Fitting Fitness Into Your Budget
An interview with Ariana Mccallop
Who is Ariana?
Recently I interviewed Ariana Mccallop, who helps people understand their income & empowers them to make confident decisions regarding their finances & purchases.
Ariana graduated from Washington & Lee University, a private Liberal Arts school in Virginia, with a Bachelor’s in Accounting. There, she volunteered with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, also known as VITA. In this program, she worked with lower income community members submit their taxes using the most efficient and cost-effective strategies. She also served as the Vice President of Education for a student-led investing club who had a portfolio of $500,000. There, she taught the basics of accounting, investing, and metrics of analyzing potential investments.
As she continues her career in accounting & finance, she wants to have more of an analytical role where she can work behind-the-scenes by creating financial plans for individuals seeking out financial advising.
What we talked about
I interviewed Ariana on how people can fit fitness into their budget at any stage in their life. This could be anyone from broke college students to people making millions! Ariana is passionate about giving your money a mission and I am passionate about people getting active. While I am a personal trainer & make my living as a personal trainer, I never want anyone to feel like they can’t afford to get healthy. In this post, we’ll go over both fitness tips & budgeting tips so you can take control of both your health & your finances. Let’s get into it:)
Why is it important to budget for Health & Fitness?
I am a firm believer that fitness should add to your life, not take away from it. With that being said, fitting fitness into your budget & meeting yourself where you are at is extremely important for both your physical & mental health. If you think fitness shouldn’t be a part of your life, I'm afraid you’re mistaken. While fitness might not always be a priority for you, it should always remain a part of your life. Getting active — whether thats lifting, cardio, yoga, stretching, whatever you like — is essential for your long term well being. Investing in your body & physical health now, will only serve you better in the future (just like investing your money!). While you may be young & healthy now, if you don’t take care of your body, you will pay for it in the long run. It might not look like just getting out of shape either — you could have increased medical expenses, increased pain, and reduced quality of life. I’m not trying to scare anyone here, I am just trying to put why exercise should be something you seriously consider taking the time to do. Budgeting for health & fitness now is something that could actually save you boatloads of money in the long run as you’ll stay healthier & happier longer.
Is fitness considered a luxury or a necessity in a personal budget?
Ariana says it depends! If someone has very specific goals or are training for something specific like a competition, it will likely be considered a necessity. For those who it might not consider fitness a necessity in their budget can still make it work so that it is not straining on your budget.
50-30-20 Rule
One way she recommends people think about their budgets is by breaking it down into chunks. 50% of you budget should be allocated for needs & fixed expenses. 30% can be discretionary — so you get to decide where it goes. The final 20% should be put towards savings, whether that’s towards an emergency fund, saving for something special, or investing.
Depending on the person, fitness might be considered a fixed expense or as part of a discretionary expense. For me, my fitness budget is both — let me explain. My gym membership is a non-negotiable. This would be considered part of my fixed expenses. For things that I enjoy doing but don’t need to do like workout classes or other fun fitness events, I consider that as part of my discretionary expenses.
Ariana says that if fitness is not a necessity for you but you have some extra money, you can absolutely work it into your budget. One of her biggest budget tips is to allocate every percent and every dollar of your budget & to make this a priority. This will allow you to know exactly where your money is going & can actually help with financial freedom.
How much should you budget towards fitness?
Once again, this is individual for everyone. She has a step-by-step guide to help you decide how much money you should allocate towards your health & wellness.
Step 1: Identify the goal you want
Do you want a simple gym membership, personal training, sauna & cold plunge access, the ability to go to different workout classes? Determine what you want out of the money you put towards health & fitness
Step 2: Write down every expense you have
This includes the daily or weekly coffee runs, the random subscription you signed up for 8 months ago, and your typical run of the mill expenses.
Knowing where you spend you money is essential to determining how much you can put towards fitness
Step 3: Determine where you can cut back
If you don’t currently have the room to budget for fitness, analyze your expenses & determine what things you could cut back on.
This is not being restrictive — it’s being smart. If you really want to get a gym membership but can’t afford it, find the things you’re spending your money on that aren’t as important to you.
Common Areas of Overspending
Next up, I asked Ariana where she sees people commonly overspending on for their health & wellness. What did she say? GROCERIES!
Ariana lived low income her entire life so she knows first hand that you can eat on a budget. She says buying cheaper groceries is not a bad thing, you just have to be smart about it. Expensive does not always equal better for you. If you’re organic, you can go that route, but don’t splurge on groceries because you think that alone will make you healthier,
Some tips from me? Buy frozen fruit & veggies! They are typically way cheaper and still pack the same amount of vitamins & nutrients! Ariana also mentions to look at the ingredients, look at the price, and start there. Some things advertised as gluten-free are still gluten-free without the fancy packaging & higher price tag. And by the way, gluten-free, vegan, fat-free, sugar-free, whatever-free does not mean a food is healthy. Watch out for these scams!
Ariana also says she sees a lot of people getting caught in memberships with all sorts of fancy bells & whistles. Don’t get shiny object syndrome — you know you. Are you actually going to use the sauna? Are you actually going to take advantage of the group classes? Does any of this even fit into your current schedule? She says that people often think that if they buy the more expensive package or membership it will hold them accountable, but oftentimes it doesn’t. And even if it does, she recommends people only pay for what you actually need. Start with the smaller option, and you can always go up!
She also talks about how it can be hard for people to be honest with themselves about money. It is an emotional topic — you want what you want, you have your own history with money, and it can be overwhelming & scary to look at the facts. She says with budgeting, you have to be honest with yourself and you must practice discipline.
Staying active on a budget
This one was easy. Get outside more! When Ariana was in college, she didn’t have access to her campus gym during the summer or on breaks. When she would go home, she would walk around her neighborhood or go to her local high school and run around the track or up & down the bleachers! She also says YouTube videos and other forms of home workouts are a great option if the weather isn’t friendly. I personally love the Nike Training Club app which has hundreds of home workout videos from strength, to pilates, to yoga, to meditation! Ariana says there are ways to spend absolutely no money on fitness, it just might require a little extra time & consideration.
How do you know if it is worth it to spend money on fitness?
I asked Ariana how you can track return on investment when it comes to health & wellness spending. I loved her answer: setting goals. She recommends people set goals, both big and small, and if you’re making progress towards them, you know it’s working. It doesn’t have to be lose X amount of pounds by X date. It could be going to the gym 3 days one week or going to two group fitness classes that week. If you’re achieving your goals, you know its worth it.
She also recommends to reflect honestly on what you are actually doing. Be honest with yourself when it comes to paying for additional perks like using a sauna or getting a post-workout shake. If you’re paying $50 monthly to use a sauna but you’ve only used it twice, ask yourself if it’s actually worth it.
Ariana’s personal advice
Lastly, I asked Ariana for her personal advice for fitness. Her advice was to do it in the morning if you can. At the end of the day, all she wants to do is relax & go to bed (I’m the same way). If you get your workout done in the morning, you’ll feel more accomplished, you’ll avoid skipping it because your tired, & you won’t have a last minute event cause you to skip.
As for finances, she says to budget every single dollar and to be specific about where you’re spending your money. She sees a lot of people get overwhelmed with their purchases and when they do, they lose track of what they’re spending their money on & give up. She says to get in the driver’s seat & take control. You have to be strict & you have to be consistent.
Finally, she says the same budget style doesn’t work for everyone. Some people may do better with a lose budget like the 50-30-20 while others might do better with Zero Budgeting (giving every dollar a job). She says you may not get it right the first time, but don’t let that stop you from getting in charge of your finances.
Key Takeaways:
Analyze your spending, determine areas you can cut back on, & budget every dollar
Get creative — exercise does not require a gym membership. Go to a park, go on a walk, or do a home workout on YouTube!
Plan your grocery lists. You can make a healthy meal for cheap if you plan ahead.
Set goals & reflect. Setting goals will help you determine if what you’re paying for is actually paying off. Reflecting will help you be honest with yourself about what you do & don’t need.
More on Ariana
If you want to get in touch with Ariana, she graciously provided her email — amccallop1228@gmail.com — where you can send her any questions you may have about what we discussed! She also has a simple budgeting guide for just $1 and will be coming out with more budgeting resources soon! You can snag her budgeting guide here & follow her page so you can stay up to date with new resources!
As always, feel free to send me feedback on your thoughts & what you’d like to see next on TikTok, Instagram, or Pinterest @trainwithtorik or email me at trainwithtorik@gmail.com. See you next time!