Be honest. How often do you pay to avoid physical activity and then pay again to reintroduce it?
- People pay Uber drivers, Door-dashers, and dog walkers to spare themselves from walking a couple miles. Then they pay again to walk those miles on a treadmill.
- People pay others to mow grass, rake leaves, shovel snow, etc. Then they pay again to do exercises that involve the same movements.
- People pay to send their kids to sedentary activities. Then they pay again to enroll the kids in some sort of compensatory, structured exercise routine.
Paying to save some time or effort is not irrational. But we often pay again to spend that “saved” time and effort doing what we already paid someone else to do. Paying twice? Without net savings of time or effort? That might be irrational.
In this post, I’ll elaborate on the issue, argue that we can do something about it, respond to a few objections, propose some experiments, and ask for your input.
1. A Convenience Tax
This economy of avoided effort has many of us double-paying for more than just health and exercise. You can probably imagine how other paid conveniences can ultimately cost us skill, relationships, or recreation. So even if you are somehow not worried about money or health, the shortcut industry may still be double-charging you in some other way.
I’m not suggesting that everyone can (or should) bike everywhere, cook every meal, or do all their own home maintenance. Some people just can’t. And it can be unsafe, unrealistic, or unwise to attempt skilled labor without training or supervision. But many of us can probably reclaim pockets of needed exercise without much sacrifice, if we notice some patterns.
- Transportation. We avoid 20 to 30 minutes of walking, taking the stairs, etc. Then we allot that much time to “work out” later. But do we end up paying extra for memberships, equipment, apparel, laundry, or travel to and from a gym?
- Home. We outsource mowing, raking, shoveling, cleaning, and basic upkeep. Then we pay for dedicated exercise that routine physical labor would have provided.
- Food. We trade simple, inexpensive, healthy home-cooked food for junk from a factory, drive-through, or delivery service. Then we pay even more for “healthier” prepared food to compensate for what convenience did to our appetite, energy, and body composition.
Once you notice how convenience can cause double-payment, you may see it everywhere.
2. The Activity Dividend
When you do more of your own physical labor — your own commuting, carrying, pushing, pulling, cooking — you yield health from the labor you were going to buy. You also get better at things that keep paying you back: fixing things around the house, cooking meals, or gardening without tweaking your back, walking a mile without even thinking about it. These are not chores instead of exercises; they are exercises that get things done.
And sometimes the dividend is literal money. Obviously. But you can also gain resilience: less unexpected stress when the app crashes or the people don’t show up. You may even gain some independence: you will be more able to maintain your home and complete seasonal chores without the rigmarole of finding a trustworthy handyman. And you can gain time together, if walking or working with family or friends can replace some convenience.
3. It’s About Agency, Not Virtue
I am not trying to moralize the issue. That is a dead end. If double-paying for healthy habits is a “failure”, then our environment may be part of the failure. Examples:
- Many municipalities in the United States prioritize vehicles so much that pedestrians and bicyclists seem like second-class citizens by comparison. (Kudos to the cities who realize the return on investment in sidewalks, bike lanes, fitness courts, and other healthcare-saving infrastructure!)
- Many modern buildings prioritize people movers so much that the walkable routes or stairwells are hard to find — some seem to be only for emergencies. (Props to airports like Atlanta’s that inform me how long it would take to walk between terminals. The free museum of history and art is a nice bonus!)
If the path of least resistance leads to double-paying for healthy habits, then the path is part of the problem. But we can often choose our own path, change the path, or help people find a better path.
4. Objections
I foresee plenty of reasonable objections. This proposal is not for all people in all circumstances. However, some objections merit a reply.
- “I don’t have time.” I know. That is part of my point: sometimes our lack of time is caused by trading time in funny ways. Many conveniences only feel like they save time because they hide or defer costs (fees, subscriptions, health issues, more healthcare, and time-sucking bureaucracy).
- “My neighborhood sucks.” That matters, but you may find opportunity swaps elsewhere: indoor stair breaks at work, walking meetings, parking farther away, etc.
- “Bro. I love the gym!” Great! Keep it up. The goal is not to purge joy; it’s to notice where you’ve been paying to remove needed exercise that you don’t hate.
5. Experiments
I’m not proposing you cancel everything, but I do recommend small experiments. Minor adjustments to your default or status quo can go a long way: a few walks instead of rides, a few chores instead of classes, a few home-cooked meals instead of prepared meals. For many of us, these simple swaps could be the cheapest health plan available.
Here are some experiments and principles that I have tried or heard about, often with surprisingly positive results.
- Replace rather than add. Swap one weekly short car ride with a walk or bike or carry your luggage around airports (even if it has wheels). Of course, if these swaps don’t actually replace a planned workout, then that workout is still worth it.
- Bundle exercise and relationships. Call a friend while you walk. Walk the dog twice as long and skip a scrolling session. Move conversations off the couch. (Did I mention walking meetings?)
- Take back a domestic task. Mow grass, rake leaves, shovel snow, prune bushes. Clean the house more often; you won’t regret it. Track how you feel or what you save each month.
- Cook a simple meal each week. Oatmeal with fruit. Beans and rice. Veggies on pasta. Admit it; the internet has shown you how to do more complicated things. Notice what you like or dislike and adjust the recipes. Savor the satiety. Try daily cooking.
- Make the hard things easier. Leave exercise shoes by the door so its easy to opt in to a walk or run. Velcro a cheap pump and patch kit to your bike so you’re always ready for a ride. Get a hand reel lawn mower so that you can always cut the grass without having to gas up, charge, or plug in.
If an experiment clearly makes life worse, then stop. The goal is not miserable frugality; the point is that when money and time are in short supply, we should at least consider whether we are double-paying or overpaying for conveniences that ultimately undermine our goals, such as health.
Tell us about you experience: If you’ve tried swaps like these, what worked? What stuck? What failed? And what surprised you?
