to think that if you can afford £120 a month for a jym membership, plus extra for various classes/lessons, you can't really claim to be hard-up?

[wannaBe]

My sister is always pleading poverty. In fact my mum is always pleading poverty on her behalf.

They do both have to work in order to survive, they have two cars, a fairly big mortgage and still have to pay for their youngest ds' childcare, so i realize that they do have signifficant outgoings.

However, we are fortunate in that my dh does earn a good salary. However, she constantly throws this in my face by saying things like "if I had your money I would have x/y/2... well you obviously earn loads of money so you can afford to/should do xyz". And then I have my mum telling me just how difficult things are for her.

But...

She has recently joined the most exclusive health club in town. And the membership for this health club is £120 a month. Plus she has signed her kids up to various swimming less/other sports which cost extra in addition to the £120 a month. So all in all she is paying out nearly £200 in health club memberships/various lessons for the kids.

Now obviously it's her money and she is entitled to spend it on whatever she wants. But to then claim to be poor is just a bit IMO. After all a jym membership is a luxury, no? And even if going to the jym makes you feel good about yourself/your image etc, there are much cheaper jyms one could go to which are a quarter of that price.

But she really isn't hard-up, is she?

(for the record I know she doesn't have lots of debt/credit card bills etc).

she's not hard up - she's just not as rich as she wants to be...

Being hard up is having to cut back on food/bills due to the increases in prices - not splashing out over £1400 a year on gym membership!!

hard-up is deciding which is more important- heating or food (and its always food)

wish i had £1400 to spend on any extras!!

You could as well be discussing my SIL - poor XXXX. She has 2 gym memberships, and is off to climb Mount Kilamanjaro this summer. But is too broke to pay for childcare (MIL does it) or anything else.

I had to cancel my gym membership recently because we can't afford it any more. Mine was only £37 a month....must be some gym for £120!!!

broke is having cold sweats in the queue in lidl in case you don't have enough money.

broke is having to choose between your first night out in 6 months or your first new pair of pants in a year and realising after deliberating for 3 hours that actually you forgot about the car payments/rent/electricity and can't have either

broke is actually having to go without a few treats to pay for community playschool for your child

broke is needing things and not being able to afford them, not wanting things and not getting them

further to pinktulips- broke is the pair of you diving down the back of the sofa to find enough 2p's to buy 1 pint of milk

are you sure even golf clubs are less than that

i have never heard of a gym costing that much

between myself and partner we pay £100 a month. We are skint but it is a very family orientated health club and as used frequently provides cheap alternatives to family days out, yes kids do other free activities 2 but It has a free soft play, has brought on sons swimming no end and gives us opportunity to do something as a family we enjoy whilst getting fit and healthy

Zippi that rings a bell. I worked in canary wharf until I popped a sprog and my wanky colleagues were always fond of telling me that they went to the most expensive gym in the country, the reebok one in canary wharf

I can't believe that my collegues had missed a trick and there was a more expensive gym they could have been going to all along.

Oh £99 a month BTW. If this is not in fact the most expensive gym, please tell me, I would really enjoy relaying that information!

£120 per month was pretty much what my membership at Holmes Place Kensington was, like 7 years ago. (terrific pool too) That was a company benefit, I didnt pay for that. All I knew was that it was £1400 per year as a taxable benefit.

the £120 is a family membership, it is at

this one

But while their pool is excellent/there are lots of facilities for the children etc, the swimming/tennis/other classes all cost extra on top of your membership fee.

Even a single person membership is about £60.

Obviously their money and they can spend it when and where they want, but I resent the constant snipes that "if I had your money/not everyone can afford xxx like you can" when actually she could afford things if she didn't pay out so much but she has chosen to have an expensive jym membership at the expense of all the other things she "can't" afford.

You should say, "Well, I would prefer these things to a card in my purse that I rarely let see daylight for the gym!"