Anyone else tot up the monthly cost and feel a bit sick?

[Marc NL]

Does anyone else work out the monthly cost of all this and feel a bit queasy? Between compounds, PCT, bloodwork every 12 weeks, liver supps, fish oil, food to actually grow properly on a blast - I reckon I am spending close to 400 quid a month easy. And that is on a fairly sensible cycle, nothing mental. Worth it obviously but I am curious what everyone else is putting in. Am I doing this more expensively than most or is that about right?

[Jock]

400 quid a month sounds about right for a sensible cycle with proper bloods. You forgot the gym membership in your list though. Add that and it is more. Worth every penny but aye, it adds up fast when you write it all down. I stopped totalling it years ago for my own sanity.

[Mick AU]

Mate I used to track it and it made me miserable so I stopped. Running blast and cruise year round, quality food to actually support growth, bloods, gear, supps - probably 700-800 AUD a month all in and that converts to a decent chunk. It is just part of the budget now. The hobby tax.

[NYCgains]

New York prices for everything make this worse. Bloodwork alone is expensive here without insurance covering it. Gear, food to eat enough protein in this city, gym membership - I am probably closer to 600-700 USD a month when I add it honestly. But this is what I do, so it is what it costs.

[BERLINER]

In Germany private bloodwork is also expensive. I use a private lab that does full panel for around 120 euros each time. Compounds are reasonable here through proper channels. Food is the biggest cost honestly - eating 4000 calories of quality food every day is expensive anywhere in Europe now with inflation.

[Davo]

Food is the biggest line item if you are eating properly. Compounds are relatively cheap compared to the calories needed to actually grow. People underestimate that part. 300-400 quid a month sounds right for a sensible setup in the UK. Could be worse, could be playing golf.

[FLbodybuilder]

Bro the food cost is real. Eating 250g protein a day from quality sources is not cheap. Add in the gear, supps, and labs and you are looking at a solid chunk monthly. I justified it by cutting out alcohol completely a few years back. That swap basically paid for the cycle.

[Dutchman]

Cutting alcohol is the highest ROI decision in this lifestyle, both financially and physiologically. The cost accounting you are doing is reasonable - 400 GBP monthly for gear, food surplus, bloodwork and support supplements is not unrealistic in the UK. The bloodwork is the one area people should never cut corners on. Everything else you can optimise but health monitoring is non-negotiable if you are doing this seriously.

[MunichMarc]

This is eye opening for me as someone just starting out. I had not added up all the costs properly before. The food cost especially - I was not counting that as part of the cycle cost but of course it is. Do most experienced members budget separately for on-cycle food vs off-cycle or is eating big just always the baseline?