If you don’t spend money on things you enjoy, you are wasting your money.
My hobby is hobbies. I start something spend whatever money I want whilst it entertains me and then drop it without reason and move on to something else. Some I will come back to years later.
The curse of ADHD.
When friends comment on my ever changing hobbies and dropping them, my reply is simple; it’s the journey for me and not the end goal.
Current hobbies and durations:
- Rubik’s Cube - 6 years
- Indoor bouldering - 4 months
- Running - 25 years on and off, currently off.
- Lego - 1 week. Only have one set. The Bonsai Tree.
- 3D Printing - 2 years but off right now until I can get a new printer that isn’t so high maintenance.
Indoor bouldering
Wait, what? Is this a Sysiphus kind of hobby that I haven’t heard about yet!
I’m not sure if you’re being serious right now and it doesn’t help that my Greek mythology knowledge is severely lacking (something I’ve wanted to learn more about).
So in case you don’t know what I’m talking about, indoor bouldering is like indoor rock climbing but not so high you need a belay system. Also, the climbs imitate boulders and so you might climb with all the holds being above your head, like the top of a cave.
As an expert in hobbies, I can honestly say this is freaking amazing. It’s got physical activity mixed in with problem solving and all the people I’ve talked to are super nice too (geeks, we are all geeks). If anything like me I find it hard to turn off my mind; this does that for me though. It’s meditative for me.
A bit after I posted, it occurred to me that it could’ve been that, but I was too lazy to edit my post.
I’m no a native English speaker, so I didn’t think of it at first, sorry. Also I kind of liked the idea of a hobby where you rolled large boulders in your home.
No problem. I just want to say your English is amazing for a non-native speaker / writer.
Also, I carry my burdens around the home like Sisyphus so there is that 😂.
I got a couple Rubik’s cubes for my kids a few years ago for nostalgia and they didn’t want anything to do with them once they realized it wasn’t easy to fix.
I tried to encourage them to keep plugging at it but they said “how am I supposed to do this if you can’t?” I realized they had a point so I downloaded an illustrated book that takes you step by step through the beginner method, and after a couple of hours I solved it!
I felt like I had climbed Everest and the first thing my kids did was scramble it again as soon as I showed them. That was the beginning of me getting into cubing as a hobby, and I have to say it’s one of the LEAST expensive hobbies I’ve ever been a part of!
Like with any hobby there are entry-level cubes and then enthusiast cubes that are more feature-rich and expensive. But the Delta between the two is surprisingly small. The cube that I use the most is one that has won world records and it was about $20 I think?
I have bought several variations of the 3X3 and other form factors. I have also bought a few as gifts as well as a Bluetooth connected cube with an accompanying robot and I don’t think I’ve spent more than $300-$350 total for the lifetime of the hobby.
That said you could easily be competitive with a world class cube, a timer, a mat, and some “Cube Lube” for maintenance all for about $60-$80 no prob. It’s about the only hobby I have my wife fully endorses, lol.
I was reading your post and I briefly thought you were trying to say it IS expensive, not that it is not. And I was like is this guy on crack, cubing is cheap as chips.
Anywho, glad to see I was wrong. I learned cubing at the same time as my buddies kids did, and while I never got faster than I think a minute and a half? They are well under a minute now, it’s crazy.
I still cube occasionally, but mostly just to fidget while watching TV 🤷♂️ Also so I don’t forget how to do it.
Yeah, it’s cheap. Sorry for the lack of clarity and brevity. Lol.
I couldn’t get any faster than about a minute and a half using the beginner method so I decided to try learning CFOP. At first I got way slower because there are more algorithms to remember but I saw how some others have modified it a bit to make it simpler and practiced when I could (i.e. watching TV like you lol) and now I can solve it in about a minute.
That’s clearly not competitive in any way but I’m really just competing against myself so I’m happy with any Improvement. That’s light years better than where I started and to people that don’t know there are 11-year-olds online doing it in 8 seconds, my one minute is pretty impressive! 😂 Happy cubing, my friend!
Gaming used to not be like that, but now a good GPU alone costs 800 to 2500 bucks. Sure you get away with cheaper components but at what cost, you got to be patient gamer to enjoy this endeavor.
The Main Reason I became an Indie Gamer.
It’s not that I can’t afford it, it’s just that it isn’t worth it for me.
my gpu is 8 years old, and it runs everything perfectly. I’ve never had any issues with high quality shaders in Minecraft, and i have a million mods in Teardown and i don’t really see it lag unless im testing my PCs limits lol
i really really don’t think you need to spend nearly that much money to enjoy video games
Bought a 4070 super for 600. They have come down a lot
You just should play different games.
For example ping pong runs on integrated gpus.
My 15 years old i5 750 upgraded with a 1060 can play almost anything. You could literally play great free games for the next 10 years on it without spending a dime. Maybe some gamers are doing too much? There’s no need to upgrade your pc every years to get 2 more fps…
This is why I turned to hardcore drugs. Much cheaper.
…Factorio counts as a drug, right?
Yes
Hey man, you got any of them combinators? I got a serious jones for some arithmetic combinators.
Most hard drugs are indeed very cheap. Alcohol and cocaine are the exception
Schedule 1. No inherent benefit whatsoever. Just time dilation.
A lot of expensive hobbies don’t have to be expensive. I’m a musician, and I have spent thousands of dollars on musical equipment but realistically, if I weren’t going to play out, or record high quality songs, you can get away with just a $200-$300 guitar (you might even be able to go lower. Cheap guitars are crazy good these days), a used amp, a tuner, and a cable. With that alone you have a lifetime of entertainment and challange, and the most expensive long-term cost is your strings. It’s honestly a steal in term of cost to entertainment ratio.
Now. That said. The real challenge is not falling into GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome), which is a real challange. And if you become even mildly capable on guitar you’re probably gonna wanna play live and record too, so, easier said than done, but it doesn’t have to be expensive.
I totally feel the GAS issue, (lol that sounds bad). In high school and college I totally got away with a budget setup like you described: cheap guitar, used amp, laptop, a couple of effects pedals, some cables and I was in solid shape. I recorded A LOT! Hell, some of my best work was done with that budget setup. Audio quality wasn’t the best but it didn’t matter to me, just for fun.
As soon as I got out of college and had more than two nickels to rub together, my gear setup had gotten out of hand. Multiple guitars, amps, midi controllers, mixing boards, usb interfaces, studio monitors, full pedal boards, multiple mics, electric drum kit, cables cables cables. Just insane, thousands of dollars. I still do plenty of recording and playing but not nearly as much as my budget days. Some truth to less is more I guess. I have so many toys I don’t know what to do with my hands.
The upside to having more gear is I can host karaoke at parties, jam sessions can be recorded live in very high quality rather than relying on cheap hand recorders, and my own records are much higher quality. Plus, lots of toys, so I can never be bored.
I will say though, I much prefer a minimal setup. It keeps everything tight. It’s very hard to avoid all the novelty of having new toys to play with. But it’s true, playing guitar can be a very cheap hobby!
Can be true but like all things it depends. In the 6 years I’ve been into 3d printing I’ve observed that lots of people compulsively mod their machines. I just print stuff. Filament is cheap and I use free online software to do designs. The repair parts I’ve made have actually paid for the machine by being able to keep broken stuff instead of replacing them. But I’m cheap. I think people who are determined to spend money will find a hobby to spend it on.
As someone who learned subtractive machining (milling, turning etc) I find additive machining very interesting. My friend bought a cheap printer recently and I’m excited to try it out.
Warning: it’s addictive. But on the plus side: It’s addictive!!
I downloaded FreeCAD yesterday and started designing a GPU holder
I haven’t tried FreeCAD but have heard good things about it. Have fun!
Never understood the obsessive tinkerers, all that work to have something worse than a Bambu P1S. To each their own ig, I just see my printer as a means to an end I don’t want to mess with it. I want to mess with the stuff I build with it
TBH the 5 years I spent tinkering with my Ender 3 were a lot of fun. Overcoming the little problems and getting the settings right was always satisfying. But at some point enough was enough. My A1 is like a little robot wizard - I hand it a file, it conjures me an object and plays a little song when it’s ready. I’m loving it!
I also started with an Ender 3 and it taught me a lot but I am glad to have a little wizard machine now
a printer is a means to a means to a means to a better printer
Never get into Modular Synthesizers.
I mean, what else to spend spare money on besides the things I enjoy. Like other people spend thousands travel. I spend the same amount on a box of Warhammer. Jk. I can’t afford Warhammer.
No! You’re supposed to be miserable for your entire youth by saving and investing every penny you don’t need to survive! That way you can afford all the medical bills and therapy you’ll need when you’re old and retired and have had a life devoid of joy!!
Sigma grindset!!!
You have convinced me to buy a kayak. 👍
Fuck yeah, what kind are you getting?
I’m not sure yet, I’ve been researching what to buy since then and I found this guide. It sounds like a sit-on-top with a flat hull is good for beginners, and I have a preference towards nothing inflatable also.
If you have any recommendations though, let me know! I also need to get a roof mount for my car.
I don’t have any specific recommendations, and the guide from dicks seems sensible. I will say that, having used both sit-in and sit-on, I myself definitely prefer sit-in. And I’m not a pro, I mostly use mine on calm lakes and gentle streams. My only piece of advice is to not cheap out and buy some $250 piece of junk from Walmart. It’s not going to be fun and will probably turn you off of kayaking immediately. You shouldn’t have to consciously think and make an effort to stay upright, the boat should just do that on its own. I like the brand Old Town, but there are lots of good boats out there. I hope you enjoy it.
Buoyant!
A nice ukulele is around 100$. Voilà.
A shit one is even cheaper
Agree. But having played on many different ones, I’de say instruments under 50$ are too shitty too be enjoyable, especially if you’re learning.
I might get into ukelele. Any good suggestions? What’s the cheapest one I can get that’s good?
Kala is pretty good brand with lots of models. Make sure to get a “concert”, sopranos are really small.
I also found out about Electric Ukeleles. Are those worth looking into?
Edit: what’s wrong with a small soprano?
Edit: it appears most of kala’s stuff isn’t made in the u.s. I found mainland lukes to be made locally in the u.s I wonder if there are many alternatives at or below the price range.
Having a hobby in a price gouging capitalist hellscape.
A 7€ MTG Starter Set.
And now I’m stuck.
I remember when the game started in the '90s, booster packs were like a buck. I can’t afford to stay in standard and most popular formats I enjoy won’t let me use cards I like.
Me with 30+ Libreboot desktops/laptops.
Saw a YouTube video yesterday of a sim racer hobbiest that spent upwards of $700+ on literally just a wheel, shifter, petals, etc. Like not even the seat or computer or monitor or anything. Literally JUST the wheel parts.
Which is crazy but I have no way to complain as I’ve spent like 1,000 on my computer setup at least even excluding the actual PC.
Then there’s Steam…
* note I bought 2 steamdecks in that time and my account is like 4 years old
Compare yours with mine! https://help.steampowered.com/en/accountdata/AccountSpend
Oh dear, I think I have a problem. I wonder if that counts keys bought for games from other sites like humble bundle redemptions? Even if it does, I guess I should focus on my backlog.
700 bucks for a wheel is kinda mid tier, I say this with a 300 buck logi wheel.
Starts getting pricing when the drive motor alone is 1000 -2000 see fanatec
If you’re good enough you can compete against real NASCAR drivers. Much cheaper than even the most basic amateur racing such as auto cross.
Uh oh, I’ve spent about $2,000 on my racing setup (moza r9 wheel base, SR-P pedals, RS V2 wheel, FSR Formula wheel, and ES wheel) and for me its been worth it, but it is ludicrously indulgent. Raced against (drove in the same race 3s slower a lap) a bunch of F2, F3 and F4 drivers and even Romain Grosjean. I was running on a cheap second hand G27 for 6 years before upgrading though, I would recommend going through that first to make sure you really want to race frequently enough to justify the cost.
Over a decade+ that’s not horrendous. I’ve probably spent around $2000 on computers for gaming in that same period. I know people who’ve dropped far more than that in a single day for their hobbies so gaming really is a pretty cheap hobby
“All you need is a pair of running shoes!” And another. And another. And another. Ad infinitum $$$
Take up running they said. It’s free!*
Sweat-wicking shirts! Compression socks! Non-bouncing shades! UV-proof hats! Neck buffs! Trail shoes! Gaiters! Racing shoes, carbon-plated! Recovery flipflops! Base layers! Jackets, rain and windproof! Reflective gear! A smartwatch! Training plans! Runners’ memoirs! Club membership! Race signup fees! Gels! Electrolyte mix! Protein bars!
And have you tried spirulina, it does wonders for recovery (so they say)
Wait… there are non-bouncing shades???
But how expensive is obesity?
Those shoes are damn worth it!
If your goal is weight loss then a diet would be cheaper and more effective
Fair, but a lot of people have emotional issues that make that difficult, and running can be a fun activity. Bonus: it helps someone learn just exactly how much that “100 calories” is worth - by converting into a measurement system that they already know (time to burn it off), it can help to prioritize eating goals in the future.
Exercise also has many other benefits beyond weight control though, such as heart health, overall musculature, blood chemistry, and more. thin != healthy.
But if we are getting this deep into it, running in particular isn’t the best… it’s quite hard on the knees I hear. An elliptical machine or something involving the body core like calisthenics would be easier on the body and more effective at the same time. Then again, running sure is fun… :-D
“I got into barefoot running but mainly for the savings”
