I am a long-time reader/lurker, first-time poster.
I was fortunate to come across MMM right as I was starting my first job out of grad school so have a solid foundation already, but one bad decision I made pre-MMM lifestyle was signing up for a long-term gym membership that I am not using. I signed up for a 3-year term about 1.5 years ago. I got a pretty good monthly rate compared to other gyms in my area (20 per month) but of course had to sign up for 3 years to get that "deal." When I signed up, the contract has language that if I were to move I could cancel my contract with no penalty. I was about 90% sure I was going to be moving to another state after the winter months, but ultimately did not move. Now I am stuck with the gym charging me 20 per month until November 2015, and I am hardly using it because since adopting MMM lifestyle I don't want to drive my car to the gym and have tried to exercise outdoors as much as possible.
Here is the kicker: the contract I signed says "I understand that my membership is non-cancellable", except the provision about moving to a different area. So I've understood my only options to be
a) to pay $360 to get out of the contract today, which amount is the remaining balance owed (18 months x 20 dollars per month)
b) continue to pay $20 per month and attempt to get some use out of the gym membership in the time remaining
I did get married during the first year of this contract and attempted to get the gym to cancel my existing contract if I signed up for some other shorter-term option that would allow my wife to join, but the gym declined, showcasing their inflexibility.
Has anyone else had any luck getting out of a similar contract without the financial penalty? Or have suggestions for what I could do? Every month I see $20 pulled from my account for this I keep thinking that is $20 less for a retirement account. Any help would be appreciated!