Have you ever wasted money on a gym membership or piece of home exercise equipment? YES?

After this you will never do so again!

Every year thousands of people join the gym in with the aim of shedding those extra pounds. This is especially true of January. I know, as I have for the last month had to fight to get a space on the cross trainer (the only time in the year I have to). Then how many of those only last at the gym a month or two (or even less) before they stop going to the gym? And how many of those leave their gym membership running? I know I have been guilty of this in the past. I have left it running while battling with the guilt of both not going to the gym to get fit AND watching £40 go down the drain each and every month. But good intentions never acted on kept that money trickling away until I came to my senses.

The same is true of gym equipment. Have you had a bit of gym equipment, for example and excercise bike, where the most exercise you got from it was shifting it into the back of your car (after it had gathered a layer of dust in some forgotten corner of your house). Where did you take it in the car? Down to the second hand shop for sale.

YOU’LL NEVER DO THIS AGAIN!!! Why?

Here is why?

If I was to take the £40 that was about to go out of my account today (on unused gym membership) and invest it. If I was to achieve an annual return of 20% a year every year that I invest it ("Yeah right. 20%? You have to be kidding!" I hear you say! –- but bear with me and check the link below). And if I was to invest it for the next 56 years (till my 92nd birthday), and never withdraw any of the money, do you know how much that £40 would be worth?

It would be worth a staggering £1,086,950!!!

That’s right, a cool one MILLION!

If you don't believe me, get you calculator out and try it: 1.2 x 40 then hit the = sign 56 times. What do you get?

Now look at your unused gym membership in these terms. If you don’t use it, you are losing £1 million each and every month. I bet you’ll either use or cancel that membership now.

Now if you bought a treadmill for the home, that cost you £200, do you know how long it would take to be worth £1 million if invested as above? 47 YEARS. That’s by my 83rd birthday. And do you know how much it would be worth if I invested it till my 92nd birthday? It would be worth a staggering £5.5 million. YES FIVE AND A HALF MILLION POUNDS.

View those gym memberships and exercise machine costs in this light, can you afford not to use your membership or machine?