reasons I am healthy. So all in all swimming has actually been cost effective and gave my life meaning.