As interest in wellness grows, what’s a necessity and what’s a splurge?

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Derek Stenman, 32, joined Goodlife Fitness after graduating from university and has been faithfully committed to the gym for almost 10 years.

However, he was recently bombarded with promotional material for a high-end gym in Ottawa called Altea, which opened in November 2024. The promised perks were tempting.

For a monthly minimum of about $140, Altea members receive access to a 129,000-square-foot facility fully equipped with steam cabins, pickleball courts and a smoothie bar. By comparison, the most basic membership at Goodlife costs $76 a month but lacks some of those bells and whistles.

“It was going to be this massive new space,” Mr. Stenman said about Altea. “It would be kind of a fun, different new change.”

Health and fitness are priorities for those from younger generations, like Mr. Stenman. However, when gyms start offering spa amenities such as saunas and boutique fitness classes, the line between essential health spending and luxury can get fuzzy.

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Despite the lavish offerings at Altea, Mr. Stenman has decided to stay with Goodlife, which meets all his health and fitness needs for $52 a month, thanks to a 30-per-cent discount from his employer. This allows him to stash away more of his savings for a down payment for a future home.

However, unlike Mr. Stenman who uses the workout equipment on his own, his fiancée Leah Flewelling goes to a spin studio downtown for $175 per month. She said she enjoys the classes because they help her stay motivated.

When she was working from home during the pandemic, Ms. Flewelling noticed a decline in her physical and mental health because of a lack of movement. Since then, she began to consider fitness and mental health a necessary expense.

“These things are almost essential for us. We treat them the same way that we do our groceries or our rent,” Ms. Flewelling said. “The benefits far outweigh the actual financial cost of them.”

According to a survey by McKinsey & Co., young people are spending more money on health and wellness products compared to other generations. While Gen Z and millennials make up just over a third of the U.S. adult population, they drive more than 41 per cent of annual spending on wellness. Apart from just fitness and nutrition, they’re also willing to devote more of their income to mental health, appearance, mindfulness and sleep.

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Not unlike Ms. Flewelling, Allisha Lin, 25, defines wellness as taking care of yourself. For her, that definition is broader than tending to your health in a medical sense. It also includes doing things that contribute to mental peace and increased confidence.

Ms. Lin spends $120 a month on a Movati gym membership in Ottawa from November to April, and $1,500 on a golf membership for the summer months. For her, Movati is worth the money because it offers classes such as hot yoga, which not only help her stay fit, but also manage anxiety and practise spirituality.

For Ms. Lin, health and wellness spending doesn’t end with fitness. It also includes things like supplements, cookbooks, self-help books and skin care.

“If I don’t take certain supplements, or if I don’t eat properly, or follow a specific routine, or go to the gym – things in my life will start to fall apart,” she said. “I’ll start to feel more anxious, or I’ll start developing back pain or stomach issues.”

People’s priorities vary when it comes to wellness. As a financial planner, Jodie Stauffer said her job isn’t to tell people what they should and shouldn’t spend money on. When it comes to determining what is essential or extra, people have to answer this question for themselves and then develop a financial plan accordingly.

“It depends on what the person values,” she said. “But also what they can afford.”

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Ms. Stauffer says she’s noticed younger generations can feel overwhelmed by long-term goals such as buying a house or saving for retirement, sometimes giving up altogether. While the boomer generation may have been able to purchase a home for one to four times their annual salary, now it costs considerably more.

“Younger generations feel really concerned that they’re never going to have houses and this type of lifestyle,” Ms. Stauffer said. “It’s kind of like they’re throwing their hands up in the air and saying: ‘Well, I’m not even going to try because I don’t feel like I can get there, so I might as well spend all my money.’ ”

However, she encourages young people to remember that even small contributions over time will add up to big savings. When deciding how much you can afford on wellness, see how much you have left over at the end of the month. After calculating all your core expenses, 20 to 30 per cent should be siphoned into savings, and then the rest can be used for discretionary spending.

At 58, Shilpa Patel can say she’s invested in her well-being throughout her life. She said that every cent she’s put into gym memberships, nutritious food, fitness equipment, supplements, acupuncture and any other health-related expense has been worth it.

“I’m lucky I’m in the financial position to do that, but I also budget for it,” Ms. Patel said. If there is a subscription, treatment or product that will help keep her and her family well, she’s willing to try it.

Being healthy “is the greatest wealth,” Ms. Patel said.