Cheap Workout Equipment

Cheap Workout Equipment

I Got This Weider Crossbow Weight Training System for $50!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

It is amazing how much cheap- or even free- workout equipment you can find if you are willing to look around.  From my perspective, workout equipment doesn't need to be fancy or expensive.  The point is to find a piece of workout equipment that you can use safely and that gets the job done of keeping you in shape.

Workout equipment is one of those things that lots of people buy, but few people use.  Once someone decides they don't want their workout equipment, it has little value to the seller and they want to get rid of it so they can have room for something else.  This means that you can often find really cheap prices for workout equipment that is in almost new condition and has been used very little.

If you have money to spend, you can get the exact make and model of equipment you want.  However, if you want cheap workout equipment, you'll need to be flexible about the exact features you can get for a low price.  Sometimes, you'll see a type of workout equipment you weren't even considering and decide to give it a try.  If you find something that you might use and it's cheap enough, it may be worth taking a chance.

Timing is important when buying cheap exercise equipment.  If the workout equipment you are considering is for sale on eBay, craigslist, or a yard sale, you will likely need to make a quick decision about whether to purchase it or not.  If you don't buy it, someone else might.  This is one of those cases where impulse buying may be necessary to get the best deal on workout equipment.

Where to Find Cheap Workout Equipment

Garage Sales
I have had good luck finding cheap workout equipment at garage sales.  My best find was a Weider Crossbow system that I brought home for around $50.  This is weight lifting system similar to a Bowflex.  The Crossbow has flexible rods that provide resistance, and you can adjust how many rods you are pushing against.  This is safer than free weights, and can be used for beginning to intermediate workouts, which suits me well.  Here are tips on how to find great deals at garage sales.  You will want to arrive early at sales that have workout equipment, bring cash, and don't be afraid to bargain to get a good price.

Craigslist
You can find cheap workout equipment and sometimes even free exercise equipment on craigslist.  Buying workout equipment on craigslist is a little more difficult than shopping at garage sales- you need to arrange a time with the seller to look at the equipment.  An advantage to shopping for cheap exercise equipment on craigslist is that you can find out the make and model of the item for sale and do some research to see if it is right for you.

Used Exercise Equipment Stores
If you check on the internet, you will likely find that there is a store that sells used exercise equipment in your area.  Many of these stores are consignment stores.  The owner of the workout equipment provides it to the store to sell, and when it sells the store gets a percentage of the selling price and the owner of the equipment gets the rest.  The quality of items for sale in a used exercise equipment store is generally pretty good.  Stores do not accept items for sale that are broken or in poor condition.  However, it is less likely that you will find really cheap prices in a store.  The store has to sell the items for enough to generate enough money to meet expenses.  Another downside of shopping for exercise equipment in a store- the salesperson may try to move you up to more expensive models with features that you don't really need.

Thrift Shops
Most thrift shops or consignment stores have some exercise equipment for sale.  My experience has been that they don't have a lot of variety, but when they have something the price is usually very low.  Sometimes Goodwill Thrift Shops have some small exercise equipment items.

eBay
You can find cheap exercise equipment for sale on eBay, however shipping large items is usually expensive.  Sometimes you can find local items for sale on eBay that have pick-up as an option so you don't have to pay for shipping.  The way I use eBay for shopping for exercise equipment is to check prices and see what types of items are available.  If an item has cheap or free shipping, I would consider it.  Otherwise I try to find a similar item locally to avoid shipping costs.

amazon
I have purchased workout equipment from amazon.com.  Sometimes you can find new equipment at low prices.  When purchasing from amazon, be sure to consider the shipping cost as well as the purchase price.  Sometimes you can get free or cheap shipping offers.  You can often find items for sale at amazon that you cannot find in sporting goods stores.

The Best Cheap Workout Equipment

Here are my favorite cheap workout equipment items:
1) Weider Crossbow


 If you can find a Crossbow or Bowflex cheap, you can get a lot of use from it.  It is quick and easy to adjust the resistance and it never really wears out.  It does take quite a bit of space, so make sure you have room for one before you buy.

2) Cheap Treadmill

A Used Treadmill is a Good Way to Get a Cheap Workout
Image Source: Public Domain Image

Lots of people buy treadmills- and then use them as a clothes rack!  You can often find used treadmills much cheaper than the price of new treadmills.  It is nice to have a treadmill, especially during winter months where walking on slippery surfaces can be dangerous.



3) Cheap Exercise Bike

A cheap exercise bike is great to have to stay in shape over winter.  You can find nice recumbent models that allow you to get a cardiovascular workout with minimal impact on your back.  It is nice to stay in shape and start off the biking season in spring in good shape.




4) Pull-up Bar
Pull-up bars are cheap- you don't need to worry about looking for a used one.  You can buy a nice pull-up bar for around $30.  You can get in shape quick by doing a few pull-ups a day.



5) Pedometer

A Pedometer is Cheap and Helps Motivate You During Your Workout Program
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A good pedometer can be a great motivator for walking to stay fit.  You can get a pedometer for around $20 that will last for years.  A pedometer allow you to track walking distance and can also calculate calories burned.  Here is a review of the key features to find in a pedometer.

6) Heavy Punching Bag

A Heavy Punching Bag Can Provide a Cheap Workout at Home
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

I bought my Everlast Heavy Punching Bag new for under $100 including accessories, but you should be able to find used heavy punching bags for sale even cheaper.  A heavy bag takes some work to install if you plan to attach a punching bag to your ceiling.  You can also get heavy bag stand stands so the punching bag does not attach to your walls or ceiling at all.  Used heavy punching bags should sell in the under $100 range and provide a quick- and fun- workout.

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Cheap Winter Clothes: Find the Best Winter Clothes Sale

Cheap Winter Clothes!

Find the Big Clearance Sales and Get Cheap Winter Clothes!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Winter clothes are the most expensive clothing you can buy, compared with clothing for the other seasons.  Winter coats are expensive, sweaters are expensive, and fleeces are expensive.  In the fall, the winter clothes appear in stores for full price.  The prices remain high all winter, through February.  Some winters, a cold snap comes along and motivates people to buy warm clothes at full price.  Then, in the early spring, something amazing happens...

Winter Clothes Sale- Spring Clearance

Last winter, I got curious about what happens to all those expensive winter clothes and coats.  The stores seem to have a good inventory of winter clothes all season.  Then in the spring, the stores have spring clothes for sale.  Do they ship the winter clothes to a warehouse for storage? Do the ship the winter clothes to the southern hemisphere, where it is fall when it is spring in the northern hemisphere?

Cheap Winter Clothes!
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

During the winter, my kids had some activities, and while I was waiting for them  I got to spend some time in the mall walking around.  I got in the habit of walking through stores and monitoring the prices and keeping an eye on some of my favorite items that I would like to buy if they weren't so darn expensive.  The weather was warming up.  The days were getting longer.  It was still cold, but spring was coming.  February turned to March- but winter clothes were still in stores, and they were still full price!

Then it happened.  I stopped by the Sears store in the mall over lunch break on Thursday, March 7, 2013.  The Spring Clearance sale had begun, apparently that morning.

Save at Winter Clothes Sales
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The Cheap Winter Clothes Bargains Go Fast!

This was the big one!  All of the winter clothes were suddenly on sale cheap.  Not just the odd sizes and weird styles, but the good stuff too.  There were racks of long sleeved Docker's dress shirts and high quality fleeces.  This was just what I was waiting for!  And the discounts were huge- there were racks of $50 long sleeved shirts for $5 each.  There were racks of winter fleeces and sweaters, most priced at $5.  There were also racks of winter coats on clearance.  Even though friends, family, and even complete strangers describe me as a penny pincher, cheapskate, tightwad, and other things- I decided to get in on this action!

I picked out 5 of the nice shirts and a couple of the fleeces.  This was a major shopping spree for me, even though I only spent about $40.  I used a couple of other tricks to save even more than the 80% off clearance prices.

Find the Winter Clothes Sale Early and Beat the Crowd
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How to Find the Cheap Winter Clothes Sale

Just after the sale started at noon on Thursday, there were no crowds and tons of selection.  I must have happened upon the clearance racks shortly after everything was marked down.  I came back the next day at noon to get a few cheap winter shirts and fleeces for my sons and most of the good stuff was gone already.  Timing is everything.  Here is how to find the big winter clearance sale to get cheap winter clothes:

• Start patrolling in late February or early March- you don't want to miss the big mark-down.  All of the best winter clothes bargain can be gone in a matter of hours.
• If you can, walk through your favorite stores around lunchtime every day.  Lunch break works well.  
• If you go to the Mall, you can walk through several stores in only a few minutes, instead of focusing on a single store
• The big sale will likely hit a couple weeks before Spring Break so stores can make room for the new spring merchandise
• Be ready to pick up bargains when the big clearance sale starts- know what items, sizes, and colors you need for everyone in your family
• Carry your coupons
• Be ready to consider signing up for a store credit card to save even more- sometimes you can get an additional percentage off of your purchase
• Be especially alert the first week of March in most areas

Not all stores have a big mark-down all at once.  Some stores walk the prices down gradually over a few weeks.  This does not work well for me- the prices are too high at first, so I won't buy anything.  By the time the prices get low enough to consider, all the good stuff is gone, and warm weather has arrived.  If your favorite store does the gradual mark-down strategy, look at other stores to try to find a big, sudden mark-down sale on winter clothes.

It is Worth Some Effort to Find the Cheap Winter Clothes Sale

Walking around the mall is good exercise and generally enjoyable.  As long as you can avoid buying anything at full price, hunting for the big winter clearance sale is a good sport for penny pinchers.  Even though I have a good supply of winter clothes after finding the big sale last year, I may try to find another big sale this year- just for fun...

Update: Kohl's Winter Clearance February 2

Kohl's must be expecting an early spring this year.  Today, I happened upon some great winter items marked down 80% already.  There was a great selection of winter sweaters and fleeces for $10, marked down from $40-$50 or more!

Kohl's Started Their Big Winter Clearance on February 2
Image Source: Dr. Penny Pincher

Recommeded Reading:
How to Survive Store Crowds at Clearance Sales

Kohl's Credit Card and Kohl's Cash

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Debt Consolidation Calculator

Debt Consolidation Calculator

A good way to save money on interest and potentially reduce your monthly debt payments is to consolidate your debt.  Debt consolidation means combining several credit cards or other loans into a single loan with a lower interest rate.  If you have a good credit rating and enough income to make payments on a consolidation loan for your debts, you can get a much lower interest rate than typical credit card interest rates.  This allows you to pay the debt down faster since the interest rate is lower, and you may be able to reduce your overall monthly payments as well.

How does debt consolidation work and how much can you save?  Find out by using the Debt Consolidation Calculator to analyze your debts.

Debt Consolidation Calculator How Much Can You Save with Debt Consolidation?
Current Debts and Loans		Current Payoff Plan
Enter Debt Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Enter Debt Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Enter Debt Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Enter Debt Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Step 1: Debt Analysis
Current Debt Summary Total Balance ($): Total Monthly Payments ($): Total Cost to Payoff:
Debt Consolidation Plan
Enter Credit Card Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Total Savings with Debt Consolidation:
Step 2: Update Debt Consolidation: Change Interest Rate or Monthly Payment and Recalculate...
Copyright (c) 2014 Dr. Penny Pincher. All Rights Reserved http://pennypincherjournal.blogspot.com

Using the Debt Consolidation Calculator

Enter information about your debt payments and loans in the Current Debts and Loans section of the calculator.  Enter the debt balance, interest rate, and monthly payment that you are currently making.  You can enter up to 4 debts in the calculator.  If you have less than 4 debts to enter, just enter 0 as the balance for the extra debt entries in the calculator.

Next, click "Compute" in the Step 1: Debt Analysis section.  This will calculate the payoff time, total of your payments, and total interest for each debt account.  The sum of all of your debt balances will be entered under Current Debt Summary, along with the total of your monthly debt payments and the total that you will pay under your current plan.

An example debt consolidation loan will also be entered under the Debt Consolidation Plan section of the calculator.  The default amount of the debt consolidation loan is the total of the debts entered under Current Debts and Loans.  The interest rate is 6%, and the monthly payment on the consolidation loan is the same as the total current payments on your debts.

You will be able to see how long it will take to pay off a consolidation loan and how much money on interest payments you will save.  The blue box shows your total savings with a debt consolidation loan.

Recommended Reading:
How to Become a Millionaire- The Millionaire Calculator

Credit Card Consolidation Loan Calculator

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Credit Card Consolidation Loan Calculator

Credit Card Consolidation Loan Calculator

A credit card consolidation loan allows you to pay off your high interest credit cards with a low interest bank loan.  If you have good credit and high enough income, you can get a credit card consolidation loan from a bank and save a lot of money on interest.  How much money can you save with a credit card consolidation loan?  Find out with the Credit Card Consolidation Calculator!

Credit Card Consolidation Calculator by Dr. Penny Pincher How Much Can You Save with Credit Card Consolidation?
Current Credit Cards		Current Payoff Plan
Enter Credit Card Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Enter Credit Card Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Enter Credit Card Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Enter Credit Card Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Step 1: Credit Card Analysis
Current Credit Cards Summary Total Balance ($): Total Monthly Payments ($): Total Cost to Payoff:
Credit Card Consolidation Plan
Enter Credit Card Balance ($): Enter Interest Rate (%): Enter Monthly Payment ($):		Payoff Time (months): Total of Payments ($): Total Interest ($):
Total Savings with Credit Card Consolidation:
Step 2: Update Credit Card Consolidation: Change Interest Rate or Monthly Payment and Recalculate...
Copyright (c) 2014. All Rights Reserved http://pennypincherjournal.blogspot.com

How to Use the Credit Card Consolidation Loan Calculator

Update the Current Credit Cards section with the information from your current credit cards.  Enter the credit card balance, interest rate, and monthly payment that you are making.  The Credit Card Consolidation Calculator can process up to 4 credit cards.  If you have less than 4 credit cards, simply enter a zero balance for the extra credit cards in the calculator.

Next, click "Compute" in the Step 1 green box.  This will calculate the payoff time, total of payments, and total interest cost to pay off each of your credit cards.  Your total credit card balance, total monthly payment, and total cost to pay off your current credit cards is calculated and shown in the Current Credit Card Summary section of the calculator.

Example values will be automatically entered under the Credit Card Consolidation section.  The total credit card balance will be filled in, an interest rate of 6% will be entered, and your total monthly payment on your current credit cards will be used as your payment on your credit card consolidation loan.

The payoff time, total of payments, and total interest paid for the example consolidation loan is calculated.  The blue section shows the total savings achieved with a credit card consolidation loan.

You can change the interest rate or monthly payments for the consolidation loan and click "Compute" in Step 2 to update the results.  You may want to try making a higher monthly payment to pay off your loan faster and save even more money on interest.

Recommended Reading:
Savings Calculator

How to Become a Millionaire- The Millionaire Calculator

Penny Pincher Journal

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Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Credit Card Payoff Calculator

Find out how long it will take to payoff your credit card with the Credit Card Payoff Calculator.  Enter your credit card balance, monthly payment, and interest rate.  The Credit Card Payoff Calculator outputs the time to payoff your credit card and also the total amount of your payments to payoff the credit card.

Credit Card Payoff Calculator by Dr. Penny Pincher How long will it take to payoff your credit card? Copyright (c) 2014. All Rights Reserved http://pennypincherjournal.blogspot.com

INPUTS

Enter Credit Card Balance ($):

Enter Interest Rate (%):

Enter Monthly Payment ($):

RESULTS

Payoff Time (months):

Total of Payments ($):

With the Credit Card Payoff Calculator, you can check how much the interest rate affects your time to payoff a credit card.  For example, if you are paying 12.9% interest and you transfer your balance to a new credit account with 0% interest, will this help you payoff your credit card faster?  With the default settings of a $5,000 credit card balance, 12.9% interest, and a $350 monthly payment, it would take 15.6 months to payoff the credit card at a cost of $5457.53.  If you could get a 0% introductory rate, you could pay the credit card off in 14.3 months and save $457.53.

You can also check the affect of making bigger payments on your credit card to payoff the balance faster.  If you pay an extra $100 per month, how much faster will you payoff your credit card and how much money will you save on interest payments?  For the default example, if you increased the payment by $100 to $450 per month, you would payoff the credit card in 11.9 months at a cost of $5353.32 at a savings of $104.21.

Credit Card Payoff Calculator Instructions

Calculator Inputs:

Enter Credit Card Balance ($):  Your total credit card balance.
Enter Interest Rate (%):  The annual interest rate on your credit card.
Enter Monthly Payment ($):  The amount you pay on your credit card every month.

Calculator Outputs:
Payoff Time (months):  How long it will take to payoff your credit card.  Note that fractions of a month are shown in the calculator.  For example if paying off your credit card will take 12.3 months, this would require 12 full monthly payments and a partial payment on the 13th month.
Total of Payments ($):  The total of your payments to pay off the credit card, including interest.

This site run by Drexel University introduces the basic formulas used to calculate compound interest for calculating credit card payoff time and cost.

Recommended Reading:
Savings Calculator

How to Become a Millionaire- The Millionaire Calculator

Penny Pincher Journal

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Monthly Car Payment Calculator

Monthly Car Payment Calculator

Use this calculator to find out your monthly car payments.  Simply enter the loan amount for your car, the length of the loan in years, and the interest rate.

Car Payment Calculator by Dr. Penny Pincher Calculate your car payment! Copyright (c) 2014. All Rights Reserved http://pennypincherjournal.blogspot.com

INPUTS

Enter Loan Amount ($):

Enter Length of Loan (years):

Enter Interest Rate (%):

RESULTS

Monthly Payment ($):

For example, the default values in the Car Payment Calculator calculate car payments for a car loan of $28,000 for 4 years with an interest rate of 6%.

Car Loan Terms and Interest Rates

Typical terms for a car loan are 4 years or 5 years.  You can also get 3 year car loans and even 6 year car loans.  The longer the car loan you get, the more you will end up paying in interest.  However, an advantage of taking a longer car loan is that you can get a lower monthly payment.  Try entering different loan lengths in the Car Payment Calculator to see the effect on your monthly car payment.

The type of car you buy can affect the interest rate you get on a car loan.  The interest rates are lower on newer cars.  Banks have less risk in loaning money to buy a new car, because this asset is more likely to hold its value than an older car.  You can find car loans under 5% interest on newer cars.  Older cars can have interest rates of 10% or more.

Surprisingly, in some cases it may actually cost less to buy a newer car because of the lower interest rates you can get to buy a newer car.  The purchase price of an older car will be less than a newer car, but the total cost of paying the loan can be lower for a newer car if the interest rate is significantly less.  You can use the Car Payment Calculator to see the impact on your car payment of  buying a less expensive car at a higher interest rate vs. a more expensive car at at lower interest rate.

This site has some sample car payment calculations- you can enter the test parameters of  a 3 year loan, $15,000 car price, and 7%  interest rate and match the example calculation of $463.16 per month using the Car Payment Calculator.

Penny Pincher Journal

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Savings Calculator for Savings Accounts with Interest

Savings Calculator- How Much Will Your Savings Be Worth?

The bad news:  Interest rates on savings accounts are very low.  It is almost impossible to find a savings account with an interest rate of even 1%.

The good news:  You can still grow your money without risk in a safe savings account.  But how fast will your savings account grow?

The Savings Calculator calculates how much your savings account balance grows over time.  Just enter your investment time, your starting balance, and how much you save every month.  You can also adjust the interest rate (rate of return) and click "Compute".

Savings Calculator by Dr. Penny Pincher How much will your savings grow? Copyright (c) 2014. All Rights Reserved http://pennypincherjournal.blogspot.com

INPUTS

Enter Investment Time (years):

Enter Starting Investment Amount ($):

Enter Monthly Investment Contribution ($):

Enter Average Annual Rate of Return (%):

RESULTS

Amount Obtained in Current Dollars ($):

Savings Interest Calculator

With the default settings, the Savings Calculator will calculate how much money you will save in 10 years if you start with $1,000 and save $350 per month.  The interest rate of 0.85% on a savings account is pretty good right now, but you can find savings accounts at 0.85% interest, especially if you look online.  The Savings Calculator uses monthly compounding to calculate the interest on your savings account balance.

If you are interested in growing money faster than you can with a savings account, check out this Investment Calculator.  It is set up to show you typical returns from stock market investments, including effects of capital gains taxes.  However, when you move from a savings account to investing in stocks, you will lose the safety of knowing that you will not lose money from a bank account.  But with the interest rate so low, you might want to take some risk for the possibility of a much higher return.

With the Savings Calculator, you can try out some scenarios to see how your savings grows.  For example, you can check how fast your savings grows if you save $100 extra per month.  Is it worth moving to a different bank to get 0.25% more interest on a savings account?  You can use the Savings Calculator to find out how much your savings will grow.

Penny Pincher Journal

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