The joy of going to the pool more to feel like I’m getting my moneys worth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You never studied "sunk cost" in economics class in college?

Pun right? Haha.

I did, but who cares? I like swimming and I like feeling like I’m getting more bang for buck when we go a lot. Money is irrational, or at least how people feel about it is. (Op here)

[Anonymous]

We pay $800/summer. We went once with 3 people, DD went once with a friend, DH went once to swim laps.

I cringe thinking about the cost per visit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You can get a MoCo county swim pass for $300 for 2 adults and up to 8 kids. Or $550 for the whole year and can visit any county pool as many tomes as you like. Or $70 for 12 visits punch card.
https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/rec/memberships/aquaticpasses.html

That's great but the commute is a cost in money and time compared to neighborhood pool where short visits are easy to schedule and teens can go alone.

Not to mention most DCUM neighborhood pools are much nicer than the county pools.

[Anonymous]

I could have written this post myself! I keep track of the number of visits on a calendar for the year, and also note when I don’t visit and the reason. I’m a family of 5 and we try to visit every day after work, so typically from 5 or 6pm to closing at 9pm. We love the pool! We have pool friends that we only see during the summer and it’s a great way to get my cost per visit down and the kids off the screens. Win-win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our pool costs $1100. There's no way we're getting our money's worth.

Wow. Every year?

We just joined a few years ago. The initial fee was $625 and that’s all. Still a good amount of money but not as much as some are mentioning. Each year after that we pay annual dues which has been less than that so far. We go quite often.

Ours is $800.

$800 to join or annual dues?

Annual dues. I think it’s worth it for the socialization. I won’t turn down a vacation or family visit just to spend more time at the pool but I try to go on the weekend otherwise to maximize my $!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100 visits? You have to be a SAHM.

What is wrong with being a SAHM? I've done both and going to work is much easier!

[Anonymous]

No, this isn’t a thing

[Anonymous]

OP, I join the (not in DCUM land) Y every summer. I subtract the cost of a daily pass from what I paid every time I visit. It gives me great joy to bring the number into the negative numbers. My membership is totally worth what I pay, but I love seeing that number drop lower and lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our pool costs $1100. There's no way we're getting our money's worth.

Wow. Every year?

We just joined a few years ago. The initial fee was $625 and that’s all. Still a good amount of money but not as much as some are mentioning. Each year after that we pay annual dues which has been less than that so far. We go quite often.

Ours is $800.

$800 to join or annual dues?

Annual dues. I think it’s worth it for the socialization. I won’t turn down a vacation or family visit just to spend more time at the pool but I try to go on the weekend otherwise to maximize my $!

I think that's one of the highest amounts I've heard of.

[Anonymous]

You seem maniacally justifying your things. You had a good pool happy hour tonight I assume?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:100 visits? You have to be a SAHM.

Many neighborhood pools are open from 6:30 am (for lap swim) until 9 pm at night. So it's possible to go early or late.

We have plenty of people at our neighborhood pool that go almost daily -- it's a fun activity for kids in the evening.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else feel a sense of satisfaction when you go to the pool more and feel the price per visit per family member amount dropping? We are a rental this yr which isn’t cheap (850 ugh) but as we approach the 100 visit mark it’s feeling more and more worth it. And oddly enough, knowing we paid so much for it makes me hustle to get us to all go more, which is only a win for exercise.

It’s irrational bc the amount we’ve spent is the same whether we go 120 times collectively this summer or if we only went a few times, but I am cheap and the type of person who looks fwd to my mortgage ending some day so I can feel the satisfaction of living “free.” (I know, I know it’s not really free) gotta get that bang for the buck.

That said, with the upfront cost of joining a private pool here, membership, or paying for a rental, I understand why swimming is such an unequal pastime and so many Americans can’t swim (not even to mention Jim Crow segregation and how they chose to close or defund public pools out of refusal to integrate). Even public rec swimming is $10 or so per person per visit, so say you take 3 kids it’d be 40 a visit, which is painful to want to plunk down repeatedly. The upfront big $600 to 900 fee due in May fee is painful at the time to send in, but then you have the psychological comfort of having already paid so now you just enjoy it and in our case, it makes us want to use it more, which helps my kids swim better and facilitates inequality. That is great that pools are free in DC I believe. (We are in nova, classic pool founded in 1960s when white Virginians were resisting integration en masse)

If I’m ever so hard up for money that I have to make myself miserable by counting visits to the pool, I don’t know what I’ll do. I hope you don’t say this out loud to anyone you know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone else feel a sense of satisfaction when you go to the pool more and feel the price per visit per family member amount dropping? We are a rental this yr which isn’t cheap (850 ugh) but as we approach the 100 visit mark it’s feeling more and more worth it. And oddly enough, knowing we paid so much for it makes me hustle to get us to all go more, which is only a win for exercise.

It’s irrational bc the amount we’ve spent is the same whether we go 120 times collectively this summer or if we only went a few times, but I am cheap and the type of person who looks fwd to my mortgage ending some day so I can feel the satisfaction of living “free.” (I know, I know it’s not really free) gotta get that bang for the buck.

That said, with the upfront cost of joining a private pool here, membership, or paying for a rental, I understand why swimming is such an unequal pastime and so many Americans can’t swim (not even to mention Jim Crow segregation and how they chose to close or defund public pools out of refusal to integrate). Even public rec swimming is $10 or so per person per visit, so say you take 3 kids it’d be 40 a visit, which is painful to want to plunk down repeatedly. The upfront big $600 to 900 fee due in May fee is painful at the time to send in, but then you have the psychological comfort of having already paid so now you just enjoy it and in our case, it makes us want to use it more, which helps my kids swim better and facilitates inequality. That is great that pools are free in DC I believe. (We are in nova, classic pool founded in 1960s when white Virginians were resisting integration en masse)

If I’m ever so hard up for money that I have to make myself miserable by counting visits to the pool, I don’t know what I’ll do. I hope you don’t say this out loud to anyone you know.

You sound kind of like a miserable person PP. OP sounds like they are just enjoying the little things in life. You don’t have to be poor to enjoy bargain shopping or feeling like you’re getting a better deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel the same way, though don’t have time to go a ton. It’s so expensive and I force everyone out to get out moneys worth. We may not join next year because we only went a handful of times and it didn’t add up

+ 1. Except, every year I say I won't join again, but then I do.

[Anonymous]

I paid $300 for a family pass to Montgomery County pools for the summer, and the only way my kids get me to go is by reminding me that we have to make that purchase worth it!

So from the lowly public pool, I get you, OP.