Earlier this year, I decided to give up cable to simplify my life and save $120 a month. I don't watch much TV, and when I do, it's sports. But with so little time, I watch the condensed 10-minute highlights on YouTube for free.
Around the same time, I decided not to renew my Bay Club sports membership. The renewal would have run about $2,500, paid upfront for the next 13 months. I had just spent $1,700 fixing my car and didn't feel like writing another big check so soon.
Great Life Benefits
In hindsight, I probably should have renewed. 2025 was a strong year in the stock market, so the money was there. And the value of a sports club membership goes well beyond the monthly fee.
The health and social benefits are real. The more friends and connections you have, the happier you tend to be. And I'd met dozens of new people at the Bay Club playing tennis and pickleball.
The self-confidence that comes from consistently working out, feeling better, and looking better compounds over time. And when you're thinking about longevity, a sports club membership starts to look less like a luxury and more like preventive medicine.
That said, I was already a member of another sports club, a tennis club 15 minutes away, for about $300 a month. And since you can't be in two places at once, I had been neglecting it. Paying for both just felt wasteful.
Why I Joined Two Sports Clubs in the First Place
The Bay Club offered something my tennis club didn't: a pool and indoor courts. Both are essential during rainy winter months. My tennis club has no pool or jacuzzi, which meant no teaching my kids to swim.
Teaching your children to swim is one of those non-negotiable parenting responsibilities. Drowning is a top-three cause of death for children under five, so survival is the first reason. But beyond safety, I wanted them to at least know freestyle and breaststroke, a basic life skill.
Every Sunday, I'd drive 35 minutes south to the Bay Club at Redwood Shores. We'd spend from about 10 AM to 1 PM in the pool area, followed by 45 – 60 minutes of tennis, then some reading and lunch. These “Sunday Daddy Day Camps” ran five to six hours – great quality time with the kids, and a nice break for my wife to do her own thing. But they are exhausting too.
Having children is a great way to spend down your wealth. If we didn't have children, I wouldn't have become a member
Feeling the Regret Of Not Renewing
After not renewing in January (my membership ran through end of April), I started feeling some regret. The stock market had just experienced another sharp, V-shaped selloff and recovery.
Yes, it had annoyed me when the Bay Club raised the children's guest fee from $15 to $25 a year prior. But $51.50 per Sunday (including the credit card processing fee) to access a calm, spacious pool for teaching? That was a price I'd been willing to pay.
So I reached out to my pod membership leader to ask about rejoining. Unfortunately, she told me my spot had been filled. Bummer. I shouldn't have let it go. Isn't it funny how we want more of something we can't have?
I was going to keep inquiring about re-joining when I got an email update from the Bay Club that stopped me cold.
The Guest Fees Are Going Way Up
The email arrived with the usual upbeat framing:
“As we head into peak season, our focus is simple: protect and enhance your experience, so you can enjoy every moment of summer with your community.”
Halfway down, it said that guest fees were going up, from $25 to $75 – $100 for all ages. Holy moly!
That means taking my two kids swimming on a Sunday would cost $204 (including the credit card processing fee), before factoring in 35 minutes of driving each way and about $16 in gas. We're now talking $220 per swim session. For that price, I can find a closer and cheaper option.
It already takes motivation to drive so far and back on a Sunday. But to then arrive and have to pay $204 in guest fees seems outrageous. I was happy to save time and money on gas with the Iran war still going on.
Life Is One Long Economics Lesson
I had been deliberating rejoining for a couple months. However, seeing that fee increase made me feel great about walking away. There was no doubt in my mind, compared to if the guest fee had only gone up another $10 per person. And it gave me a perfect teaching moment with my kids.
The first lesson: nothing good lasts forever. All those Sunday mornings at the Bay Club for the past 2.5 years – swimming, playing, having lunch together – are now over. Appreciate what you have while you have it, because time accelerates the older you get.
The second lesson: how businesses work. When a private equity firm buys a business, their mandate is to maximize returns. That means raising prices right before demand falls enough to hurt profitability. Understanding this dynamic matters, whether you're a consumer, an investor, or a business owner yourself. We want to own the assets where prices keep rising, such as your primary residence, not be stuck paying forever rising prices.
The third lesson: substitution and opportunity cost. When prices rise sharply, rational consumers find alternatives. I asked my kids directly: pay $880 a month to swim at the Bay Club, or do something else closer to home? They didn't hesitate. Save the money, they said. That's exactly the same logic I applied to food spending when prices surged during COVID. When something gets too expensive, reduce consumption and find substitutes. The benefit was weight maintenance and loss.
A Bullish Indicator For Investors
Raising guest fees this aggressively only makes sense if demand is extremely strong. The Bay Club isn't doing this to drive people away. They've run the numbers and believe their members can absorb it.
If families are willingly paying $100 per guest at a private sports club, consumer confidence is alive and well. These are not people worried about their jobs or their portfolios. They are spending freely on discretionary luxuries, which is exactly what a healthy economy looks like from the ground level.
Private clubs are a leading indicator most economists ignore. When people feel flush, they join. When they feel squeezed, they cancel. The Bay Club raising fees rather than freezing them suggests their membership base is holding strong. That's worth paying attention to.
As an investor, put emphasis on what people do with their money, not what they say.
What's Next
When one chapter closes, another opens. We'll lean back into soccer and basketball – both essentially free, since we already have the equipment and public courts and fields are everywhere. Maybe we'll invest more time in music: singing, guitar, piano.
There's no shortage of things kids can do that don't require expensive club memberships. And when we're in Honolulu for a month this summer, there's a free community pool two blocks from our house. The Everline Resort in Lake Tahoe has pools too.
As for me, I'm looking forward to refocusing on my tennis club, where I've been a member for 15 years. I'd been taking a break after a knee injury and spending more time with the kids, but it's time to get back on the court.
Thinking About Joining a Sports Club? Here's How to Decide
If you're weighing a sports club membership, especially after a strong investment year or a milestone like having kids, here's a practical framework for thinking it through.
The case for joining (and spending more than you think you should):
As you get older, the return on health and social investment compounds. The cost of not staying active (in medical bills, lost energy, and reduced quality of life) tends to far exceed the membership fee. If you've had a good year in the market, a sports club is one of the better luxury expenses to enjoy your gains. Health and social connection are long-term assets.
What you should actually pay:
A reasonable rule of thumb: your sports club membership shouldn't exceed 1–2% of your gross monthly income. For most people, that means somewhere between $50 and $500 per month is defensible. Beyond that, you're likely paying for brand and status as much as for access.
Watch out for add-on costs. Guest fees, court booking fees, and processing charges can quietly double your effective monthly cost. Build those into your estimate before signing.
Red flags to watch for:
Aggressive fee increases year after year are a signal that ownership is optimizing for revenue over member experience. If a club is doing this, it may be time to shop alternatives.
The substitution test:
Before renewing, ask yourself: what would I do with this money if I didn't spend it here? Public pools, community tennis courts, recreation centers, and school gyms are dramatically underused and often excellent. The best club in the world isn't worth it if there's a great public alternative five minutes away.
The bottom line: if you can afford it, a good sports club is almost always worth it, especially when you have kids at home and years of active life ahead of you. Just make sure you're getting what you pay for, and stay alert to when the value equation quietly shifts against you.
Readers, are you noticing a rapid increase in membership and guest fees for your sports club and other activities? Could it be a highly positive sign of a strong economy and increasingly affluent consumers?
Track Your Finances To Keep Lifestyle Inflation In Check
When membership dues, guest fees, and everyday activity costs keep rising, it pays to know exactly where your money is going. Empower offers free financial tools to track your net worth, monitor cash flow, and analyze your investments all in one place. I’ve used their dashboard since leaving my day job in 2012, and it remains part of my regular routine.
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The more clarity you have over your finances, the easier it is to cut wasteful spending, invest with confidence, and build more freedom.
Here’s a post sharing how my free Empower financial review went, along with a current giveaway of my signed bestseller, Millionaire Milestones, once you complete yours. They are all first edition copies.
I’ve never been much of sports club membership guy. When I was in my 20s a few decades ago, I joined an athletic club for a while, but I was so busy with work and college that I didn’t have much time to go. The only time I could go was after 7pm, which eventually became a drag. The funny part was, I was in the best shape of my life. I’d ride my bike to classes and then back home because it was actually faster that taking the city bus. I lived in Seattle and there were lots of thigh-burner hills both directions… lol.
I also bought some free weights and did a routine in my apartment and played sports with friends at the city park.
Flash forward to more recent times. Our two adult sons are fitness gurus and used to go to the gym several times a week. Eventually they decided that was too expensive, so they invested about $2K in a weight lifting cage. Aside from the upfront cost, it saves fuel and drive time to the gym and the monthly fees. They actually work-out everyday and it’s just a short walk over to our outbuilding “private gym”.
I bought a rowing machine and did that everyday until my wife and moved to another state. We’re headed back to our old home in a couple of weeks and I’m definitely bringing the rowing machine back with me!
I’ve been contemplating joining a private club for my daughter’s hockey program. I thought I would check it out by paying the inflated fees (for the public ) for Spring skating training. I think my daughter and one other kid are the only non members in that program. The coaching quality is excellent but I was kind of turned off listening to other parents jockeying in the viewing gallery. And the insular effect of the club suddenly seemed kind of dangerous.
It was interesting to see that she was still doing comparatively well, even though she has been playing in the public program for the last 2 years. For now, we will stick to picking up training in the off season at the club.
For swimming, 2 of my kids have been splitting a private coach with 1 other child at the home of said child over the last 8 months. This has been a superb arrangement and I was so fortunate the parents offered to do this with us. I will continue it as long as the other parents permit,, since it is their private facility. It was $75 a lesson for both of my kids, which is about the cost of a private at the public pool- except our kids are friends and it allowed for a much better social interaction. Once this expires, it will probably be back to the public pool, but at least they have a solid foundation.
I’ve been investing in my home gym recently and am assembling everything tomorrow. $5k to build with everything I need for cardio + strength training and great workouts. Power rack, cable machine, barbells and plates, and a Peloton bike which I’ve owned, used, and loved for three years now. Of course, I lose the social benefit of a gym membership, but I’ll recoup my investment over time just by using the equipment. And as a parent of a toddler, this will remove some of the friction of getting my workouts done consistently. My wife will also use the home gym so that saves us on two memberships. That plus working from home and this seems like a winning combo to invest in my health!
As always, love your weekly content and I’ve been an avid reader of the blog since 2018.
Drew
oh wow what a steep jump in fees. Maybe it’s there way of trying to incentivize one person members to upgrade to couples memberships or family memberships for better “value” than paying costly guest fees. But in your case it backfired because you’re going elsewhere for lower cost alternatives! I was never good at using club memberships when I had them. I was always active the first month and then my usage dwindled down to nothing so I always ended up cancelling after six months or so. Hopefully you’ll find some nice alternative options that aren’t so far away. And I love that your kids said save the money!
Not sure about California but my mother lives in Ohio and as part of her Medicare Advantage plan she receives a free membership to the local YMCA which actually has a good gym, a great indoor pool and frequent classes. She turns 92 this year and I attribute much of her good health to those exercise classes. She lives alone and still drives (like a maniac, rather than a little old lady!). I know you are not yet in that age group but it is a good option for the elderly without having to spend on a more expensive private club.
Check out the gym at Canada College on 280. It is a beautiful facility and very reasonably priced.