At the time of writing I am just over three weeks away from climbing (or at least, attempting) Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain.

I’m climbing in aid of Marie Curie who looked after my mum when she had terminal cancer in 2013/14. You can find my Justgiving page here.

LISTEN NOW: Ed & Myron’s monthly money episode two –  Mortgage rates, the cost of Kilimanjaro and New Year’s financial resolutions

It has been quite a mission to prepare physically, emotionally and financially for the climb. It is not unfair to say the trip has set me back rather more than I had anticipated.

Some of the costs range from the surprising to the absurd. And while I have yet to actually take the trip, here are some of the biggest lessons I’ve taken away for anyone who is thinking of trekking to the ‘Roof of Africa’.

1. Book local

Researching tour companies online that can organise your trip generally brings up a host of local options. For the UK this means priced in pounds, operators based out of the UK.

But if you choose a Tanzania-based tour company instead, you’ll immediately realise you’re getting around a 20% discount on the price.

The simple fact is if you book with a UK-based agency all you’re doing is paying a big commission to them to then arrange with a local operator. So go direct to a Tanzanian firm.

I will caveat a couple things here though. Tanzanian companies quote prices in US dollars typically, so ensure you pay with a credit card, that has low fees on foreign exchange (and pay it off straight away), to get the Section 75 protection.

You are also taking more of a risk using a foreign tour operator because it won’t have UK travel industry protections such as ATOL or ABTA. But canny use of a credit card as mentioned above will afford you some protection. Make sure you do your research and try to book a reputable agency.

A good place to start is the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project which looks after the welfare of the porters that make the climb possible. It has a list of approved partner operators both in Tanzania and around the world.

I also recommend the linked guide book by Henry Stedman which I found very useful for tour operator reviews and other essential info for the Kilimanjaro experience.

2. Make careful gear choices

Packing for Kilimanjaro is really tricky. On your first day you’re walking through humid rainforest. By the last day you’re in what is effectively an Arctic wasteland in ecological terms. The temptation to buy loads of gear (gear acquisition syndrome or G.A.S) is real.

During my preparations and practice for the climb I’ve spent too much money on gear I ultimately don’t want to use, such as trekking poles, and boots that gave me blisters. I also bought a mid-price raincoat which turned out to be useless when it got very wet.

Both these decisions ended up costing me more because I then had to buy more expensive, better items that actually did the job. The old adage buy nice or buy twice applies. Make sure you do your research and get quality stuff you can use for life.

Plus, you only get 15 kilos of luggage (on top of what you can carry on your back) which seems like plenty but is not actually a lot once you factor big stuff like a sleeping bag.

Sleeping bags that match the -15-degree cold are also generally really pricey, so renting one in Moshi, the town below the mountain, is possible for a cheaper price.

3. Prepare for unexpected costs

There’s all sorts of things you will end up spending money on that will rack up the costs.

I’ve had to spend £150 updating my vaccines, which was much more than anticipated. Then you have to buy two weeks’ worth of malaria medication, altitude medication and other items I hadn’t really ever considered I’d need.

We also decided to go via Nairobi in Kenya as the flights were much cheaper (around £300 at the time of booking) than to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. While it is saving us money, we’ve had to spend extra on visas, transport and other stuff which has meant the saving isn’t as great as initially expected.

The key is to plan your trip well in advance and begin saving for it really early. Having cash on hand for unexpected stuff that crops up is key.

This is also important because you’ll have to get US dollars cash beforehand in order to tip the porters and guides who help you climb the mountain. Exchanging cash is generally cheaper than using a credit card as long as you shop around for a good rate.

4. Find the right travel insurance

If you have a standard annual travel insurance policy, it most likely will not cover you for Kilimanjaro. Generally speaking, these policies have limits on the altitude to which they will cover (typically 4,000 metres).

You will need a specialist policy to ensure you’re covered for the mountain. The good news is that Kilimanjaro isn’t a ‘technical’ climb – in other words you don’t need crampons, ice picks or climbing gear – so the cost of the policy should be less than a serious ‘expedition’ policy.

But if you fall ill with altitude sickness, or break your leg on the mountain, and aren’t covered then you could be facing a major bill for the helicopter that evacuates you.

Enjoy the hike

I’m nervous and excited to get started with what should be the trip of a lifetime. The honest truth is the cost has been tough to absorb, but hopefully worth it for the experience.

All in, flights, tour, gear, and other ancillaries I anticipate the whole endeavour will probably be setting me back around £3,500. That breaks down as follows:

• Tour: £1,700
• Flights: £700
• Gear, medications and other kit: £600(ish)
• Dollars for tip (and other bits such as local transport): £500

I have spent too much money on gear, but feel I have been able to plan and save in other areas such as the tour and flights.

The key has been to be as organised as possible, make a spreadsheet and anticipate as much as you can while saving money as early as possible.

Photo credits: Pexels

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Playing sport can be expensive for anyone. For aspiring professional athletes it can cost over £7,000 per year, according to a survey conducted by SportsAid.

But with tongue-in-cheek internet memes rife about so-called “Project Mbappe” – where dads live vicariously through their kids pushing them to become the next superstar sportsperson – is it really an achievable task for normal families aspiring for their kids?

The cost typically falls on parents to fund. According to the same survey by SportsAid, over the past 12 months, parents in the UK spent more than £8 million funding their children’s sporting dreams.

The journey to the professional level where athletes may begin to get paid for their efforts is a long one, so parents should consider the financial ramifications of supporting their child’s sporting ambitions.

Even if they don’t move towards the elite level, ambitious and physically active children can rack up similar costs on grassroots sports. Having the potential costs in mind is really important for parents looking to plan ahead.

Equipment costs

First up, if you are the parent of a young child interested in sports, it is worth considering where the money might go. Equipment costs may make up a lot of your expenses, this could be sport-specific equipment, clothing and protective kit.

Some sports require specific equipment that can run into thousands of pounds. Individual sports also tend to cost more than team sports.

A basic set of golf clubs can cost upwards of £300 and can easily become much dearer once you reach higher levels of the sport.

Membership fees

Membership fees which typically cover coaching and facilities costs are next on the list of expenditures.

These are usual across all sports but can be significant in youth performance sport that comes with increased training and coaching. For example, some county cricket clubs charge fees as much as £750 per season according to a report in The Times.

Facility costs are passed on through membership fees and these have skyrocketed recently for sports with water or floodlights, particularly as the cost-of-living crisis has sent energy bills skyrocketing for clubs as well as households.

Some sports additionally have a large ‘private coaching’ market. This is common in football where parents frequently pay for one-on-one coaching.  Coaching platform Couachability puts the cost of personal football coaching at anywhere between £30 and £55 an hour.

Other big costs to consider

Equipment and membership are the most easily calculable expenses when it comes to sport, but other costs which are less predictable are also important. These include:

Travel: you should be considering travel expenses. SportsAid data suggests this can get into hundreds of miles per week and quickly becomes the largest annual cost. You can also add the occasional accommodation cost perhaps for training camps or tournaments away.

Nutrition: Food costs can be higher with sporting diets too as your kids need unpredictable food – think packed lunches, or additional food costs at camps or training programs.

Seasonality: Sports run on seasons, so costs will fluctuate depending on the time of year. A new season means new kit and membership fees. For winter team sports such as rugby and football this coincides with the start of the school term, so it is worth planning around what might already be a tricky time financially.

Better = pricier

From the start of a child’s sporting journey costs will likely increase if your they continue to progress along their sporting pathway year on year. The better your child does, the more it may cost, particularly if they join bigger and more professionalised organisations!

Those costs will typically build up further with increased time at training and increased travel distances which means more money to be spent on travel, equipment, and food. This may continue until their late teens or early twenties depending on the sport, at which point sport teams or bodies may start to cover some costs.

Although the Project Mbappe meme is generally poking fun at the idea of a parent pushing their kid to become a sporting superstar, it is really important to step back from the view that you can ‘invest’ in your child and expect some form of future return on that investment.

This places undue pressure on your financial input and the child to perform some sort of sporting wizardry they may not ultimately be capable of. At the end of the day getting your kids involved in sport should be about fun, good health and fitness and creating a lasting shared bond with them through the activities.

Years of costs for your kids to play sports could ultimately come at the expense of a big chunk of family income but it needn’t be a burden. Making a financial plan to meet those needs is critical to get the best out of that time with your budding sports star.

Photo by Kampus Production

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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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