Comments on: Making Expensive Hobbies More Financially Manageable

By: Squawkfox

Squawkfox — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 17:14:01 +0000

I participate in a very expensive hobby: Ironman Triathlon. Not only do I need to cover costs for swimming and running, but I need to pay for my bicycle gear too! I make it all work by buying used gear and maintaining the gear I have. I also buy my cycling clothing with running in mind, so I essentially make my gear do double duty. Joining swimming, biking, and running clubs also helps since there are people who are always looking to sell their unwanted gear. :)

By: dez

dez — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 02:08:47 +0000

I wonder if all this advice would apply to my hobby…

By: nuveena

nuveena — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:11:29 +0000

My main hobby is knitting, which is not a cheap hobby. I do it because I sit at a computer all day and use my brain, but I also have to have something to do with my hands. Knitting is also very relaxing for me. However, I do a lot of planning of what projects I do, figure out how much yarn I need to make it, use the Internet to look at my yarn options, and I save up for it. There are also frugal ways to get good yarn. You can recycle old sweaters and use the yarn from that.

By: JLP’s Roundup (July 19, 2008) | AllFinancialMatters

JLP’s Roundup (July 19, 2008) | AllFinancialMatters — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:20:55 +0000

[...] Trent has some ideas on how to make an expensive hobby more financially manageable. [...]

By: Jessica

Jessica — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 20:31:46 +0000

I agree that Freecycle is an excellent resource, especially if you don’t need equipment immediately and can wait for the good stuff to come around. Same goes for garage sales.

I personally like hobbies that 1) allow you to spend time with friends in a way that doesn’t cost a lot of money [a night baking cookies or watching a DVD, or in my case all my girlfriends bring their knitting and we gossip for a night], or 2) are meditative and relaxing. Of course, one of my main hobbies [sewing] has the potential for heavy materials costs [if you get swayed into designer fabrics and all the cute embellishments that go along with them] … but materials can be got for cheap as well, as long as you have discipline.

Nice post!

By: Mr. T

Mr. T — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 16:21:39 +0000

Golf…….what a wonderful game. A hobby is meant to enjoy at the best rate you can enjoy it. Why not purchase the best clubs?

For example, I spend $1000 dollars on equipment every 5 years………it’s part of my FUN budget and I play with the best clubs, balls, etc. Not to mention I can refurbish my older clubs and give them away to a charity like First Tee.

By: The Finance Section

The Finance Section — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 07:19:05 +0000

It’s important to live within your means and not spend more than you can afford on your lifestlye. But what price do you put on enjoyment? Sometimes the spending a bit extra proves priceless in terms of personal satisfaction.

By: Andy @ bloginyourface.com

Andy @ bloginyourface.com — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 22:42:51 +0000

I use to be addicted to buying crap off of Craigslist. Thank God I have a girlfriend now who put me in check. Jeez, I was spending 200 bucks a week or so…seriously.

By: gr8whyte

gr8whyte — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 21:49:13 +0000

Focusing on low-end equipment only works if there’s no chance of getting hurt by the low-end equipment. I go hiking a lot and wear out 2-3 pairs of boots a year. Tried substituting less costly boots (not lowest-end) and the ones that fit well don’t have the stability, protection or durability as my regular boots. Not worth risking an injury out there.

In the end, what really counts is value, not cost.

By: Kellye

Kellye — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:48:15 +0000

I definitely feel you on the DVD thing. My mother has hundreds of them and I get them frequently as gifts, but when I buy them for myself I very rarely ever watch them…

Some hobbies don’t allow you to use low-end equipment without putting yourself in danger though. I’m a caver and I will gladly shell out the extra dough for a more pricy helmet that fits correctly and is not going to fall into my eyes when I’m navigating an underground ridge, or a decent headlight that’s not going to suddenly die on me in the middle of a treacherous breakdown.

My weakness is video games. I recently bought a PS3 that ended up costing me over five hundred dollars (with a game bundled in)…while I’m still geeking out over the thing, that is a LOT of money…

By: Mike Sty

Mike Sty — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:58:31 +0000

Good post, especially in regards to being satisfied with older things. One of my hobbies was gaming, and I spent a good bit on a PC with saved up money and christmas money that year – that was almost four years ago. Aside from a few things that died, and a few small upgrades I found while deal-hunting, the PC has done fine. I still have an old mouse and keyboard. Some people are insane about having the latest gaming mouse with nine buttons and can’t live without it – my three-button mini-optical works fine, and Battlefield: 1942 is still awesome.

By: Ryan McLean

Ryan McLean — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:49:33 +0000

DVD’s actually begin to corrode after 10 years and shortly after that they are no longer useable. But hey, in 10 years we won’t even be using dvd players anymore. If you don’t believe be look at the VHS or the floppy disk.
Technology double every 9 months so this was a good hobby to crack down on.
My hobby is definately eating out, it hits the bank pretty hard sometimes. Especially because at my ages (20) eating out is really social and if you stay home then you stay home with parents and this isn’t as cool.

By: Susan

Susan — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:29:05 +0000

Margaret – I would suggest asking people for the cost of the ingredients or have the cake be your gift for whatever occassion….baby shower, birthdays, bridal shower, etc. If I were asking you to decorate a cake for me, I would never in my wildest dreams expect you to do it for free. I don’t think it is illegal to ask people to contribute for the ingredients.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 19:26:03 +0000

@ Margaret,
I don’t think it’s all inappropriate to ask people to reimburse you the cost of supplies to make a cake. Most people are pretty oblivious to the cost of materials for anything outside of what they themselves know how to do. I imagine if you told them directly that you’re willing to make a beautiful cake for them if they provide the supplies, it won’t be any problem. That’s not the same as setting up a business.

By: Moon

Moon — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:58:28 +0000

If computing is your hobby, and you’re tired of spending all that money on apps for your Windows or OSX system – and, one hopes, posess the ethics to shun cracks, published S/Ns and other piracy methods – then it’s time to consider a switch to Linux. Not only is the OS itself available completely (and legally) free, but so are the overwhelming majority of the thousands of apps that run on it.
The much-ballyhooed “Linux learning curve” has gotten much less steep with recent releases of Linux (called distributions or “distros”), and loads of help with specific issues is freely available online. For the current “power user” of a more mainstream OS, it can rejuvenate your entire interest in your hobby; for once, everything is visible “under the hood” and there is always more you can learn about and more you can tweak.
For novices to Linux, regardless of their proficiency in other OSes (some of it will translate across, but to a lesser extent than many power users tend to expect), I recommend getting the latest Mandriva distribution, as it has IMHO the best configuration toolset and the most helpful online community of the current distros.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:53:12 +0000

One way to save on your hobbies is to spend your money on fewer but better things. I like to go to restaurants, for the food but also for the atmosphere and service. A meal at a high-end restaurant can go for $100/person (everything included). But the experience of that meal, both food and service, is so high-quality that once a year is usually sufficient to enjoy it (in this case, my birthday). A chain restaurant meal (say, Olive Garden) might run $25/person except the experience usually sums up as “the food was OK and we didn’t have to cook.” If you cut out only 4 cheap restaurant visits during the year, it makes up for the annual extravaganza.

By: David

David — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:23:16 +0000

I’ve got an expensive hobby…flying.

Love doing it, dreamed of it as a kid, and wouldn’t give it up for anything. BUT, there are ways to make it cheaper, which I am actively doing. Aviation fuel is up to $6-$7 a gallon in my area…but that flying freedom makes every hard-earned penny worth it.

My wife says it’s worse than drugs. :)

By: K

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:13:21 +0000

Margaret -
Maybe you can barter your cakes for people to give you items or services in exchange. That way it’s not illegal but you still get “paid back.”

By: liv

liv — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:51:31 +0000

Eh…I like owning certain movies/video games, but sometimes I try to wait for a collection set, sale or coupons so that at least I’ll get it cheaper.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:44:51 +0000

Also another option is to find a way to do your hobby for free/cheaper, by volunteering or working there.

I study Ju Jitsu, and at $10/class, twice a week, it can be a semi-significant monthly expense. But my instructor also teaches a self defense class at the local University, and it’s helpful for him to have someone there when a stand-in is needed, or just for extra eyes to watch for mistakes. When I assist him there, my training is free. Plus we get to play in between classes.

So not only do I get free Ju Jitsu lessons, I also get extra practice and the added experience of teaching, which is the best way to learn most anything. I didn’t realize it until I’d been doing it a while, but it’s quite an excellent frugal compromise for us both.