Joining gym/spa/country club ?

kimwp

Ooh, I second the library! They provide so much to the community and the more they are used, the more likely they are to remain funded.

Local leisure centres have cafes that you can usually hang out in without buying anything (my poor Dad spent many hours in one waiting for his children to finish whichever sport they were doing that day).

MoneyMon555

SootySweep1 said:

Hi
Not quite the same but my Grandmother in years gone by would go to Spain for six weeks during the winter months & part of her reason for going was she saved a fortune on her gas & electric bills.

Didn't fully pay for the holiday but a decent contribution.

Jen

I looked at and researched 3 months in Morocco last Autumn for over winter, it was unbelievably cheap for a basic accomodation, and I know from experience that  you can live on a tight budget there 

OrkneyStar

I think if you are already a member of a place like this and use it, then you could maybe make a point of showering when there, sitting for a bit after any sessions, taking advantage of free classes, but I am not sure that joining for the sake of joining would save much! I used to have membership of local authority fitness centres (pool, gym, sauna etc), and did always (pre-Covid) have a nice long shower after any sessions as it did save showering at home (that said we are not on a water meter here, water charges in Scotland are set as standard for private houses). I stopped the membership during Covid, and now I tend to exercise outdoors for free or use resistance bands etc at home, so it's probably more of a saving not having it.

Spendless

Are the showers private cubicles in these sort of places? I always think this when people put about using showers at a swimming pool, all ours are open and communal so you'd have to wash wearing your cossie. 

I'm aware of elderly from my town who always went to meet up in the shopping centre to sit on the benches there and have a chat. Nowadays I think some go to weatherspoons and take advantage of the free tea/coffee re-fills.

Back in the 90s, my sis-in=law on becoming a single parent, enrolled on a college course. It came with a free nursery place for her daughter. It was an hours bus ride away. She worked out it was cheaper to be out of the house all day and just pay her bus fares (daughter was free) than to stay at home paying the energy bills. 

OrkneyStar

Spendless said:

Are the showers private cubicles in these sort of places? I always think this when people put about using showers at a swimming pool, all ours are open and communal so you'd have to wash wearing your cossie. 

I'm aware of elderly from my town who always went to meet up in the shopping centre to sit on the benches there and have a chat. Nowadays I think some go to weatherspoons and take advantage of the free tea/coffee re-fills.

Back in the 90s, my sis-in=law on becoming a single parent, enrolled on a college course. It came with a free nursery place for her daughter. It was an hours bus ride away. She worked out it was cheaper to be out of the house all day and just pay her bus fares (daughter was free) than to stay at home paying the energy bills. 

I cannot speak for all, but at our local pool there is separate men's and women's changing - I cannot recall what the situation is in the men's (ha ha) but in the women's there are 3 'open' showers and two with 'private' (a cubicle with a curtain - it stays closed well if you sort of stick it to the sides when it's wet!). In the pool further away it's a changing village but there are 2 (3?) doored cubicles where you can shower properly. Obviously you need a large towel to wrap oneself in while heading back to the cubicle! I have been at swimming places on the mainland where it just appears to be all communal though, so you'd need to check in advance if that was a concern (I prefer to shower privately myself!). 

MoneyMon555

Spendless said:

Are the showers private cubicles in these sort of places? I always think this when people put about using showers at a swimming pool, all ours are open and communal so you'd have to wash wearing your cossie. 

I'm aware of elderly from my town who always went to meet up in the shopping centre to sit on the benches there and have a chat. Nowadays I think some go to weatherspoons and take advantage of the free tea/coffee re-fills.

Back in the 90s, my sis-in=law on becoming a single parent, enrolled on a college course. It came with a free nursery place for her daughter. It was an hours bus ride away. She worked out it was cheaper to be out of the house all day and just pay her bus fares (daughter was free) than to stay at home paying the energy bills. 

You make a very good point there, in that there are significantly less public spaces now than there were in the past. If you leave the house today, then you have less places to just 'exist' without spending money. I noticed that Norway for example has so many public spaces that encourage communal meet ups and just a general relaxed 'lingering', right the way down to free overnight camping spots, with bbq's etc.

Spendless

MoneyMon555 said:

Spendless said:

Are the showers private cubicles in these sort of places? I always think this when people put about using showers at a swimming pool, all ours are open and communal so you'd have to wash wearing your cossie. 

I'm aware of elderly from my town who always went to meet up in the shopping centre to sit on the benches there and have a chat. Nowadays I think some go to weatherspoons and take advantage of the free tea/coffee re-fills.

Back in the 90s, my sis-in=law on becoming a single parent, enrolled on a college course. It came with a free nursery place for her daughter. It was an hours bus ride away. She worked out it was cheaper to be out of the house all day and just pay her bus fares (daughter was free) than to stay at home paying the energy bills. 

You make a very good point there, in that there are significantly less public spaces now than there were in the past. If you leave the house today, then you have less places to just 'exist' without spending money. I noticed that Norway for example has so many public spaces that encourage communal meet ups and just a general relaxed 'lingering', right the way down to free overnight camping spots, with bbq's etc.

I noticed last time I was in said shopping centre, there were less benches than previously and they are all high backed, so fewer people can sit together. I put it down to them perhaps having been taken away due to the pandemic but I do think a lot of places use what I call the 'covid excuse' where they implement things that they've probably longed to do for years but held off because of how unpopular it would be, now they can do it and blame something else. Less seats means less lingering and more time spending in the shops. 

MoneyMon555

Spendless said:

MoneyMon555 said:

Spendless said:

Are the showers private cubicles in these sort of places? I always think this when people put about using showers at a swimming pool, all ours are open and communal so you'd have to wash wearing your cossie. 

I'm aware of elderly from my town who always went to meet up in the shopping centre to sit on the benches there and have a chat. Nowadays I think some go to weatherspoons and take advantage of the free tea/coffee re-fills.

Back in the 90s, my sis-in=law on becoming a single parent, enrolled on a college course. It came with a free nursery place for her daughter. It was an hours bus ride away. She worked out it was cheaper to be out of the house all day and just pay her bus fares (daughter was free) than to stay at home paying the energy bills. 

You make a very good point there, in that there are significantly less public spaces now than there were in the past. If you leave the house today, then you have less places to just 'exist' without spending money. I noticed that Norway for example has so many public spaces that encourage communal meet ups and just a general relaxed 'lingering', right the way down to free overnight camping spots, with bbq's etc.

I noticed last time I was in said shopping centre, there were less benches than previously and they are all high backed, so fewer people can sit together. I put it down to them perhaps having been taken away due to the pandemic but I do think a lot of places use what I call the 'covid excuse' where they implement things that they've probably longed to do for years but held off because of how unpopular it would be, now they can do it and blame something else. Less seats means less lingering and more time spending in the shops. 

Quite right - they want to get you in the coffee shops spending daft amounts for a burnt/bitter coffee in a paper cup

themoomins

SootySweep1 said:

Hi
Not quite the same but my Grandmother in years gone by would go to Spain for six weeks during the winter months & part of her reason for going was she saved a fortune on her gas & electric bills.

Didn't fully pay for the holiday but a decent contribution.

Jen

This is a great idea. My neighbours have a house out there and bounce between the two which seems a hassle but I bet you could get a decent rent rate going for a couple of months out of season.

themoomins

ellenvan said:

On a similar theme - a pint or two in the pub - free heating thown in
Library - some have free internet access - also free heating.
Anybody any other suggestions?

Wetherspoons do a bottomless hot drink for little more than £1 but I'd be too embarrassed to to sit there for hours refilling it.  It would certainly save a bomb on heating your house and hot drinks though. Free Wifi too.