It was the best decision I’ve made to date for me health, the environment and my wallet.

There’s a guy who owns a ton of aTMs including the machines where I work. All he does is drive around stocking the machines with cash and collecting fees.

We really enjoy camping, backpacking, hiking, hunting, and all things outdoors. It would be easy to plunk down $3000 or more on backpacking gear.

We live in a tiny, low rent apartment, use CFL’s, drive 1 car (although we own 2), bike or walk as often as possible, etc. We do all that so that we can spend our money on the things that are important to us.

I am frugal not for the sake of hoarding money, but so that I can live. I tell my money where to go instead of it just slipping through my fingers.

The important thing is, Don’t buy things you don’t have the money for.

We won’t get the super nice backpacking gear (right away), or all the guns DH wants, but we won’t go deeply into debt either.

I go to estate sales because lots of older people have craft items that I can get cheap. I greatly added to my yarn stash recently.

Anywho, this is quite the retort coming from me, but those denouncing this guy’s “expensive hobbies” might want to ponder that one a bit. Remember that even for (most of) us frugalists, the goal isn’t to die with the most money. Being a mindful consumer in all areas of your life so that you can ENJOY the things that are truly important to you IS frugality. If this guy truly loves the outdoors and how he partakes in them, who are we to say “tsk tsk”? Well, because he’s in debt, I’ll give you that. But if someone can right the ship via other avenues, don’t be so quick to throw the “no fun for you!” rocks. I like home theater and video games, I have thousands invested in this area. But you can add that to my housing, furnishings, food, services, etc costs and I’ll still come in much, much lower than anyone else on the block. Putting money aside and fully enjoying what I find fun, best of both worlds.

Frugal Bachelor questions this, for he once participated in a very expensive hobby, which resulted in his second financial ruin. There was no way he could have picked up the pieces if he continued to participate in said hobby. There are tons of very expensive hobbies (of which, Wii is not really even in the same league) out there, where your “success” is largely dictated by how much you spend and where there is competition among the participants to spend big. Think something like auto-racing, globe-trotting, classic car restoration, sailing, or almost any type of collecting – or on the more ‘vice’ side, gambling, strip-club patronization, drug-taking, drinking, etc. These may cost several thousands of dollars per month just to keep up; being involved in an expensive hobby where you interact with others can be an ENORMOUS source of peer-pressure to spend, ESPECIALLY if you are already a “star” participant.

Sometimes the best way is to just walk away from your expensive hobby without looking back. There are hobbies which just aren’t sustainable, and which just don’t make economic sense. Realizing this helped Frugal Bachelor break the chains of his expensive hobby, maybe it can help others also.

I extend my frugality to my hobby in the following ways:

1) I skate extremely early in the morning (6 am or 6:30) for each of the three days that I skate.

2) I invested in one custom made skating dress last year. It will last and I will wear it for some time.

3) I do not buy “skater’s toys” which are really more directed at the child skater anyway.

4) I only enter a few events.

Last year, we were a two income family and were more than able to cover all my hobbies expenses. At the moment, my hubby is back in school F/T and I am the earner. Frugality has helped me a lot. Even with this expensive hobby, my cuts in spending have made it pretty much on budget. We did save for this period in our lives and I have a back-up account specifically to tap for skating.

Hobbies are really important to me and I think everyone should have a hobby, even if its expensive. Consumerist mentalities are not healthy, but hobbies are. Humans need to have passions and interests, or else, what is the point of life? It’s all a matter of finding a balance between pursuing a passion and going too far.

To create a margin between ourselves and the financial edge, we have to live below our means –we have to choose a lifestyle we can pay for with the money we have and still have some left over. But we are in a buy now, pay later society, so it’s hard to do and does take strength of character.

Some people have always been aware of this and manage their money, while others have to hit rock bottom, and live that pain for awhile first.

Interesting post. Totally off the frugal topic, don’t forget to read Steinbeck’s Arthurian tale — “The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights.” It’s not very well known but the best version of the Arthur legend that I’ve ever read.

“Penny smart, pound foolish”

My friend The Emperor of Cheap is an avid outdoorsman, but he extends his frugal practices to his outdoor enthusiasms. Camping gear, skis, bows & arrows, even guns can be had at yard sales and estate sales. He gets his ice skates at Deseret Industries and has found tarps, tents, and his all-time favorite camping cookpot at yard sales and thrift shops. And as Michael points out, second-hand ATVs are to be had at considerable discount — say, on Craig’s List or E-bay.

Uhm, I don’t suppose your cousin has though of how unfrugal it is for ALL of us that he and his family are tearing up the forests and deserts with those contraptions? Maybe some of the rest of us would also like to enjoy the outdoors, possibly even an outdoors unspoiled by noisy, polluting, destructive machinery?