Looking for an affordable way to work out in the winter when it’s too cold to jog outside? Unless you’re one of those lucky few employees that have an in-house gym in the building or a gym in your apartment building, you’ve probably considered forking over a hefty monthly fee for a gym membership. However, if you’re willing to forgo a few amenities, you could get a great deal for a whole lot less.

I got quite the shock a few months ago when I looked into a gym membership at the McBurney YMCA and found out that it costs a shocking $86 a month with a $125 initiation fee – all this coming from the Y! Considering the fact that I don’t have a grand a year to lay down on using the elliptical machine a couple of times a week, I started searching for other options.

What I found was a number of options available for alumni members of colleges – and their partners. For instance, my significant other is an alumni of Brooklyn College, and he pays just $150 a year to use their facilities, while I get to use it for free when I come with him. We split the annual fee and spend a whopping $6.25 per month on our gym membership. It’s not as fancy as NY Health and Racquet, and we don’t get fresh towels to use, but with our $80 monthly savings I can buy more than enough towels to wipe my brow.

Check out our listing below of schools in the NYC area that have alumni gym programs:



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