Looks at ever growing pile of retro handhelds, tabletop miniatures and BDSM gear
Surely, it cannot.
Gaming is my hobby. I bought an Xbox Series S for $250 on sale 4 years ago. I buy a couple games on sale each year for usually less than $30. It’s not a lot of money, but I also don’t have a lot of money.
Yeah, as a Larper, I feel that (in my wallet…).
Software development is cheap, if you already own a PC, which is the most expensive part if you go with open source tools.
Have you considered flying a black flag?
I’ve been into calligraphy for years now - it’s a wonderful hobby with anywhere between absolutely none (pseudocalligraphy with a pencil/bic) and a very low cost to entry (blackletter with a parallel pen) that I seriously encourage anyone to try out! Just be warned that it’s a gateway drug to the fountain pen hobby, which uh.
…
…
quickly becomes a not-cheap hobby. Good god.My friends and me with magic the gathering
If you want to save money, don’t get into bird photography as a hobby. Gear Acquisition Syndrome is fatal to your wallet.
Oh no, the birb left a leg on the beach. Gotta buy a new lens to do better next time.
Please no. I like my kidneys. The next lens up in quality is over $15,000.
That’s why you steal someone else’s kidneys!
Of course, then you’ll need to develop a collection of surgical gear, and likewise you would want to improve that with time…after all, why not take pride in your work?
Ope, time to switch to a new body with a different lens mount then, haha
My hobby of flipping antic gold coins into ponds cost me pretty penny but it’s so rewarding! Once I’m good at it I’ll turn it into a side hustle and it’ll have paid for itself in no time!
Spending money on hobbies is fine, change my mind.
… so long as it does not materially impact your ability to provide basic necessities for your own wellbeing, food, water, shelter, some level of climate control, etc.
… and you are not directly, indirectly, or functionally spending other people’s money on your hobbies.
no. we must spend money on bills then sit motionless until next shift.
The only people deserving fun are the billionaires.
Peasants, all of them! You have to be a 5T corporation to afford any fun.
And the only thing they enjoy is our suffering.
Yes but they get such a great deal!
They (and I just did the math) could higher all of humanity at minimum wage for 4 years without having to make a drop of income!
and since it is all software they don’t even have any material cost.
At those prices why not buy humanity?
Get into videogames, then you can do both
not with prices about to explode. we will probably have to risk thoughts occurring now.
As long as “spending money” isn’t the hobby and you actually use it otherwise it’s a waste of resources.
No. I agree with you
I have below beginner level astrophotography gear, and I’ve still spent over $500 on it. A proper tracking mount costs somewhere in the ballpark of $1,000, and that’s just the mount. Granted I’m happy with the OTAs I have, so I’m probably not buying a new scope for a while
yeah, $500 is tough to get into astro with.
plenty for general photography, but astro can get gear heavy fast. astro landscapes are becoming more accessible as more fast lenses get cheaper, but the kind of astro that needs a tracker is just pricy.
Yeah, I really thought I could just put some elbow grease into a Canon EOS 300D and a Celestron Astromaster 130EQ and make it work… at least I know that I’m into this hobby, and I know what upgrades I need to make
Once I’m making significantly more than minimum wage, this hobby is going to pop off
Yeah… I recently built my first drone.
I wanted to kill a rat in my garden, so I borrowed my parents’ air rifle. but the scope was too tiny to be any use at night, so I bought an air rifle with a bigger scope. but that rifle sucked and an internal part broke, so I bought a proper one. but I still have the crappy one and want to tinker with it, so I printed some replacement parts. but I want to make proper replacement parts that will withstand impact abuse, so I need to turn them on a lathe. but my lathe is just a wood lathe, so I designed and printed a four jaw chuck. but it’s not any good for parts requiring more than one setup, so I bought a cheap real 3 jaw chuck. but it didn’t come with the adapter plate to mount to my spindle, so I tried to buy one. but there doesn’t seem to be any suitable adapter plate for sale that will fit both my chuck and my spindle (there’s one that is close, but would require machining to make it fit - machining that I can’t do without a lathe), so I decided I’ll just drill mount holes through my existing faceplate. but that faceplate isn’t true with the shaft, so if I want to mount my chuck on it and have it be useful then I need to turn it true. but I don’t have carbide tools for metal lathing, so I needed to buy some. and I need to locate the holes that I need to drill to mount the chuck, so I drew up and am printing an template. and that’s where I’m at right now, waiting for that to finish printing, so I can center punch the bolt holes.
so that I can mount a chuck, to turn a replacement part for an air rifle that isn’t even ‘the good one’, to shoot a rat that is digging in my garden and making holes in my yard that’ll twist my ankle eventually
hobbies huh.
There’s a hole in the bucket, dear henry, dear henry.
And the next thing you know you’re shaving a yak for some reason
one thing that makes me feel better about tasks like this is that I try to double them up with general cleanup
I made a mess of my garage fiddling with all the lathe stuff, but when I cleaned that up, I also did two other outstanding cleanup tasks in there, so it’s a net positive.
well, except for the wallet
new chuck works great, though. now if only I had a carriage and crosslide setup so I didn’t have to turn parts by hand like on a wood lathe, then I could get more accurate parts…
I thought it said what having a hobby does to a MILF.
there has to be a list of hobbies one can try that cost practically nothing:
Solving Rubik cubes (a high quality speedcube is about 20$)
Crocheting/stitching (needles and yarn after cheap)
Writing (free)
programming
… (please expand if you have any ideas)
“needles/yarn after cheap”
That’s a lie. My wife is into knitting and crochet, I’ve seen $300 purchases for yarn only, for just one dress. Not to mention $50-100 needles or swifts or yarn caking tools
Cooking is basically better than free.
Yes, ingredients and equipment cost money, but the end result averages out to be cheaper than if you didn’t know how to cook. And even if you take on more expensive ingredients or tools, you’re probably offsetting even more expensive restaurant meals that you would’ve eaten.
Crocheting/knitting is cheap to try out but once you really get into it (and start worrying about yarn quality and so on), the money pit opens. Ask me how I know.
As someone who owns a spinning wheel, you can dye and spin yarn at home to make the money pit even wider and deeper!
Isn’t spinning your own yarn an amount of work that you should be saving money? 😂
It depends.
It isn’t that yarn in itself is expesive, but if you’re knitting/weaving, you’re not doing it to save money on socks, you want to make something cool and unique. If you really get into it, you’re going to eventually want that specialist wool/bamboo/elastane blend with a super specific colour grade and maybe a specific manufacturing method too. And that’s expensive.
Similarly, if you’re spinning your own yarn, you can get boring old for about half the price of boring old yarn, and even less if you dye big batches yourself. You can get a pretty nice wool for about a quarter of the price of the yarn, so far so good. But of course, if you’re spinning your own yarn, you’re going not doing that for production purposes, you want to make something cool and unique. So you’ll want to blend in specifics, like glitter nylons, or maybe even metalic fibers, and that long-fiber, ultra-fine angora will go great with a slightly thicker cairngorn, etc etc. And before you know it, you’re making yarn that costs maybe ten times what they sell at the local hobby shop.
And spinning wheels aren’t exactly cheap either. Mine was something like 800 euros, but you can easily spend four times that on an electric wheel. You can buy a LOT of yarn for that money. And lets not talk about how much wool I’ve ruined due to lack of skill while learning.
Or, if you want to do it for historical purposes, you’re going to want kinda-shitty, historically accurate materials like hemp or flax or wool from sheep that aren’t really all that suited for wool-making, and are probably not even kept anywhere anymore outside of niche hobby flocks. And then you want to process it yourself. And it’s surprisingly hard to fine someone who will just sell you flax-the-plant.
My wife has enlisted friends to help me sell her yarn stash if she dies before me. There’s probably 10 large worth of high value dye lots sitting in bins around me. Her work includes a $200/month yarn shop stipend, and has for many years now.
Yep. Often when I wear a new jumper or whatever around people who know I knit, I get asked ‘oh, that’s pretty, did you make it?’
Lol no, that would have cost me like 5 times more. I couldn’t afford to make it myself.
is that just the value of your time or are you considering you’d use the fanciest yarn too?
It’s not considering the value of my time; a decent (actually wearable) yarn is far more expensive than most people think.
I would consider it a waste of my time to spend a couple hundred hours on a garment that’s barely wearable because it’s uncomfortable and borderline not washable. That’s what you will get with any yarn that won’t cost you over $50 in materials for a simple pattern.
Cheap yarns are fine for beginner projects that aren’t made to be worn, but if you’re putting that much of your effort into a garment meant to be used, you should not be using bargain yarn. Your effort is worth too much to sabotage yourself that way.
eta: oh, if you’re wondering (like I did) why crocheting something in polyester would be different from store-bought garments in what seems like the same material, it’s mostly in the weight of the yarn, and partly in how insanely uniform machine knitting is. That creates a radically different fabric than even the most skilled human could produce, and small deviations in either yarn weight or technique have radical differences in the fabric. There are knitting techniques that produce highly artistic texture by doing nothing but varying yarn tension.
TIL! I want to get my niece some pretty yarn (she’s just getting in to crochet) but i have no idea how to choose. I just go by “ooo pretty” and “ooo soft” and if it scores high on both, i get it for her. so far so good.
Natural yarns are almost always best for wearables. It doesn’t need to be fancy (other than ooo pretty, which is my biggest criteria, too). I’d avoid 100% polyester, or high blends.
Personally, I love knitting with bamboo blends, and they’re quite affordable. They’re not suited for everything, but many feel like silk whilst wearing like cotton. And they’re often more sustainable.
It doesn’t wear as well as wool or cashmere in all contexts, but it’s affordable and very pleasant to knit with (eta: sometimes especially beginners have issues with lower end wools, which might be scratchy and which can cause friction issues in sensitive finger folds). I’d say bamboo is miles better for a beginner than polyester, and often comparably priced.
ok but that’s in you for getting expensive yarn.
Drawing (we should stop pretending one need expensive material do draw nice things, pencils and erasers are the only requirement, and a good sketch book can be found for less than 15 bucks)
who even says that drawing is expensive? it’s so obviously cheap thing to do. we did it so much as children. if it was expensive no kids would be allowed to draw
I see some influencers bragging about why you’d need quality markers like posca to improve your drawing skills. My bros fell for it and beg me to buy some for them.
It’s like thoses ads telling you you need product to do thing better. Even if it’s quality, it doesn’t work this way.
I bought a $25 set of 8 for them. They used it 2 times then stopped because they couldn’t make what they wanted. They are now asking for a light tablet to “draw better”. They will have to buy it themselves if they really want it. I was fine with the window light when i was their age.
People somehow always find a way to make the simplest thing expensive with half-useless material.
That ain’t bragging that’s product placement. they ruin everything they touch.
Amen. You have to stay away from that toxic commercialisation. It messes with your brain and stalls your progress in any hobby.
I think one of the best things about arts, crafts, sports, music and the like is that it has a built in resistance to that kind of commercial takeover. Having good pens will not make you better at art, good shoes won’t make you better at soccer, a fancier gym won’t give you bigger muscles. These things come from hard work, perseverance, dedication. You can’t buy skill no matter goes much money you have, I love that.
I do like using nice tools though, although they are overkill for most hobbyist purposes.
I’d probably only buy quality tools if I could afford it, even if I wouldn’t need them necessarily.
Not no-cost but cooking, gotta feed yourself anyway might as well have fun with it
Cooking is cost negative relative to eating out. You just need a decent kitchen and plenty of free time
Entirely seriously, learn how to make a game in Godot.
Its literally completely free, only costs you time, and assumes you have at least some kind of existing computer, doesn’t need to be a monster rig.
Alternatively: Find a video game you like.
Make mods for it.
Here’s another one that’s basically free:
Becoming/Staying fit, gaining strength and agility.
Make ‘weights’ out of milk jugs with water in them.
Maybe get a resistance band or two, they’re not that pricey.
You can absolutely do a ton of stretches, calisthenics, and light to modetate muscle group workouts with basically just random shit lying around a typical home or apartment.
You can find basic guides for these excercises often just freely available from reputable medical organizations.
You can literally just go on a 20 minute walk, 3 times a week, and be in better physical shape than something like half of the US adult population.
Back to computer shit:
Blender is free.
Learn 3D modelling, rigging, UV wrapping, how texturing works, how to make animations, etc.
Same with Krita.
Become artist. Draw stuff good.
You can find probably literally millions of free tutorials for how to do basic and intermediate level concepts.
Whsitling/Singing/Voice Acting.
These are developable skills much more so than they are just… things you either can or cannot do, for some reason.
You can teach yourself how to do these, again to a basic or intermediate level, for pretty much free.
Same thing with at least some kinds of dancing.
If you’re feeling more EXTREME: Parkour and/or Urbex.
Lockpicking.
Go find the Lockpicking Lawyer on youtube.
Pretty sure he can recommend you a not too pricey basic starter kit for learning the basics.
… I could go on, but my hands are tired from what I’m going to call ‘autism posting’, one of my totally free, personal hobbies that I often indulge in.
music, cooking, public librarying (that’s too complicated for one post)
Drawing, pencil and paper for start and drawing tablets are not that expensive for starter ones and there’s free open source drawing software.
Birdwatching. You can buy a book and binoculars if you like. The app Merlin is somewhat free to ID Birdwatching calls. Birdseed can get expensive or just plant sunflowers.
Wildflower identification. Best in early spring, Phone apps make this a little too easy. Seed collecting and propagation is my next goal. I also pull up invasive plants, mostly garlic mustard.
Gardening. Seeds are cheap but if want to start indoors you’ll need a light and possibly a heat mat. Start outdoors in a makeshift “greenhouse” using a clear plastic jug. Starter plants are cheap
D&D costs $90 for the hard cover core book set and $0 for the pirated pdfs.
Biking can have a high upfront cost, but I’ve been using the same bike for 20 years with tune-ups and replacements running in the low three figures over that time.
I’m a big fan of podcasts, particularly ones that cover old movies. Criterion collection films are everywhere, they’re dirt cheap, and they’re classics for a reason.
There are cheaper and better TTRPGs.
Not much is cheaper than free
All the other ones also have copies floating on the great seas, and some are just plain free
Sure. But those are the ones I’m most inclined to pay for.
Okay but you didn’t lead with free and as someone else pointed out that’s a moot point when you’re pirating.
SJ Games has GURPS Lite, a free version of their 4th edition. It’s very simplified, but easily playable.
There are plenty of hobbies where you can happily enjoy it and only ever spend little if anything.
On the other hand, I’ve found it’s pretty uncommon to find a hobby where you can’t optionally fall down an expensive rabbit-hole of some kind, usually around any kind of equipment or tools you might need as part of some hobby.
Thankfully for most hobbies that kind of thing is not required to enjoy it. You don’t need a fancy guitar to enjoy playing; you can read books from the library, you don’t need to collect your own; in most big enough cities (in Europe at least) you don’t even need to own a bike to go for a cycle (though regularly using bike rental schemes might be a sign to try and get a bike, doesn’t need to be fancy)
all hobbies have a cost floor for entry and a cost ceiling. one is the actual cost, and the other one is a made up number based on the richest person who does that hobby.
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IMO piracy and self hosting has great cost benefits.
Sure it costs money to buy a mini computer and a hard drive, but after, you can spend a long time building that library and it won’t cost you a dime.
And the computer and hard drive is more like an asset, you don’t really lose money when you buy it.
And it kind of pays you back, eventually you get a little tired of building your library but then you can use said library and integrate it into your lifestyle while you get a new obsession.
also, there’s a high when you hoard data like a dragon
And what’s great about it is that it’s a positive sum game, you being a data dragon only ensures it’s easier for others (seeding and it becoming a trend).
Basic concepts like property or ownership make absolutely no sense in the digital world.
By letting people hoard files like a greedy dragon those files are infinitely more available to everyone, in a decentralized network that is free to use and is superior (in content, efficiency, speed, cost) to every for profit company that streams content.
but that smoking monkey was mine i tells ya mine
Software development is free if you already have a computer
Any art or craft or sport is pretty much free when you weigh up the hours vs the outlay required.
Except skiing and motorsports. That eats money.
Skiing can be cheap if you just happen to be local to where you want to go. Used equipment can be cheap and last a long while and season tickets can be a good bargain on a per day basis at that point. I used to do that when I lived basically on a ski mountain.
But then you catch the bug and then you have to plan out $2000+ trips just to be able to do that once after you move away.
or boating, or equestrianism, or space travel.
Hiking? I mean, the world is just out there.
Other outside activities that need minimal equipment come to mind. You ever played discgolf? Or went running? Or geocaching?
But yeah, lots of activities aren’t expensive. Draw something. Paint something. Sing! Or do some sports! Yoga only requires a mat if you do it naked.
although the entry bar is theoretically non existent. practically? not really.
How so?
I agree that in some conditions, entry is practically free. Assuming you have comfortable walking shoes and a backpack and assuming you leave near some trails.
Otherwise shoes and basic equipment for jut getting into it might cost a few 100$. not expensive, but I would not say free entry.
I hike in sandals I got for $11 on rollback at Walmart. I don’t think most people need a backpack for hikes that are going to be a few hours at most. Bring a granola bar in your pocket if you really need food. Most people have some sort of bag that can carry things, it doesn’t have to be a backpack.
oh, I used to do a lot of hiking.
Didn’t consider a short hour long walk a hike.
I guess those ones do practically have no entry bar. given that everyone already likely has clothes capable of handling that.
Writing (free)
Maybe if you only write in dirt with your finger. Orherwise you need writing implements and something to write on.
Actually free things you can do:
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Walking/running
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Stare
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Singing
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Collecting rocks
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Stare
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Sleeping
For walking/running you need proper shoes.
If you’re reading this in a computer, then you already have what you need. otherwise, it’s like you said, the cheapest thing on the list
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Papercraft is pretty cool. If you have some thick card stock paper, a printer, a knife, and some glue, you can find 3D designs online for almost anything. I made an IL2 Sturmovik.
Well, strangling animals, golf and masturbating.
Golf??
I lived in Aberdeen, Scotland, the birthplace of golf, the barrier to entry was non existent. Practically everyone there golfs. when it is a nice day they just walk to the nearest golf course (there are like 6 in the city itself), and play, stick collection? you just need like 3 to begin and you can get the from charity shops for like £40. No one uses those eclectic golf carts they see them as abominations and ruins the sport (the whole point is to walk about 5 km, if you skip that then it is not a sport, they are allowed in some places for accessibility).
In the rest of the world? rich people sport
all of those are non like the others
Choking the chicken? It’s two hobbies in one
Ceramics is stupidly cheap to get into. All the tools can be replaced with your hands and a needle, finding workable clay in nature is stupidly easy if you know what to look for and even the garbage clay can be made usable. Most ceramic shops let you rent a shelf on the kiln for like $5. Your first ceramic statue is literally 2 hours of research and $5 away no matter where you are in the world.
finding workable clay in nature is stupidly easy if you know what to look for
Workable clay may be hundreds of kilometers away, depending on where you live.
I mean, I’m in the Netherlands, i literally can’t avoid the stuff, but not everyone lives in a giant river delta.
like me. i live in two giant river deltas. we have clay for days here. one time, this punk kid brought a pit bull to the neighbors and it attacked my cat. this cat had beaten up a lot of dogs including a retired police german shepherd, so it just stared down the dog. then got shook around like a ragdoll while it removed much of the dog’s face.
worst punishment we could think of was making the kid dig the grave. after two inches you hit clay. we made him go four feet deep. never saw him with a dog again, so between us and his parents something stuck.
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As an amateur radio operator, I can confirm this as factual. Over.
