The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Catherine Alford. Cat is a freelance personal finance writer who blogs at www.BudgetBlonde.com.
I was thinking the other day that I really don’t have a hobby anymore.
I danced for over 20 years growing up and taught ballet as one of my jobs throughout college. It was such a big part of my life that definitely slowed down when I moved out of the country and of course, had two kiddos.
I’ve been thinking I want to take a dance class soon. After all, that’s a lot of my parents’ dollars plus such a long time to train and build technique for it to go to waste. There are many dancers still performing at age 30 so there’s no reason why I can’t get back into shape and at least take a ballet class. Plus, I still have about 10 pounds to go to be back at my pre-twin weight so the exercise won’t kill me.
I find it interesting that it took me this long to realize that for my whole life, I really haven’t had that many outside activities since I didn’t play sports or bake or do anything except go to dance class 4-5 times a week. So, as an adult I might expand my horizons a bit more in addition to getting back into one of my passions.
So, in honor of branching out and doing more fun things outside of work, here are a few hobbies that are fun and trendy and if done just right, won’t break the bank:
Biking
One mistake that many people make when they become interested in biking is buying a really expensive bike to start out with. They get excited after watching the Tour de France and decide that they will become the type of person to ride 100 miles every weekend.
I definitely admire anyone who takes on this challenge (after all, Jacob is a huge biking fan and raises money every year with it!) However, my biggest advice is to start off slowly. That’s how you can make sure that biking won’t break the bank. Borrow a friend’s bike for the first few weeks to see if you like it and want to stick with it. Purchase a used bike off of Craigslist that’s nice but not a $600 brand new one just to get a feel for it and see if you enjoy it.
You can also buy an inexpensive bike at a big box store and try riding it around your neighborhood. If you find that you ride your bike often and enjoy it, then save up and make the investment for an expensive bike later. However, as far as casual hobbies go, this one is quite inexpensive once you get past the cost of the bike. If you become a more serious biking enthusiast though, the gear and the bikes can definitely add up.
Cooking
My husband absolutely loves to cook. I always tell him it’s the main reason I married him since I am not too skilled in the kitchen. Cooking is the best hobby to start right after you get married because typically you get a ton of cooking gadgets as wedding presents. This helps to cut down on the upfront costs.
Now, ingredients can get pretty pricy too especially if you have to buy a pinch of this or a pinch of that so if you are on a tight budget, just pick one meal every week that you’re going to experiment with for fun. It helps if you choose ingredients that will overlap with other things you want to cook that week. For example, this week I am making a tuna salad and an Asian salad that share 3-4 of the same ingredients. This helps me not to waste food and to have two things I enjoy without buying extra food at the store.
Essentially, with enough careful planning, cooking can be a rather inexpensive and fun hobby for anyone.
Reading
I love to read and have ever since I was a little kid. I find I go through phases though where I read a ton and fly though a whole series in one month and then go a few months without reading anything except blog posts. For those times when I am really into reading, I always like to borrow books from the library, rent audio books, or use some of my iTunes credit to download a book for free. It’s an easy and fun way to escape or learn something new that can be a completely free hobby!
Of course, along with the hobbies above, there are those hobbies that will probably always be pretty expensive like learning to play a musical instrument, scuba diving, flying planes, deep sea fishing, etc. Even scrapbooking and crafting can add up significantly if you purchase all of those products consistently. Of course, all of these are great if you have the budget and the time. However, if you are looking to start a casual and fun hobby that’s not too expensive, try out some of the ones listed above.
How about you all? What are some of your hobbies? Are they expensive?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/pixietart/4184841/in/
