hobbies are expensive and time consuming

[tea4me]

I need a hobby. All I do is work.

When I think of things I could do, I realize they cost more than I care to spend. (examples: photography, scrapbooking) I like to garden and grow my own vegetables, but I don't have enough time to can those vegetables.

Do you have any suggestions of inexpensive hobbies?

I guess I will stick with walking and reading.

[schildi]

Buy a good bicycle. Good exercise, and you can actually go places and see more then on foot.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Photography doesn't have to be insanely expensive, my mom has a Kodak digital and the software that came with it. Some of her pictures can easily compete with the pictures my SIL takes on her $4k professional camera. If it is just a hobby you don't need all the fancy expensive professional equiptment to do it.

Every hobby I think is going to be too expensive for you unless it is 100% free, you have a mental block to spending so much as a single dime on yourself.

I sometimes embroider, a single quilt can take me months to do with daily life going on around me. I did embroidery for Christmas gifts this year and the total ran me about $40.

I am sure though you will arge that the start up costs are too much for you to justify taking it up.

[bobbysgirl]

Watching movies is a hobby. Netflix is 8.00 a month. yoga at home is free too.

[whoisjohngalt]

Were you interested in in-door or out-door hobbies? Are you good at self-teaching?

You can learn how to knit, play chess, take dance lessons, etc

Take a look at this, may be something will "click" www.findmeahobby.com/

Lena

[ummboutthat]

my GF has a list of all the movies.....well she has a pretty extensive list of movies she has seen. the list contains a 5 star rating, class of movie (horror, drama, comedy, etc.) and who was in it well top 3 to 4 characters.

[resolution]

If you are already into walking, maybe you can talk some of your friends into meeting you at a park or trail for a regular walking day. When the weather is bad you can just go to the mall and walk in the mall.

You could find a TV show that you like and invite a couple friends to come over and watch it with you every week. This works best with the reality type shows so you can figure out who you like and hate and then cheer for them with your friends.

If you like video games there are a lot you can subscribe to for $15 a month and play for hours each week. There are also free to play games that you can download and play for free but you have to resist the cash shop in the game.

You could start your own blog and write about topics that interest you. If it becomes popular you can sell ad space on the blog.

If you like sewing you could make quilts and then sell them on ebay to try to recoup your costs. I think material is a big start up cost though.

You could look online for volunteer opportunities and see if any of them look interesting.

[thyme4change]

Drinking and posting angry rages on this board don't count as a hobby?

Well - I'm boned.

[Clifford]

I suggest martial arts for all ages and body types. From tai chi to muay thai, here is one out there mild enough or aggressive enough for anyone.
You can also go to youtube and search for "how to". There are a world of things out there that folks can show you how to start and improve. Of course, you don't want to learn all the stuff that youtube will show you...

[phil5185]

Buy a good bicycle. Good exercise, and you can actually go places and see more then on foot.

Definitely - walking bores me, the scenery goes by so slow. I enjoy a 12 mile bike ride but a 4 mile walk is a drag for me. I do the bike ride nearly every day.
And we do quite a bit of ice skating, our town has 5 or 6 nice indoor hockey rinks.

[flopsy]

Feb 8, 2011 12:25:14 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

Drinking and posting angry rages on this board don't count as a hobby?

if this isn't a hobby is people watching also not a hobby?

[cronewitch]

Build bird houses then sell them at Saturday markets in the summer when you sell the veggies you don't have time to can.

[cronewitch]

Look up making cakes out of diapers on Utube so you can learn to make baby shower gifts.

[dragonfly7]

I am a genealogy nut, and there is a certain amount you can do for free through site like FamilySearch.org (www.familysearch.org/) and USGenWeb (usgenweb.org/), but you eventually get to the point that you either have to travel to or order records, and that quickly gets expensive.

I recently started making toothbrush rugs using clothing I declutter from the closet or from Freecycle. DH made me a "needle" out of a coat hanger and duct tape. I would especially recommend this for someone who needs to rest her eyes after being on a computer or doing close, detailed work all day. I like it when I've had to be "on" all day because the repetitive motion is restful. Instructions: www.ragrugcafe.com/toothbrush-rugs-complete-video-instructions-part-1-beginners

My first rug:

[busymom]

Partly due to the "lovely" weather in this part of the country in the winter, I like to do crafts, etc. I was really into cross stitching until DS was born. I enjoy gardening too, bird watching, (set up a feeder!), we also have nesting bluebirds each spring (it's fun when the new babies hatch), and when all else fails, a good book is a great way to pass some time. I like to bake, so I will occasionally try out a new recipe if I need a change from the "old family recipes". And yes, I also read the latest news on money & what the economy is doing.

[2kids10horses]

Become an opossum massage therapist! What? You don't know how? Watch this:

[Poppet]

crochet

[mithrin]

My hobby is bowling. Cost depends on how much you get into it.

$25-40 for a good pair of shoes.
around $100 to get a basic ball fitted to your hand, though you can start out using house balls.
$10-20/week for a league.

There are some good deals to be had if you look:
Last summer I joined a 4 week long, $10/week league that gave all players a free (basic) ball and drilling at the end of the league. $40 is a killer deal on the ball, let alone the 4 weeks of bowling.

My current league is $16/week, of that $6 goes into the prize pool for the end of season (last year our team did well enough to basically win back all our prize pool contribution, so we bowled for $10/week net). The bowling alley gives all league members 3 free games of bowling per day, so I can practice for free.

On Sundays I often go to "Bowl for Bucks". $16 to bowl three games, win $1, $2, or $5 if you get a strike when colored pins are in various spots. Picking up splits is worth $ depending on difficulty. Side pots are worth various amounts if you get a strike when you name is drawn. I usually get within +-$5 of breaking even each week, so it's a cheap way to spend a Sunday evening with a fun group of people.

Of course, I've also had years where I bowled in multiple leagues per week, entered tournaments, and have spent over $200 on a new bowling ball. Then again, I met our two best couple friends through bowling.

[Deleted]

What are you interested in? That is where the search for any hobby should begin.

There are always ways to cut costs and still enjoy almost all activities - but you need to pinpoint what you LIKE and want to pursue. Just picking a hobby because it is popular or you think you need one is a sure way to waste money.

Complete this sentence, I always wanted to ______.

[Deleted]

A little over a year ago, I got into photography. $12,000 later, I still find myself looking at new pieces all the time. STAY FAR AWAY!

[Deleted]

I say it depends...
I love lifting weights, so that cost me about $48/month in gym memberships.

My wife loves taking pictures and she still use the camera I gave her as a graduation gift 3 years ago and it costs about 1.5K. She mails her pictures to apple and it costs about 0.30 to 1.00 per picture depending on the size.

It is mostly time consuming for both of us (going to the gym for me, and her driving on weekends to find great spot to take pictures).

She does want to have a darkroom in our house when we do decide to have one. Not sure how much extra that will costs but she will not need to pay apple anymore to get her pictures I guess.