There’s a spate of new fitness apps that dangle cash and prizes as motivation to do what you should be doing anyway. I am inertia personified, so I’m not going to knock anything that gets me off my ass.
There are apps that really put the fiscal screws to you in the form of straight up bribery. If you fail to meet your goals, you lose cold hard cash that you’ve put in to wager against yourself. That’s what gym memberships are for, silly app designers! Those apps do pay impressive dividends if you can hit your self-imposed quotas, but this is way too much monetary pressure for your average Broke-ass, so I’m going to have to give those a hard pass.
Then there are apps like Sweatcoin. They are 100% free to join and you earn “sweatcoins” which you can cash out for gift cards, products, or services. It’s not cash, but you’re not required to make any cash outlays either. Sweatcoins are equivalent to about .013¢ (you need 3650 of them to get a $50 Amazon gift card). I know, I know… that’s not much, but on the free level it’s something for nothing but a couple of walks around the block.
The other catch is that the free Mover level caps out at $150 sweatcoins a month, no matter how many marathons you run. You can however roll over those sweatcoins into paying for a higher level plan. The next level, Shaker maxes out at 300 (cost – $4.75/month), Quaker – 450 ($20/month), and Breaker – 600 ($30/month).
You already know that I’m not coming out of pocket for any of the higher earning levels, no matter how motivated I get. Getting fit is the endgame. Getting an Amazon gift card is just a nice perk.
The other downside is that it’s a battery killer. You have to keep it running in the background all day long in order to track your movement. And it’s also limited to outdoor activities so that treadmill in the corner of your bedroom that doubles as a clothes hanger… not going to count.
Boy, I’m not really selling this app, am I? I just downloaded it, so I’ll update when I actually earn something worthwhile. You can also track any notable progress on my Instagram: @Brokeasssocialite. Follow me if you already don’t! I post free stuff there more frequently. Wish me luck!
Broke-ass Socialite™ 
It’s good to see you being honest and straightforward with these fitness app reviews. There are plenty out there and many are just trying to swindle money out of the user.
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The gambling ones really bother me. They seem stressful rather than motivating and could foster some bad behaviors in some people.
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