In today’s busy world, finding time to stay fit can feel like a challenge. But what if working out could help your wallet as well? 

Thanks to a range of fitness apps available on your phone, staying active can do more than just improve your health – it can also help you make or save money. 

From cashback on fitness purchases to rewards for hitting step goals, technology is making it easier than ever to turn your workouts into financial gains. 

Here’s how you can get fit and boost your bank balance into the bargain.

1. Get paid to walk with apps such as Sweatcoin

Walking is one of the easiest and most accessible forms of exercise. With Sweatcoin, you can get paid simply for walking. 

The app tracks your steps and converts them into ‘sweatcoins’, a form of digital currency. These can be redeemed for goods and services, including fitness gear, tech gadgets and even gift cards. You can also save up your sweatcoins to donate to charitable causes.

How it works:

• Download the Sweatcoin app (available for iOS and Android).
• Let the app track your steps in the background.
• Earn sweatcoins for every step you take.
• Redeem sweatcoins for a variety of products or donate to charity.

Potential savings: While you won’t make a fortune, Sweatcoin rewards can help you offset costs on everyday purchases, contributing to long-term savings.

• Other apps like Sweatcoin that offer the chance to save or make money by keeping fit include BetterPoints, Winwalk and Evidation.

2. Get cashback for staying active

Some fitness apps and services now offer rewards for maintaining an active lifestyle.

For example, Vitality, a UK health insurance provider, encourages you to stay active by offering cashback and rewards like discounts on gym memberships and sports gear.

By linking your fitness tracker or app to their system, you can collect points for every run, walk, cycle or workout, which you can then redeem for rewards.

How it works:

• Sign up for a Vitality health insurance plan.
• Track your fitness activity with your app or wearable device.
• Accumulate points for activities such as walking, cycling or going to the gym.
• Redeem points for rewards like gift cards, Apple Watches or cashback on your premiums.

Potential savings: Depending on how active you are, you can save hundreds of pounds a year on insurance premiums and lifestyle products.

3. Earn cashback on healthy purchases

Several UK-based banking apps, such as Monzo and Curve, offer cashback or discounts for spending on fitness-related purchases, such as gym memberships, sports equipment and healthy food.

They often partner with wellness brands, offering users cashback when they make qualifying purchases.

How it works:

• Sign up for a Monzo or Curve account (or link your existing account to an app that offers cashback).
• Use your card to make fitness-related purchases, such as gym memberships, sports gear or nutrition supplements.
• Earn a percentage of your purchase back in cashback, which is credited directly to your account.

Potential savings: Cashback offers can range from 1% to 10% depending on the brand, potentially saving you hundreds of pounds annually.

4. Offer online fitness coaching

If you’re already passionate about fitness, why not turn your hobby into a source of income?

Apps like Fiverr and Upwork allow you to offer personal training, fitness coaching or wellness advice to clients around the world. 

Whether you’re a certified personal trainer, a yoga instructor or a fitness enthusiast with a wealth of knowledge, there are people willing to pay for your expertise.

How it works:

• Create a profile on a freelancing platform (e.g. Fiverr, Upwork).
• Offer fitness-related services, such as personalised workout plans, online coaching sessions or nutritional guidance.
• Set your rates and start taking on clients.

Potential earnings: Depending on your skills and experience, freelance fitness coaches can charge anywhere from £20 to £100 per hour, making it a lucrative side hustle.

5. Sell fitness plans and content

Another potentially profitable option if you’re a fitness fan is creating and selling digital products such as workout plans, ebooks or exercise videos. 

Platforms like Etsy and Gumroad allow you to create and sell fitness-related digital content. Whether it’s a beginner’s guide to weightlifting or a 30-day home workout plan, there’s a growing market for well-structured fitness programmes. 

Another option would be to set up a health and fitness channel on YouTube and profit from a share in the advertising revenue. It worked for Joe Wicks!

How it works:

• Create a digital product, such as a workout plan, healthy recipe guide or training video.
• List your product on a digital marketplace like Etsy or Gumroad.
• Promote your product through social media or fitness-related communities.

Potential earnings: While the income may start off small, digital products have the potential to generate growing amounts as word spreads, meaning you earn money without much ongoing effort.

6. Save on gym memberships

With the rise of high-quality fitness apps like Nike Training Club and FitOn, you no longer need an expensive gym membership to stay fit. 

Many of these apps offer free or low-cost workouts that you can do from home, saving you money on gym fees, travel and equipment.

How it works:

• Download a free fitness app (e.g., Nike Training Club, FitOn, or Freeletics).
• Choose from a variety of workouts, from yoga to high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
• Follow guided workouts from your phone, often with no equipment needed.

Potential savings: Typical gym membership in the UK costs around £40 a month. By using a free or low-cost fitness app, you can potentially save £480 a year or more.

7. Get discounts on fitness tech

Several apps and fitness services offer discounts on wearables like Fitbits and Apple Watches if you commit to using their platforms. 

For example, with health insurer Vitality (mentioned earlier), you can get an Apple Watch for as little as £37 if you hit your activity targets each month.

How it works:

• Sign up for a fitness or health platform that offers wearable discounts.
• Purchase a discounted fitness tracker or smartwatch.
• Keep up with your activity goals to avoid paying full price.

Potential savings: A premium smartwatch like an Apple Watch can cost over £400, so taking advantage of fitness-related discounts can save you hundreds of pounds.

Closing thoughts

Staying active doesn’t have to be expensive. With the right fitness apps (and a bit of physical effort) you can improve your health while saving or even making money.

Whether you’re earning cashback for your daily steps or saving on costly gym memberships, there are lots of ways to maximise both your fitness and your finances. 

So lace up your trainers, download a fitness app, and start boosting both your body and your bank balance!

Nick Daws writes for Pounds and Sense, a UK personal finance blog aimed especially (though not exclusively) at over-fifties.

Photo credits: Pexels

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There’s lots going on in my life at the moment. Last year I got married. We also bought a house. The first thing we did as homeowners was get a Labrador called Atlas. He’s totally mad and lovely.

When we bought our home we talked to the mortgage broker about life insurance, but after a slightly negative experience (and the fact we were also in the middle of planning a wedding) we put the conversation on the back burner.

Then this year my wife and I recently discovered the joyous news that we are expecting a baby in October. This focused my mind on getting life cover sorted, as it’s not just my wife (and Atlas) I’d leave behind, but potentially a child were the worst to happen to me.

Then I had a fateful call with a life insurance provider. They asked the usual questions and it went fine, but when we moved onto medical questions things quickly went awry.

Too big for life insurance

I am not a skinny bloke. I’ve always been husky as an adult, although in my 20s this was kept at bay mostly by playing sports etc. But I’ve never been ‘slim’ and when I do the NHS BMI test it tells me my BMI is way too high.

I’ve always been conscious of my weight and have done plenty of faddy diets that don’t last or training programs that don’t yield results (and tend to lead to burnout).

More recently, the pandemic was definitely a bad thing for my waistline but really only added to an issue that I wasn’t really addressing anyway.

At my heaviest I was 159kg. This was around the time we got married and just before we got a dog. Getting a dog (and having to walk him all the time) was excellent news for the scales and I lost around 8kg by the beginning of this year.

But then the fateful phone call for life insurance. I spoke to Vitality who were recommended to me by a friend. Their adviser was extremely helpful and very honest about why I would be turned down. Simply put, I’m too fat.

He told me that to be at least considered, versus my height, I’d need to be below 120kg. Anything above and I’d simply be denied. Of course, this weight is still high in overall BMI terms and I’d face higher premiums, so the lower, the better.

I don’t think I felt humiliated by the news. As someone who works in personal finance I was aware that my size would be an issue with a product like this, but I had never really faced it before. Hearing it laid out to me was important and I commend the adviser for his honesty.

Get fit for life insurance

Being turned down for life insurance is worrying, for my health and the security of my loved ones. I want to do the right thing for my growing family and protect them should something happen to me.

There is a kicker here that this situation collides with something else big that’s happening in my life at the moment.

I am preparing, with a group of friends, to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in February 2024, which I’m doing on behalf of Marie Curie in memory of my mum (you can check out my fundraiser for more on that).

So as luck would have it, I’m already on a concentrated path to getting fit and losing weight. I won’t go into the details as this isn’t a health and fitness blog, but it involves working out regularly and eating a lot less, basically. And sticking to it.

Kilimanjaro has given me a lot of motivation (that’s one of the reasons I signed up to it) but the life insurance issue has lit a fire under me in a way I’ve never had before.

The conversation I had with Vitality also helped crystallise some goals for me – I now have a tangible target I need to reach. The good news so far is I’ve lost around 14kg since March, putting me around 137kg at the moment.

Writing this deeply personal column is a form of accountability for me. I’m laying all my cards on the table in order to say I am willing to fix this problem of my own creation.

I’ve still got a lot of hard work to do, but I’ve never been more focused on achieving a health-related goal. Wish me luck.

Vitality has been contacted for comment.

Photo by Balazs Simon.

This article contains affiliate links. Affiliate links have no bearing on the editorial stance of Mouthy Money, but do help us fund our journalism and information we provide to readers.

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New year, new you, right? But if your budget won’t allow you to join a gym or sign up to regular fitness classes, all is not lost. It is possible to get fit on a budget, and here are some ideas.

The new year is the perfect time for fitness resolutions. Most of us will have overindulged on food and drink over Christmas and, because it’s cold and dark, we may have been less active than we are during the summer months.

However, our bank balances may also be suffering from a post Christmas hangover. Spending a lot of money on new fitness equipment, subscriptions and health club memberships may be unaffordable. So, rather than feeling fit and brimming with energy, we suffer anxiety over our finances. 

But there are ways to improve your health and fitness without spending much money. If, like me, you are determined to get healthier in 2023, I hope some of the following will inspire you.

Look in the larder

At this time of year, many supermarkets and chain stores have a range of very reasonably priced weights and dumbbells. However, before you rush off to buy any, see what you already have around your home that may be of use.

There are many household items that can be used instead of dumbbells. Depending on how heavy you need them to be, cans of beans or soup make good substitutes.

Water bottles can be refilled with water or with sand, as can milk cartons of various sizes. In fact, these are great as they have handles you can grip as you work out.

YouTube is awash with baked bean can workouts, such as this one.

Use your stairs

If you have stairs, either inside or out, they can be used to up your exercise game. You can simply walk up and down them at various speeds, or use them as support for press ups, buttock lifts or to tone up your triceps, as explained in this post from RealSimple.

Find free online classes

There are many great exercise instructors on YouTube. You can do almost any type of home workout, including pilates, yoga, dance classes, and stretching. My personal favourite is Yoga with Adriene.

An interesting fitness app for those of us who want to get fit on a budget is FitOn, which offers unlimited free classes, as well as a premium PRO programme. You input factors such as your age, weight, fitness levels and the types of exercise you enjoy so that the app can offer suitable workouts. 

Classes on offer include kickboxing, dance, toning classes, cardio, yoga, pilates and even meditation, all for free.

Exercise outdoors

There are many fun sports and activities you can do outside for nothing, including some family friendly ways to get fit on a budget.

Take a ball and play football, cricket or rounders in the local recreation ground. Go for a run or a power walk.

Check your council website to see if they have an outdoor gym in any of your local parks. We recently discovered one near us and it is a lot of fun to use (as well as being free).

Spending time outdoors can improve your mood as well as your fitness, so get a vitamin D boost and exercise outside.

Couch to 5K

If you fancy running but don’t know how to begin, the NHS’s Couch to 5K app offers a structured plan to get you going in as little as nine weeks.

Celebrity voices such as Jo Wiley and Sarah Millican talk you through, and you can gradually build your stamina at your own pace until you can run for 30 minutes or more. 

If you prefer to increase your activity levels by walking, you can track your steps with the free NHS Active 10 app. Add the Active 10 widget to your phone’s home screen so that you can see how many steps you have done at a glance.

Cheaper fitness clothing

You don’t need lots of expensive fitness clothing to exercise. Shorts and T-shirts were the norm before Lycra was a thing!

However, if you do enjoy the look, stretch and breathability of bespoke activewear, you can often pick it up second hand at a reasonable price. Try Vinted, eBay and charity shops. 

Don’t let a lack of cash stop you from achieving your new year’s fitness goals. Explore these free ways to enjoy exercising and get fit on a budget.

Photo by Ev on Unsplash

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Home fitness is not a new phenomenon. You might remember waking up early, in the 90s and seeing Mr. Motivator doing star jumps and coaxing you to get off your seat.

In the 80s it was Jane Fonda and leg warmers. Going further back, the 70s saw the rise of the treadmill at home. Many of us eventually got to grips with it being more than just a clothes hanger.

Since then, though, home fitness has become a little bit more sophisticated – and more expensive.

In this blog, I briefly explore the rise of the home workout, new virtual technology, and what fitness equipment you will need for an effective training session at home.

As I have already said, lockdown has led to a sharp rise in people working out from home, for obvious reasons.

According to globaldata.com, 52.2% of UK consumers have done a home workout since March 2020, when the UK first went into lockdown, while 53.3% of Brits have bought new workout kits in that period.

The temptation is to go out and spend a small fortune on what looks to be the best kit – but often you can achieve the same results for a fraction of the price.

For example, take Peloton, which sells high-end indoor fitness bikes and monthly workout subscription packages.

Peloton has without a doubt been one of the ‘winners’ of the pandemic, with its membership base doubling over the past year, which of course has been great for its share price.

A Peloton bike will set you back from £1,350 for the basic package. On top of that you need to factor in paying for the ‘motivation’ via the membership fee to get class content. That starts at a not-so-insignificant £39 a month.

For a lot of people, that will simply be too much money. This isn’t to bash Peloton. It’s to highlight that you can literally save thousands of pounds and still get a challenging, effective, and progressive workout.

If you are looking to maximise value and want to avoid wasting money on programs or equipment you might not stick with long-term, then picking affordable and mobile bits of equipment will still enable you to get really fit and in good shape from the comforts of your own home. You might even have fun doing it.

Here are three (relatively) cheap and easily transported bits of kit you could purchase to use at home or in the garden.

Resistance bands

Resistance bands are great for building strength, conditioning, and getting a full body workout done.

They come in a number of different strengths, meaning you can move from light to heavy as you become stronger.

Prices vary but on (Amazon) you can get a set of five for £9.99 or ones with handles for just £20.

Kettlebells

Kettlebells might look a little old fashion, but they are great for building strength as well as burning calories.

The impact of Brexit and Covid-19 has seen delivery costs rise and this has been reflected in the price of kettlebells and other weights. But that doesn’t mean you can grab a bargain.

The magical and random isles of Lidl often have kettlebells, while Decathlon, Argos, and Amazon also sell kettlebells.

Cost is typically related to how much the kettlebell weighs, but expect to pay around £20 for an 8kg unit all the way up to £80 for a 20kg weight.

TRX/Suspension trainers

Want to get the benefit of some resistance training at home? Then this bit of kit is ideal.

The name might not be familiar, but you’ve no doubt seen people using a TRX suspension trainer in the gym or the park before. It’s basically a training tool that uses gravity and your own bodyweight to build strength and mobility.

The best thing about the TRX is you can easily modify it to suit all levels. If you are a beginner right the way through to more advanced movements for those more experienced.

The TRX officially is around £179.95 for the full kit, although I have found many retailing for around £30. In my experience, they do the exact same job (having used and trained with a variety of them). Another saving to be had there.

This gives you access to a full body workout with options. All for under £100 quid. Of course, you still have to put the work in, which is kind of the point of this blog.

If you fall into the category of on/off exerciser and are happy to keep it basic and still reap the benefits, you don’t need a Peloton.

Just remember: spending a fortune on a kit won’t speed up your results. That comes with working out regularly. 

Whilst it may be trendy at the minute, it’s about your needs. If you’re going to see the shiny bit of kit lose that sparkle after a couple of months, would you rather it cost you a couple of grand or under £200?

If you are looking for effective ways to get moving without breaking the budget. Consider picking up the three pieces of kit I have mentioned. The Peloton will still be an option in the future.

Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash

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Personal trainer and health, nutrition and fitness expert Kevin Coulter looks at how to whey the benefits of protein against the costs.

Protein is a macronutrient that, in large quantities, is extremely beneficial for good health. But in my experience many people are still unaware of how much protein they consume. And there are many who see it as an expensive ‘gym’ habit.

Protein is something a lot of consumers put in products, to heighten their appeal, often without much substance behind it. But adding 4g to Weetabix, doesn’t make it ‘high’ protein or worth the slightly increased price either. The reality is a lot different.

And you could be forgiven for thinking ‘high’ protein applies to those who want to add kg’s to their bench press, grunt in the gym or can be found still wearing a stringer vest in Nandos.

The reality is we can all benefit from consuming a ‘high’ amount of protein, particularly as we age. How much we need comes down to you as an individual. This is dependent on height, weight, activity level, preferences and personal goals.

Evidence shows that eating more protein is beneficial for the following:

• Reducing appetite and hunger levels
• Great for weight management
• Increase muscle mass – this is important as we get older too, as we start to lose muscle mass on a yearly basis after the age of 30
• Good for bone health
• Can help lower blood pressure

But the issue is, more protein usually means a higher price tag, which can mean higher shopping costs. Most people get caught out by gimmicks, marketing and a lack of preparation and experience.

There are easy ways to keep those additional costs under control, in fact. Here are my quick hacks to save yourself a couple of quid along the way:

1. Ditch the café protein – buy and cook in bulk. Buying protein from cafes and snack places can come with a premium, especially if you need a full meal. If you find yourself spending a tenner in Pret daily, it’s time to try cooking in bulk instead. The chances are bunging your own ingredients into a slow cooker won’t just save you money, it will also be more nutritious.
2. Shop carefully. I have seen protein bars differ by up to £1 in different supermarkets. As long as the bar has a high protein content (10g+) and is low in things like sugar, it will serve its purpose. Just because something has ‘high’ protein written across it, doesn’t mean it’s automatically ‘healthy’. A ‘high protein’ Mars bar, is still a chocolate bar. But with the added marketing it can hike the price from £1 to £2.99 in most places.
3. Supplement with ‘Whey’ protein. The price of whey has dropped dramatically over the years, as competition has grown. A quick and convenient 20g+ can come in the form of a shake. But weigh up the cost as per serving prices can be as little as 0.38p or up to 0.75p with some brands depending on the size dependant. Another benefit of the bulk buy.  An alternative option too is a pint of milk, which will give you around 16g of protein for about 40-50p. Easy to pick up.

It isn’t just the monetary cost that can rise. Reducing our consumption of meat can have a positive impact on the environment.

Here are some other honourable mentions that are inexpensive and include non-meat options:

• Beans
• Chickpeas
• Eggs
• Greek yogurt
• Lentils
• Oats
• Seeds
• Tuna

Look at the list, find recipes online to spice it up and you are good to go. Tupperware is optional.

Kevin Coulter is a nutritionist and personal trainer originally from Scotland. He is passionate about helping busy people improve their relationship with food and exercise and can mostly be found doing pull ups, drinking coffee or enjoying craft beers and pizza.

Photo by Anthony Shkraba from Pexels

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At Mouthy Money, we think we might have found one – in the form of apps that pay you to get fit. We explore five of the best on the market to reboot your resolve.

Bounts

Bounts incentivises and challenges users to get fit by utilising data from fitness apps and converting them into points which can be exchanged for prizes. You can earn points by undertaking challenges and checking into approved sports/gym venues. You are required to complete 7,000 steps in a single day if you’re using a device such as a Fitbit, and if you’re using an app such as Runkeeper or Strava you’ll need to complete a 20 minute walk/run above an average speed of 4km/h. If you’re feeling altruistic, you can even donate your points to Cancer Research.

Users earn 20 points for each activity, and can earn up to 180 points a day.

Available on iOS and Android.

Verdict: An accessible app that suits everyone from the casual exerciser to committed trainers.

Sweatcoin

This app draws from behavioural economics; claiming that humans are programmed by nature to procrastinate rather than to get out there and train. It tracks and verifies your outdoor steps using your phone’s accelerometers and GPS locations. Steps taken are converted into Sweatcoins.

This app is marketed very much at self-improvement aficionados and this is reflected in the prizes on offer. Sweatcoins can be exchanged for goods, services, and experiences ranging from anti-gravity yoga classes, life coaching sessions, and sports equipment to iPhones and Apple Watches. As with Bounts, you can also donate to a number of charity partners. However, earning coins doesn’t require anything too strenuous, with the app paying you one Sweatcoin for every 1,000 steps.

Currently available on iOS only, but soon to be launching on Android.

Verdict: Early days yet, but with its focus on high achievers, and a strong alignment with healthy living brands, it could be a useful tool for those targeting high to moderate level exercise regimes. This may be off-putting to those at lower fitness levels though.

Fitcoin

Fitcoin takes the concept to a new level, by tracking not just distance covered, but also intensity of workout, which makes this a useful app for gym users (particularly those who spend long periods of time in one place, such as weight lifters). After your workout, your wearable device sends the data to the Fitcoin app that is analysed to find out how hard you were pushing yourself. Your average heart rate, distance, and pace are then counted and turned into a FitCoin value.

The app pays you in Bitcoin so you do need to have a valid Bitcoin account.

Available on iOS.

Verdict: while payment based on workout intensity could be a great motivator for some, having to sign up to bitcoins could put many potential users off. A voucher system or one that pays directly into a traditional bank account could be a better option.

Dietbet

Designed especially for those wanting to lose weight, Dietbet allows you to put your money where your mouth is and bet on yourself to lose 4% of your total body weight. Your stake goes into a pot with that of other users and, if you successfully complete your challenge, you win your original stake plus a cut of the total prize pot.

To verify your weight loss, you simply need to upload ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures. This app harnesses the power of the group – as users are encouraged to post their stories and spur each other on (think Weight Watchers but digital).

Boasting a slick dashboard; charting total weight, total money earned, and % lost since last weigh-in (denominated in dollars as it’s a US based app), it takes gamification to new heights.

Available on iOS and Android.

Verdict: providing that you are committed to losing weight, this could work for you. While the initial payment may put some users off, these are capped for ‘public’ challenges and the app guarantees that you won’t lose money if you are successful.

Pact

Pact rewards you for healthy living, giving you points for exercising (GymPact), eating more fruit and veg (VeggiePact), and tracking what you eat (Food Logging Pact). Users set themselves weekly pacts where they commit to challenges, such as eating 20 portions of vegetables, or running a certain amount of times a week.

Rewards are based on the number of days committed and completed in your Pact. If you meet your Pact, you get a cash reward for each day committed, paid for by those who didn’t make it. These rewards generally range from $0.30 to $5 per week, depending on the number of activities committed. If you don’t manage to complete a Pact, the app charges you an agreed amount. So, if you don’t want to pay up, you have to take it seriously.

Available on iOS and Android.

Verdict: a must-have for those who value accountability.

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