what do you spend on hobbies, in retirement?

[Fermion]

I currently own about $45k in pinball machines. I used to get antsy (and still do at times) spending money like this, but I've come to realize a few things:
-Spending this money does not derail any other financial plans
-I could easily sell the pins and make the money back
-I really, really like all things pinball. Playing, reading, buying, fixing, researching, etc.

Pinball machines are one of the few hobbies that are actually a great investment.

We bought a Addams Family for $2100 and a really pristine TZ for $1400, played on them (and had house parties where people LOVED them) for a decade, then sold each for over $6000. Now a few years later I see that TZ probably would fetch $12,000.

 

[pacergal]

*Ongoing hobby is reading, but books are free from the library.
*Putzing in the garden is only 3-4 months a year, but this year we did buy a small 4x6 greenhouse for outside ($200) and a small 2x2 indoor greenhouse ($100), and in general about $200 year for plants/seeds/soil and then the added cost of watering during growing season.
*Trying new recipes and cooking, so spices, etc but it doesn't add too much to the budget. This year we did replace our knives with some really high quality special made ones, at $1100.
*DH likes to grill so we have purchased a treager smoker, a small propane BBQ, and a small charcoal grill since retirement, all replacing an old gas grill we inherited from my dad.
*joined a nearby gym, but monthly cost is covered by Medicare.

 

[pjigar]

I spend $10-15K a year on hobbies and tools. Lot of the tools are related to hobbies and we live on an acreage which always needs more tools. And I am not retired so I am not sure which direction they will go once I retire!

 

[kingkarmann]

I’m into classic VW’s.
It used to be a fairly inexpensive hobby much as the car hobby can be.
It’s not so cheap these days but it’s still just as satisfying.

 

[audreyh1]

Over half our budget is discretionary spending. Half or more of that is what could be considered ‘hobby’ including travel.

 

[rk911]

several hobbies...

Ham Radio. I'm active but haven't bought any new equipment for 15-20 years. If it ain't broke....

Aviation: I earned my Sport Pilot cert. back in '12. I was training for the Private Pilot cert. back in the 80's but had to stop when my wife severely injured her leg on a ski trip and was off work for 6-mos. My training was the first thing to go. Didn't re-start until 2010 but in the intervening years I socked away extra $ in a sinking fund against the day I would resume training. So while I spent somewhere around $5K it wasn't 'new' money. I have since self-grounded due to health issues,

RV: We bought our first motor home back in '86 and bought two others between then and 2015. we visited every state in the lower 48 and most provinces in Canada. But, health has caught up with us so we are selling our current MH.

I'm currently reviewing and organizing several thousand of our digital photos and hundreds more that are printed. When I fininsh it's on to my late BIL digital photos.

 

[punkinhead]

We camp, hike, fish, and kayak which are all low cost hobbies after the initial investment in an RV, hiking equipment, and kayaks. Those expenses are behind us now. Our biggest ongoing expense is airplanes. We got down to 1 last summer which helps but we kept a second hangar to store our RV and other toys so hangar rent is by far out biggest line item in hobby expenses. Other than that it's not bad because I do my own maintenance.

 

[Kings over Queens]

Great hobbies shared here. Aviation is something I'd like to do but Mom said I can't have a plane.

I plan to golf, probably will join a club so my wife and I can go there together, have breakfast, use the gym, I can golf, and she can do her stuff. She likes to garden and I plan to get her a greenhouse to compensate for the shorter season here in NJ.

We plan to travel, but haven't set a budget yet. I still haven't FIRE'd yet, but getting closer every day.

 

[Kings over Queens]

My hobby is video gaming. I spend an average of about $500/year on it, although some years I might spend $900 and other years less than $100. Really that's not much for this hobby. It can be expensive if you let it!

I remember when Call of Duty Black Op's came out, good Lord, we had more fun playing that game.

 

[38Chevy454]

My hobby is my old cars. Old to me is my 5 cars 1937-68. Total spending depends on what is bought, sold, or project expenses. Averaged out is probably $8-10K per year. But an individual year can vary wildly. It's certainly getting higher cost and I don't see it going down. I do not break out hobby expenses in my budget, just part of overall household spending.

I also spend money on my newer cars, but not as much as the old cars.

 

[tmm99]

I play a team sport which is quite consuming time-wise and enegy-wise, but I love it! I probably spend about $2,500 a year total for leagues, tournaments, pickups and equipment. One year, I spent a lot more as I participated in a multi-day tournament (4 days) outside the country, but I most likely won't do that again.

 

[teejayevans]

Great hobbies shared here. Aviation is something I'd like to do but Mom said I can't have a plane.

I don’t have that problem.

 

[Kings over Queens]

Now you're just showing off.

Good for you, that's so cool.

 

[Jerry1]

I don’t really have a hobby. There are some things I enjoy but I wouldn’t call them a hobby.

I enjoy driving a nice car. I’ve spent a few bucks on new cars in the past and that continues into retirement. I can’t remember the last time I owned a car for five years.

I enjoy golfing, but I don’t spend much money on it. Maybe a $2K a year?

I wanted a pool. We spent a lot on that. It’s one of the things I spend time on during the summer either maintaining it or swimming in it. It wasn’t “worth it”, but we enjoy it.

I putz around in the yard but that doesn’t run much money unless I get a notion to change something or buy a bunch of flowers. I do less of that now because we have a deer problem and they eat everything - very frustrating.

I think some of the best advice I got while thinking about retirement is to plan to spend about the same amount of money as you spent while working. The types of things I spend on changed a bit, but I still spend about the same as I fumble my way through this thing called retirement.

 

[rk911]

Great hobbies shared here. Aviation is something I'd like to do but Mom said I can't have a plane.

you can always rent.

 

[Walt34]

Great hobbies shared here. Aviation is something I'd like to do but Mom said I can't have a plane.

Well, you could consider R/C airplanes. Last year I spent about $5,500 on those and associated gear but that is going to slow down a lot because I'm running out of room. As with most hobbies there is no upper limit on what one can spend. I've seen photos/videos of four-engine turbine models that have to be deep into five figures. That's a bit much for me.

That V1200 with the retractable gear comes out of the box advertised ready for 140 mph speeds, most are getting 150+ with it. The others shown are a lot more sedate.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

I've spent $40k on my new motorcycle obsession over the last 3 years, and spend what ever needed to keep them rolling. I read motorcycle forums with people talking how they really want a particular bike, but pass on buying because it's not a great deal. I could careless getting a deal or not, as long as it's what I want. Saving an insignificant amount of $$ to pass up a fun toy is not worth it to me. I feel extremely privileged to be in such a financial position to do so.

 

[old medic]

I spend 100% of my left over dollars on my favorite hobby... DW....

 

[dmpi]

I love pinball too. When people come over they always play them. The down side is they're like a 70's GM car. They are always breaking down and constantly need to be repaired. On a good note they're lots of parts available and lots of information on the web. YouTube is especially useful.

 

[RetiredHappy]

Golf and travel are our big spending and we are both avid golfers.
- Country Club membership dues and trail fees: $15K a year
- Play at other local courses and additional memberships at those courses, another $6K a year
- Golfing while we travel 3 months a year: $9K
- New golf equipment, and training kits and toys: $3K

Travel:
- Timeshare Maintenance fees: $14K (Westin/Sheraton, Marriott and Worldmark)
- Air tickets: Around $5K (first class tickets, last year to Hawaii, this year to Europe and next year to the east coast)
- Cruises: varies between $5K to $20K depending on where and how often.

All in all, about $60K or more a year.

We are getting older, and I do foresee that in 8 years time or so, we will stop flying and divest of our timeshare. It will half our expenses for our hobbies.

Oh, we are not rich but comfortable as well.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I forgot about traveling. During my 11 years of retirement I have been on 6 cruises, RV trips to national parks and 3 trips to Europe. I have one more booked for next April. I also have been to Europe 3 other times during the years.

I think next year is my last international trip as there’s not really anything else that I want to see. This last trip was exhausting as we walked 12-16k steps for 11 days and the 27 hours of being awake for flights was brutal. It took me a week after I got home to feel normal.

I really enjoyed the trip but started to feel like I had seen enough castles, palaces, beautiful churches, etc. When I was married we spent between 5-14k year on travel and now I have spent 5-6k year on my trips.

 

[MC Rider]

I've spent $40k on my new motorcycle obsession over the last 3 years, and spend what ever needed to keep them rolling. I read motorcycle forums with people talking how they really want a particular bike, but pass on buying because it's not a great deal. I could careless getting a deal or not, as long as it's what I want. Saving an insignificant amount of $$ to pass up a fun toy is not worth it to me. I feel extremely privileged to be in such a financial position to do so.

I've been riding motorcycles for > 40 years. No idea how many thousands of dollhairs I have spent. But I am not the guy to spend big bucks on every mod possible. Or buy a new bike every year or 2. I do have Z Custom leathers made just for me that were a bit pricey. I plan to keep riding as long as I can. Before retiring last year sold the Ducati and bought a Suzuki. Mainly for ease and cost of maint, and because the closest Ducati dealer is now 150 miles away.

 

[Gumby]

My main hobby is vegetable gardening and preserving my harvest, but that also feeds us (fresh in the growing season, canned over the winter). I have all the equipment, but I buy some seeds (I save a lot of them from year to year), pesticides and fertilizers (all organic), and I rent my plot for $100 a year. I also enjoy shooting. It's just ammunition and range fees these days (my gun safe is at capacity), although it does add up. Occasionally, I make beer and soap and have to buy ingredients for that. I do genealogical research (especially in the winter), but that's just the cost of an ancestry.com subscription.

 

[DAYDREAMER]

I've been riding motorcycles for > 40 years. No idea how many thousands of dollhairs I have spent. But I am not the guy to spend big bucks on every mod possible. Or buy a new bike every year or 2. I do have Z Custom leathers made just for me that were a bit pricey. I plan to keep riding as long as I can. Before retiring last year sold the Ducati and bought a Suzuki. Mainly for ease and cost of maint, and because the closest Ducati dealer is now 150 miles away.

3 years ago got back into motorcycles, relearning on a new Honda NC750x, putting 28k miles in a year before selling. Wanted more head snapping power, so moved up to a Yamaha FJR1300 and added 55K miles to its odometer. Have spent many $$ making it fit my body, including custom saddle, bar risers, etc. I love doo-dads and loaded it up with anything that makes it either safer, or more comfortable. Just spent $1700 on an Aerostitch all weather riding suit. I ride everyday
for a couples of hours, rain or shine. Absolutely addicted

Are you "MC Rider" that makes all the Motorcycle safety riding videos? If so, great job on riding advice!

 

[NW-Bound]

I spend a 5-figure sum each year on travel, but I don't think it should be called a hobby. It's just recreational travel.

I spend the same on home projects, but these are not hobbies either. They are more like work, except that they are quasi-discretionary, meaning I did not really have to do it. So, perhaps they are hobby-like activities.

I think the only real hobbies we have is my wife's gardening, and me building occasional electronic things for fun. The gardening costs $1-2K a year. My electronics a few $100.