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Use Your Exercise As an Investment

Many of us cringe when we hear talk of exercise.  But in fact, exercise can be beneficial in ways that go beyond just our personal individual health and well-being.  For instance, it can be an integral factor in building up a person’s cash reserves and financial status.  This can be done by taking those activities and things that we usually spend money on almost habitually without thinking and attempt to reduce or completely remove those expenses from our daily cost of living.  One can often do this by substituting a more physical activity for one that would have cost more cash weekly.

Investment

A perfect example is the substitution of walking, running or bicycling for driving to work daily.  How much does annual car ownership and operation cost someone in gasoline, vehicle maintenance and upkeep, tires, insurance and taxes, registration, inspection, parking fees, tolls, etc.?  By comparison, how much might you spend for a pair of Puma athletic shoes to wear for walking or jogging to and from your job every workday?  Many employers now offer changing space for employees who walk or bike to work daily.   And by using a Groupon coupon you can save 50% on your next purchase of Puma athletic shoes.  So the savings possible be switching from driving to walking or jogging are reflected not just in your physical conditioning but in your pocketbook as well.

Is that a really significant savings?  It may not seem so, until you sum up what you spend on parking, auto depreciation, auto maintenance and other related expenses.  Even then on a per-trip basis it may not seem much.  However, when you remember that you could have put that cash into a savings or investment account where it could be accruing interest, while at the same time you would be improving your physical well-being by using that opportunity for exercise, and you can see how your money is being misallocated.  Using a Groupon coupon to make a one-time purchase of some quality athletic shoes at a significant discount is a much more profitable investment than regular expenditures to operate a vehicle that depreciates with every mile it is driven.  Better to invest in the appreciation of your body than in the depreciation of your car.