I’ve been a semi-regular exerciser for the past ten years. I didn’t exercise at all in high school, relying on my natural slimness and a severe deficit of hand-eye coordination as an excuse to shun all things athletic.
In university, I started practicing yoga at a local studio and tried my first hot yoga class. At $15 a pop, those classes weren’t cheap, but this was before my personal finance awakening, and it was just money, right?
After yoga, I found running, and that stuck. In the six years since completing university and paying closer attention to my money, I’ve completed many 5k races and a 10k race. Running has been a great habit for me because it’s inexpensive. It requires, some gear, sure, but once you’ve got decent shoes, the rest is really optional. I spent probably $300 outfitting myself with enough clothes for all of the weather variations we go through here on the East Coast, but since then I’ve barely spent a dime, except to replace my shoes once in awhile.
Post 10km race in 2012.
Running has been a cheap way to keep fit for the past six years, but I find as I start my approach to 30, I need a workout program that is a little more comprehensive. While running has done its job at keeping the pounds off at a good price for many years, it became apparent this spring that I need to add some full-body workouts to the mix if I wanted to look at good as running made me feel.
So when Jessica Moorhouse reached out and asked me if I’d like to give her new course, Rich & Fit Bootcamp, a try, I knew I had to say yes. This course was the result of a combined effort between Jessica and her business partner Jaclyn Phillips, a fitness coach, and personal trainer. The seven-week course has two components:
First, there’s the financial boot camp part, where Jessica walks you through tracking your spending, creating a budget, calculating your net worth, setting goals, improving your credit score and paying off debt. Boot camp is a great way to describe this intro to money because it walks you through the basics of everything you need to know to get control with your finances, but the course is pretty meaty and will definitely feel like a crash course!
Second, there’s the fitness boot camp part, which is what really interested me personally. I already have my money under control, so while I went through the financial part, it was the fitness portion of the course that I knew could really help me. Jaclyn does a fantastic job of easing you into the workouts, which build in intensity over the seven-week course. Also, there are meal plans and goal setting advice that set aside the usual dieting stuff like losing weight in favour of healthier, more positive ways to measure your progress.
Both components of the course are challenging, but not overwhelming, which is perfect.
Community Building
Y’all know how much I love the personal finance community. Connecting with a community of individuals who geek out over spreadsheets, who cheered me on during my two-year debt repayment sprint, and who celebrated with me when I crossed the $100,000 net worth threshold was and is a huge part of how I maintain my motivation to be good with my money.
I’ve never had that in the fitness world since I refuse to pay gym memberships and my frequent traveling schedule prevents me from signing up for several-week-long yoga classes. I’ve been mostly on my own with my fitness, which means I’ll often get in a great groove of exercising regularly for months, and then something that will happen which will cause me to fall off the wagon and squander the fitness I’ve built up. It could be the flu, a vacation or a work trip, and then I’ll just not exercise for weeks or months before getting back into the groove again. Obviously, this is not a good strategy for long-term success.
Unexpectedly, one of the things I enjoyed most about the Rich & Fit Bootcamp is the Facebook group and the sense of community. It helped me stay on track (even while traveling) and helped me make it to the end of the seven-week program without falling off the wagon.
It’s Frugal(ish)
The Rich & Fit Bootcamp does cost a bit up front, but it’s the course that keeps on giving. Once you sign up, you have access to the videos for a year, and you have access to the course materials and the Facebook group for life. This means the cost per workout is what you make it, and could be as much as $15 per workout, which is similar to what you’d pay for a yoga class, or as little as $5 per workout if you did the program three times.
The Next Bootcamp Starts October 1st!
Since I have access to the Rich & Fit Bootcamp, I’ll be following along with the course when it relaunches on October 1st. Registration is now open and closes on September 30th, and if you sign up and use my referral code Jordann15, you’ll get a 15% discount on the course.
If you’ve ever struggled with both maintaining your money and your fitness, honestly this is the course for you.
Sign Up for Rich & Fit Bootcamp
Have you ever done a financial or fitness program before? I want to know!