How to Choose A Hobby that Won’t Cost You the World
THERE’S MUCH TO EXPLORE WHEN YOU FIND THE RIGHT HOBBY
For some reason last week I thought to myself, “I need a hobby” and that’s because I’ve downsized my time.
When you’re planning a budget for the week, month, or even year, it’s important to factor in time for a hobby.
Saving money doesn’t have to mean sitting in a dark room all year round which is easy to do.
What is a hobby?
A hobby is something you do because you want to learn more about it or all you can to perfect it.
One of my favourite hobbies, when I was growing up, was learning to play the guitar.
I didn’t get lessons since they were too expensive for my family’s budget but I did learn to play on my own.
Of course, a hobby doesn’t have to be something elaborate and expensive – just something that relaxes you, that you enjoy doing.
Sometimes you might even just need new hobbies to get out of a rut and into something that ignites your inner-self.
I used to be that way where I’d get dead-set on doing one thing and never venturing out to try something else.
I’ve since changed my ways but with work, parenting, and the blog I’ve put my hobby life on the back-burner.
Below are some hobby ideas that won’t break the bank and energize your mind, body, and soul.
Reading
Reading is a hobby as old as time itself. What better way to relax and unwind than losing yourself in a good book?
Read before bed, read on your lunch break, or read throughout the day.
Whether it’s a sci-fi thriller, period drama, or just some non-fiction about something you love, reading has been proven to reduce stress by engaging the imagination and providing escapism.
What’s more, it does so at very little cost. Books are relatively cheap and can last a lifetime.
To reduce the cost, even more, try buying second hand or renting books from the library.
Explore Outdoors
Want a hobby that makes you healthier? Get outside.
Research has shown that a weekly two-hour “dose” of nature can significantly boost your health and wellbeing – both mentally and physically.
Go for a stroll around the park, a run around town, or something even more lively like rock climbing.
Whatever you choose to do, you have almost endless space to do it in.
There are so many National and Provincial parks in Canada to choose from, which are completely free to use.
Online Games
If you’re feeling a bit less lively and do just want to kick back and relax, online games are the perfect solution.
As long as you’ve already got access to the internet, there are thousands of games to choose from.
Card games, slots, and fantasy-themed fun all in a virtual environment.
With a bit of searching, you can find plenty of games that are free to play or at least free to try out.
If you fancy spending a little bit of money, you could even try your luck at winning all with-in your budget.
Baking At Home
Is there anything better than the smell of freshly baked bread?
Baking is the ultimate hobby if you want to reward yourself and your friends with delicious treats.
While artisan cakes and bread might cost quite a bit, the raw ingredients are very affordable.
Flour, sugar, milk, eggs and yeast are all cheap stock cupboard essentials that staple ingredients in myriad baking recipes.
Best of all, there is an abundance of baking recipes available online for free and plenty you can try in my free recipe index.
Over time, who knows – you might find yourself so good at baking that people are happy to pay good money for your scones, brownies, and fresh loaves of bread.
Movie Time
Thrilling, dramatic, and immersive, and of course, we’re talking about movies.
Watching movies is a great way to pass time and enjoy yourself without forking out.
Needless to say, we don’t mean visiting the movie theatre for the latest blockbusters – which would cost a fortune.
Instead, borrow DVDs from friends. Visit charity stores for great deals.
Record anything that’s being shown on regular TV channels.
If you get into movies, and you’ve exhausted all the cheaper options, it’s worth investing in a subscription to a streaming service for a few months so you can make the most of the titles they’ve got.
Photography
With the availability of smartphones that have some pretty amazing cameras to the latest and greatest DSLR cameras on the market, photography has become a hobby for many enthusiasts.
Depending on how much you plan to spend on a camera you can get much life out of it for your hobby as a one-time investment.
I don’t think that’s too bad considering the amount of fun you can have with a camera.
Even if you don’t have the latest technology and want to experiment with your camera it’s a great starting point for new photographers.
The key to any hobby is to start from the bottom up and perfect what you are doing.
Gardening
If there is one thing I love to do that relaxes me is gardening. You’ll find me out picking weeds in my lush lawn or mowing it at least three times a week.
That might sound like much but I’ve come to love having a green, weed-free lawn and even a rock garden to accent our property.
During the Spring and Summer, I take pride in our shrubs and flowers and tend to our fruit and vegetable trees.
Gardening is not only therapeutic for someone like me who needs time away from everything but it offers food for our family.
This year instead of planting flowers in our flower pots I planted herbs galore along with strawberries, stevia, tomatoes, peppers, and beans.
Your gardening hobby can also double as money-savings for your family as we do for our grocery budget.
Sight-Seeing
All you need is a passion for something outdoors and a pair of binoculars and you’re good to go.
My late father and father-in-law were both avid bird watchers and would sit by the water or take to the forests on foot.
It’s amazing how much you can learn about earth, nature, and wildlife if you have an interest.
I’ve been to the second-hand shops many times and have seen binoculars for a cheap price so definitely search out used before you buy new.
Which Hobby will you choose?
Baker, reader, sight-seeing, photographer, gardening, gamer, explorer, or movie enthusiast – which hobby will you be interested in?
Maybe you’ve got your ideas entirely for a hobby that suits your personal needs.
Whatever the case, be sure to keep the financial costs down by considering all of your options– and most of all, enjoy it!
Tell me more about planting Stevia…. Where did you purchase it? In seeds or plants? What part do you harvest and what do you do with it?
Hi Kathleen,
We actually bought the Stevia plant from Canadian Tire already started in a pot from the garden centre. My wife saw it and thought she would plant it and figure out what to do with it afterwards. You can basically eat the leaves and they are so sweet. I’m not sure what to do with the plant yet but I plan on doing a bit of research to find out.