POLL: Retirees: How much did you spend on hobbies in 2013?

[NW-Bound]

RV'ing is not cheap, that's for sure. Travel is generally not cheap.

And speaking of [-]wasting money[/-] well-spent money for leisure, it's always in the eyes of the beholder. As long as a person fits it in his budget, who cares? Can we take it with us?

Actually, nobody really cares if someone here blows his/her budget either. Right?

 

[W2R]

As others have stated, for some of us hobby spending is hard to define.

That's why I decided to let everyone define it for themselves! I don't think I could come up with a definition that would satisfy everyone.

What feels like a comfortable, honest definition to you? If each of us goes with that gut feeling, it is more likely to be right than anything else AFAIK.

 

[Katsmeow]

And, by the way, I just counted my own spending on hobbies. I didn't count DH. During this last year most of our hobby spending was individual. On a year where we take a vacation and go somewhere if I thought of that as hobby then I would include the total for both of us.

Whether to count travel as hobby is kind of interesting. I'm talking, of course, about travel that is for fun and not for other reasons. I don't really consider travel a "hobby" exactly. I think a vacation is entertainment but, for me, I don't really see it as hobby. On the other hand, I could some who would see it that way.

 

[pb4uski]

I didn't count travel but I can see where some might consider it to be a hobby.

I counted for both of us and was unsure whether the poll was intended to be for one person or for the household.

 

[NW-Bound]

Here's a definition I found on the Web for the word hobby.

hobby: an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.​

Generally, people think of hobbies as more active leisure, and something that requires some devotion to develop some specific skills and knowledge.

So, photography, gardening, painting, cooking, woodworking, classic car restoration, electronic project building, homebrewing are universally accepted as hobbies. Travel tends to be, or can be, very passive. It only takes money to sign up for a cruise or to take a guided tour, and not much knowledge or skill is needed. Hence travel is not thought of as a hobby.

 

[Dreamer]

I did not count our vacation, because I do not consider it a hobby. This past year, my hobbies would be reading books and on the computer. My relatives pass books on to one another and we buy some at yard sales. I probably spent 20-25 dollars last year.

I guess that I need to get some hobbies. Next year should be my last year of working part-time, but I am getting a new granddaughter at the end of August and I am sure that I will spend plenty of time playing with her and her sister!

 

[seraphim]

RV'ing is not cheap, that's for sure. Travel is generally not cheap.

And speaking of [-]wasting money[/-] well-spent money for leisure, it's always in the eyes of the beholder. As long as a person fits it in his budget, who cares? Can we take it with us?

Actually, nobody really cares if someone here blows his/her budget either. Right?

I don't consider enjoying life ' wasting money'. We accrued it for the purpose of travel and enjoyment.

 

[seraphim]

Here's a definition I found on the Web for the word hobby.

hobby: an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure.​

Generally, people think of hobbies as more active leisure, and something that requires some devotion to develop some specific skills and knowledge.

So, photography, gardening, painting, cooking, woodworking, classic car restoration, electronic project building, homebrewing are universally accepted as hobbies. Travel tends to be, or can be, very passive. It only takes money to sign up for a cruise or to take a guided tour, and not much knowledge or skill is needed. Hence travel is not thought of as a hobby.

Perhaps not by you personally *shrug*. We travel in our leisure time for pleasure. We camp, hike, canoe, cook over a fire, bike during our travel. It's the reason we travel. Travel has never been passive for us, driving around the country to remote areas.

We disagree on the definition.

 

[audreyh1]

Hmmmm - isn't it all hobbies? Hard for me to make a distinction there!

LOL I tend to see travel as a hobby. Half the time I have a "purpose" in mind anyway - such as photography, or even just pursuing certain food experiences. Not to mention the critter chasing (usually birds).

Probably also because we don't sign up for tours but rather roll our own itinerary which requires considerable research and planning! It's requiring considerable effort this year!

I tend to see a the more expensive parts of my cooking as a hobby, particularly when I fire up the grill for something special or pull out the wok for Thai cooking.

Same with our indulgence in the finer wines....

Can dining out be considered a hobby? Maybe.

 

[NW-Bound]

Well, I happen to think of my travels as a hobby too.

It's because of the way I do it. Whether going abroad or domestically, I usually do research beforehand to look up things to do, places to see. I often watch the Travel channel to learn of new places. I like to pick up travel-related magazines whenever I see them laying around to read about some exotic places. I read travel blogs and full-time RV'er blogs to see where they go, some remote places where they camp. I look up Google Earth and Google Street View to check out the lay of the land where I travel through or may camp with my RV. I spend more time thinking about travel than most do.

So, I do think of my travel as a hobby, besides my loudspeaker tuning, my customization of the RV electric system, the repair and maintenance of my dirt bikes, the gardening, the landscaping up in my 2nd home, the sorting and maintenance of my MP3 files, my home computer network and its multiple servers, my amateurish woodworking, the look for new dishes to prepare for daily dinner as well as to feed my guests at family get-togethers that I often host, etc... I have a lot to keep busy.

And travel is the most expensive leisure activity for me.

 

[chas57006]

About $7k for us last year.

Golf $2,500 for me and DW but mostly me - includes our club memberships, some golf cart cards and my weekly travel golf group; Hockey $600 (mostly travel to 2013 NCAA D3 Frozen Four in Lake Placid), Sewing $2,600 for DW (including $1,200 for a new machine), Skiing $500 for the two of us, Snowmobiling $700 (mostly a major repair to one of our machines).

Not many snowmobiling retirees. Ours are similar to yours with golfing and snowmobiling.
We spent 3 weeks in Wyoming in 3 different areas riding our sleds.
Total hobby costs around $6000.

 

[Mulligan]

I personally don't include traveling as a hobby and will not include my gym membership, because I would much prefer to eat a lot and gain weight than do this daily, so I consider it a bill. That just leaves golf and sports betting as my real hobbies. I actually made quite a bit of money off them (not the golf) last year and this year already. It leaves my vacation budget flush as I haven't had to use any of that money for several years. GF doesn't approve of that hobby but she sure hasn't complained when she gets to go on vacation for free because of it!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[explanade]

Would travel be considered a hobby?

 

[Major Tom]

My 2 main hobbies are ham radio and photography. Hopefully, I'll branch out a bit and be able to include travel in a few years but for now, it's those 2.

Some years include relatively major hobby expenses, while other years have smaller, what you might call "hobby maintenance" expenses. It's a rough guess, but the $500 - $999 bracket sounds about right, so I will vote that as soon as this reply has been posted.

I'm inching closer (maybe) to a new camera purchase for ~$1600 with accessories. I may well end up selling a lens which the new camera will replace. The lens should get me ~$750, so the net cost of the camera to me will be ~$850. There's a slight chance I may sell it and upgrade in the next few years if a subsequent model represents a significant step up but judging by my past behavior, it's equally likely this camera will last me the next 10 years, making it very affordable.

Yes, $500 - $999 sounds about right.

Last minute edit - I just realized the poll question was how much was spent on hobbies last year, as opposed to average yearly spending. My last year spending was <$500, so I voted that way, although the average is in the $500 - $999 range.

 

[jclarksnakes]

Just a bit over 10K for our hobbies last year. Actually mostly my hobbies. That did not include travel for which we also spent a little over 10K.

 

[crtreedude]

I have no idea how to calculate this. I am currently building a new road in our property to improve access to the river - is that I hobby or a improvement to the property? It improves the value of the property, but I enjoy doing it. Probably about 1,000 dollars in fuel to build it (I own the backhoe already)

Most of my hobbies make money, or so my family says, I am still trying to learn not to care.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

I completely understand that a $1600 camera is an unnecessary and excessive expense for most people. As others have said, only we can be the judge of what is good for us.

While out hiking yesterday, I saw a guy with a telephoto lens that was about three feet long. I joked that that lens must likely represented about the same amount as a small car purchase. He nodded his head in painful agreement.

We have lots of hobbies, but I am still amazed that we spent close to $2,000 last year in order to outfit ourselves for backpacking, our newest hobby. $2,000 for the privilege of sleeping on the ground!

I'm kidding just a bit - I deeply enjoy the physical challenge and rewards that backpacking represents - but still, $2,000 for everything necessary to live simply for short periods of time? The irony is not lost on me.

 

[audreyh1]

While out hiking yesterday, I saw a guy with a telephoto lens that was about three feet long. I joked that that lens must likely represented about the same amount as a small car purchase. He nodded his head in painful agreement.

We have lots of hobbies, but I am still amazed that we spent close to $2,000 last year in order to outfit ourselves for backpacking, our newest hobby. $2,000 for the privilege of sleeping on the ground!

I'm kidding just a bit - I deeply enjoy the physical challenge and rewards that backpacking represents - but still, $2,000 for everything necessary to live simply for short periods of time? The irony is not lost on me.

Yep, in 2000 we sold our 2nd car, a gently used Honda Accord, to buy DH's 600mm F4 lens. He's still using it 14 years and a few camera bodies later.

 

[Cat-tirement]

We travel in our leisure time for pleasure. We camp, hike, canoe, cook over a fire, bike during our travel. It's the reason we travel.

Sounds like us! However DW isn't interested in camping as an activity by itself, but will do it as a means to get somewhere you couldn't get otherwise.

 

[Alan]

If you don't count gym membership or travel then under $500. However, we travel extensively, mostly to out of the way places where we go hiking. Last year we hiked in various places, including 2 NP's during a month in Ireland, lots of hiking in various places in England and Scotland, France and Spain. Awesome scenery, very few folks on the trails, but the most memorable of our trips last year was to Iceland, The Faroe Islands and Norway.

So, counting travel as a hobby then well over $10k spent in 2013. (and in 2010, 2011 and 2012).

 

[sengsational]

)Most of my hobbies make money, or so my family says, I am still trying to learn not to care.

Yep. As soon as I start a hobby or doing something just for the fun of it, the wheels start turning on how to make a few bucks off it (enough to support my 'habit'). I have to keep reminding myself "you don't need to do that!"

 

[Kabekew]

I spend around $15,000 a year going to chess tournaments. Airfare, entry fee and hotel add up to over $1,000 each tournament. On the plus side, I have a higher rating than I ever did when I was younger.

 

[Rambler]

Hmmmm....

I've read thru the posts, and can't help but thinking, "I'm retired...isn't everything I do either "a hobby" or "an activity in support of a hobby"?

I like to run. So, that could be a hobby. If I run, I have to eat well. To eat well, I have to cook. To cook, I need good food and thus I shop both for bargains as well as for good high quality stuff.

Etc., etc. I guess this doesn't really answer the question. For me though, being retired is the hobby, thus everything I spend is related to my hobby.

R

 

[ajs56]

I'm just semi-retired for another few months, so maybe I should have waited to reply, but.. I didn't!

My wife loves flower gardening and probably spends a few hundred bucks a year on that. She keeps about three acres around the house and building looking very nice! We also do some traveling, renting a summer house for the kids and grandkids to join us for a week or so each summer, nothing too exotic, and spend a few thousand on that dort of thing. My main hobby is music, and I may spend a few hundred on strings, sticks, supplies, etc. as I already have most of the major instruments I need (want?). But, as I like to remind DW, I always earn a lot more playing than i spend on music gear, so I really have a hobby that generates income. She still thinks I should not to the music store... go figure.

 

[Meadbh]

Without a line item for "hobbies" this is impossible for me to calculate. I like to entertain, but that comes under "groceries" and "household expenses". I golf, which is easily identifiable in "sports". I travel, which is filed under "vacations". I watch movies on Netflix, eat out, and go to concerts, all of which are filed under "entertainment". As Rambler said, in ER everything you do is a hobby!