I came across Step Bet last year at the beginning of our first little “lockdown”…a blogger I have followed off and on since I was in college was hosting one, and since my [30 Before 30] bicycle ride had been cancelled I decided, “Why the heck not?!”
THE BASICS:
StepBet is an app that you download. In the app you join a game and bet a certain amount (a set amount that ranges from $10-50+) that you will take a certain number of steps each day. You generally have four Active Days (which have a specific number of steps required), two Power Days (which have a higher number), and one Rest Day. You get to pick which days you want to be your Active, Power, and Rest Days. Your personal number of steps are set by your history of steps.
*You do need something that will connect with your phone/tablet (app) that tracks your steps, such as an Apple Watch, Garmin, or FitBit to participate in StepBets.*
As long as you get your steps in each day/each week for the duration of the Bet you get your money back and then some. Winnings equal the bets of the people who dropped out (did not meet their step goals) divided by all the players who DID meet their step goals. The first Bet I played in I won $8.43 (not counting my $40 bet that I recouped – $48.43 total).
Step Bet takes 15% of the pot before dividing up the winnings. If you win (meet your step goals every week of the game) you are guaranteed to get your investment back…so you can’t lose money.
MEMBERSHIP:
If you want to try to increase your fitness or steps, you can enroll as a Step Bet Member. Membership costs $50/year, but it allows you the ability to play in three games at the same time.
I signed up to be a member on January 1st. As of May 11th I have made back my membership fee and I’m already $7 in the black!
Everything from here on out is just gravy!
HOW MY BET FINANCIALS LOOK THIS YEAR:
As you can see from my table above I have completed ten games, and have three in progress. To calculate how much money I have made I tallied out my profits ($57.31), and now I must subtract the membership fee ($50), which leaves me with a profit thus far of $7.31. I am not going to get rich quick, but I am getting paid a little to keep myself moving.
The table also shows that I started the year by betting a total of $90 on three bets ($40, $40, $10). The games with $10 bets were only 2 weeks long. They do not earn as much (see my graph below), but they do have shorter turn around times, so you can play in three of them in the length of time you play a 6 week game.
After I built up enough winnings I took the dive and decided to make my third game (remember, as a member you can play in three games at a time) another 6 week ($40 bet) game. So, while I keep reinvesting this year my bet money is kind of in limbo, but at the end of the year – barring any mess ups on my part (failing to meet my goals and losing a game) – I will get the $120 I have invested in my games back.
MY THOUGHTS:
It has been a good way to make sure I get a workout/walk/random dance party in six days a week. If I put money on it you can bet I’m going to take it seriously and I am going to get my steps in, even if it means I have to hop out of bed and dance around in my pajamas before going to sleep if I am a few steps shy of the goal. I’m very curious to see how much I can make in this year of my membership.
My favorite thing about StepBets is that you are betting against yourself – or rather ON yourself. How others perform has an impact on the winnings, but as long as you get your steps in six days a week you get your money back and have lost nothing (financially speaking).
I think I would like to eventually host my own StepBet. What do you think, would you join me?
[…] [Back in May I wrote about StepBets. You can find that first post (with lots of details about how it works) here.] […]