Earlier this year, I decided to ditch 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 short 10-minute highlights on YouTube for free.
Around the same time, I decided not to renew my Bay Club sports membership. The renovation will cost approximately $2,500, paid in advance over the next 13 months. I had just spent $1,700 repairing my car and didn’t feel like writing another big check so soon.
great life benefits
In hindsight, I probably should have upgraded. 2025 was a strong year for the stock market, so the money was there. And a sports club membership is worth much more than the monthly fee.
The health and social benefits are real. The more friends and connections you have, the happier you will be. And I met dozens of new people playing tennis and pickleball at the Bay Club.
The confidence that comes from consistently working out, feeling better, and looking better increases over time. And when you’re thinking about longevity, sports club memberships start to seem less like a luxury and more like preventative 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 was ignoring it. It seemed pointless to pay for both.
Why did I join 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 the rainy winter months. There is no pool or Jacuzzi at my tennis club, which means my kids won’t be taught how to swim.
Teaching your kids to swim is one of those non-negotiable responsibilities of parents. Drowning is the top three cause of death for children under five, so survival is the number one cause. But beyond safety, I wanted them to at least learn freestyle and breaststroke, which is a basic life skill.
Every Sunday, I would drive 35 minutes south to the Bay Club in Redwood Shores. We’ll spend 10am to 1pm in the pool area, followed by 45-60 minutes of tennis, then some reading and lunch. These “Sunday Daddy Day Camps” lasted five to six hours – great time with the kids, and a nice break for my wife to do her thing. But they are also tiring.
Having kids is a great way to spend your wealth. I wouldn’t be a member if we didn’t have kids
Feeling regretful about not renewing
After not renewing in January (my subscription ran until the end of April), I started to feel some regrets. The stock market has just experienced another sharp, V-shaped selloff and recovery.
Yes, it annoyed me when the Bay Club increased the children’s guest fee from $15 to $25 a year ago. But $51.50 per Sunday (including credit card processing fee) for tuition to access a cool, spacious pool? This was a price I was willing to pay.
So I reached out to my pod membership leader to ask about rejoining. Unfortunately, it told me that my spot was full. Bummer. I shouldn’t have let it go. Isn’t it funny how we want more of what we don’t have?
I was about to inquire about rejoining when I received an email update from the Bay Club that left me disappointed.
guest fees are increasing a lot
The email came with the usual upbeat framing:
“As we head into peak season, our focus is simple: protecting and enhancing your experience, so you can enjoy every moment of summer with your community.”
At the halfway point, it was said the guest fee was increasing from $25 to $75 – $100 for all ages. Holy moly!
That means it would cost $204 (including credit card processing fee) to take my two kids swimming on Sunday, which would include 35 minutes of driving each way and about $16 in gas. Now we’re talking $220 per swim session. For that price, I can find a closer and cheaper alternative.
Driving that far and back on a Sunday already requires motivation. But then coming and paying $204 in guest fees seems insulting. I was happy to save time and money on gas because the Iran war was still going on.
Life is a long lesson in economics
I’ve been considering rejoining for a few months. However, seeing that fee increase made me feel Great About walking away. There was no doubt in my mind it would have been better than if the guest fee had only increased by $10 per person. And it gave me a perfect teaching moment with my kids.
First lesson: Nothing good lasts forever. All the Sunday mornings at the Bay Club for the last 2.5 years – swimming, playing, having lunch together – are now over. Appreciate what you have, because as you get older, time speeds up.
Second lesson: How businesses work. When a private equity firm buys a business, their job is to maximize returns. This means raising prices just before demand declines, hurting profitability. Understanding this dynamic matters, whether you are a consumer, investor, or business owner. We want to own properties where prices keep rising, such as your primary residence, rather than paying ever-increasing prices.
Third lesson: Replacement and opportunity costs. When prices rise rapidly, rational consumers look for alternatives. I asked my kids directly: Pay $880 a month to swim at the Bay Club, or do something closer to home? He did not hesitate. He said, save money. This is exactly the same logic I applied to food spending when prices increased during COVID. When something becomes too expensive, reduce consumption and find alternatives. Its benefit was weight maintenance and loss.
A bullish indicator for investors
Increasing guest fees aggressively only makes sense if demand is extremely strong. The Bay Club is not doing this to turn 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 who are worried about their jobs or their portfolios. They are spending lavishly on discretionary luxuries, which at the grassroots level looks like a healthy economy.
Private clubs are a key indicator that most economists ignore. When people feel nervous, they get involved. When they feel pressured they cancel. The Bay Club’s decision to increase fees rather than freeze them shows that their membership base is strong. This is worth noting.
As an investor, focus on what people do with their money, not what they say.
what will happen next
When one chapter closes another opens. We will return to soccer and basketball – both are essentially free, because 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 were in Honolulu for a month this summer, there was a free community pool two blocks from our house. The Everline Resort at Lake Tahoe also has pools.
As for me, I am looking forward to focusing again on my tennis club, where I have been a member for 15 years. I was taking a break after my knee injury and spending more time with the kids, but now it’s time to get back on the court.
Thinking about joining a sports club? Here’s how to decide
If you’re considering a sports club membership, especially after a strong investment year or a milestone like having a child, here’s a practical framework to consider.
The Case for Joining (And It Should Cost More Than You Think):
The returns on health and social investments increase as you age. The cost of not being active (in medical bills, lost energy and reduced quality of life) far outweighs the membership fee. If you have had a good year in the market, a sports club is one of the better luxury expenses to enjoy your profits. Health and social relationships are long-term assets.
What you should really pay:
A good rule of thumb: Your sports club membership should not exceed 1-2% of your gross monthly income. For most people, this means somewhere between $50 and $500 per month is salvageable. Plus, you’re probably paying as much for brand and status as for reach.
Pay attention to additional costs. Guest fees, court booking fees and processing fees can quietly double your effective monthly costs. Include them in your estimate before signing.
Red flags to watch for:
Aggressive fee growth year over year is a sign that ownership is optimizing for revenue over member experience. If a club is doing this, it is time to buy the option.
Substitution Test:
Before you renew, 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 underutilized and often excellent. The best club in the world isn’t worth it if there’s a great public option five minutes away.
Bottom Line: If you can afford it, a good sports club is almost always worth it, especially when you have children at home and many years of an active life ahead of you. Just make sure you’re getting what you paid for, and be alert when the value equation quietly shifts against you.
Readers, are you seeing a rapid increase in membership and guest fees for your sports club and other activities? Could this be an extremely positive sign of a strong economy and increasingly affluent consumers?
Keep track of your finances to keep lifestyle inflation under control
When membership dues, guest fees and everyday activity costs keep rising, it’s helpful to know where your money is going. empowerment Provides 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 I left my day job in 2012, and it remains part of my regular routine.
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The more clarity you have about your finances, the easier it will be to cut back on wasteful spending, invest with confidence, and build more freedom.
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