Can't Justify an Expensive Hobby Even If I Can Afford It

[athena53]

I found my new hobby during covid - It is Flight Simulator.

Wow. I could DEFINITELY get into that. I've always fantasized about learning how to fly a plane but have concluded that I can afford to travel extensively or get and maintain a pilot's license but not both so I'm letting someone else fly the plane.

So.. I assume that in addition to getting the software you need a super-powerful computer and a very high-resolution monitor? Do you need to know anything about flying?

 

[NW-Bound]

Next step is to rent time on a flight simulator with a motion base. The 9/11 terrorists were able to do that to learn to fly a real airplane, because these flight simulators have full-sized cockpits.

Forty years ago, I went to CAE, which was a premier flight simulator maker in Montreal, to help them integrate our megacorp equipment into their product. They bragged to me that their simulator cost more than the real airplane!

Back then, it took several supermini computers to run the software. VAX 780 and Gould SEL were de rigueur.

My laptop I am typing this on can run circles around their clusters of superminis. How time has changed!

 

[Music Lover]

Youse guys' hobby costs money. Mine makes money.

And I don't care for the noise and all that physical work and the danger. I enjoy mine in solitude and serenity.

Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

I've made more money gigging than my gear cost. Not a lot more, but I'm ahead.

However, if I had to break it down and calculate how much per hour my earnings would be pretty pathetic

 

[neihn]

So.. I assume that in addition to getting the software you need a super-powerful computer and a very high-resolution monitor? Do you need to know anything about flying?

Yes, you do need a very fast computer with a beefy graphic card. Ad no, you don't need to know anything about flying. There are groups on discord that you could join and learn (there are so many helpful folks in those groups), and they often having group flight where we can can flight together and learn.

My next step is starting to use ATC then try some jets (airbus A389 etc..)

 

[Morgan22]

I guess my hope was that some others out there had expensive hobbies that were hard to justify but did it anyway. I hoped to see it in the same light.

My expensive hobby was horses. Now that is a hobby that would be difficult to justify! But I could afford it and wasn't hurting anyone, so I didn't care what anyone thought about it. Though now I can no longer ride since my body is just too broken and weak. I have wonderful memories of my horses and horsey friends. I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy that part of my life when I could.
Since your withdrawal rate is well under 4% with the hobby expenses, I say enjoy it while you still can!

 

[NW-Bound]

I've made more money gigging than my gear cost. Not a lot more, but I'm ahead.

However, if I had to break it down and calculate how much per hour my earnings would be pretty pathetic

The idea is to have fun. And if your entertainment costs less, or may even be profitable, then it's even better. Right?

 

[Music Lover]

The idea is to have fun. And if your entertainment costs less, or may even be profitable, then it's even better. Right?

Of course, obviously I was joking about how little money I earn at it. It's all about having fun.

Music is also one of the "cool" hobbies. When I was a kid I went to a few outdoor parties where someone brought out a guitar and people gathered and sang around the campfire. I always thought that it would be cool and wished that I could to that. Now I do it all the time.

 

[sdtech]

A very hard way to move from a two bladed prop to a three...

About the subject of the front license plate - my daughter was pulled over in Minnesota for not having a front plate. She explained to the state trooper that they didn't have them in Pennsylvania. He thought about it a while and then left her with a warning.

 

[neihn]

A very hard way to move from a two bladed prop to a three...

Did you forget to put landing gear down? or it is mal-function?

 

[FreeBear]

Yes, you do need a very fast computer with a beefy graphic card. Ad no, you don't need to know anything about flying. There are groups on discord that you could join and learn (there are so many helpful folks in those groups), and they often having group flight where we can can flight together and learn.

My next step is starting to use ATC then try some jets (airbus A389 etc..)

Thanks, very helpful. I remember a buddy showing me Flight Simulator on his PC decades ago, but I wasn't too impressed due to the limited graphics. I've thought about getting into it on and off for years.

It would be fun to build a modern gaming rig and set up Simulator, but I'm afraid of going down that rabbit hole, both due to the money and time sinkhole. Honestly, a big part is that it would be something DW would NOT want to do. At this point, we could use more stuff that we want to do together. We've got enough to do by ourselves!

 

[FreeBear]

Of course, obviously I was joking about how little money I earn at it. It's all about having fun.

Music is also one of the "cool" hobbies. When I was a kid I went to a few outdoor parties where someone brought out a guitar and people gathered and sang around the campfire. I always thought that it would be cool and wished that I could to that. Now I do it all the time.

DW and I had similar experiences in our youth, always someone hanging out with a guitar. I too wanted to be that guy with a guitar and, well, now I am! Like most of my hobbies, music comes and goes depending on the "season".

A few years ago, we ended up spending lots of time with several college age young adults from church, and they were very musical. A few of us would just hang out and play and sing. We even formed a worship band that played a handful of gigs. Fun times. We moved out of state and it's now hard to find people who play music. I miss it!

 

[livingalmostlarge]

Car racing? Awesome do it.

 

[MarieIG]

My expensive hobby was horses. Now that is a hobby that would be difficult to justify! But I could afford it and wasn't hurting anyone, so I didn't care what anyone thought about it. Though now I can no longer ride since my body is just too broken and weak. I have wonderful memories of my horses and horsey friends. I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy that part of my life when I could.
Since your withdrawal rate is well under 4% with the hobby expenses, I say enjoy it while you still can!

From your avatar, I wondered. A Morgan horse perhaps?

 

[MarieIG]

I hang out wit a dozen or so 70 - 75+ year old guys each day and have been for years now. We all drive. And two of us are still into classic cars. One guy just got thru restoring a 56 Ford into a very nice restomod.

not all older folks need to quit driving.

Bruce's '56:

View attachment 44560

DF had a 56 Ford.

 

[Morgan22]

From your avatar, I wondered. A Morgan horse perhaps?

The Morgan breed is my favorite.

 

[MarieIG]

The Morgan breed is my favorite.

I was probably about six years old when my father read me a book about the original Morgan horse. I was obsessed.

I always smile when I see your beautiful avatar.

 

[MercyMe]

In any class, it's not cheap. In today's dollars it's probably at least $5,000 per weekend.

That is almost exactly correct.

And it is addictive -- the rush you get on the track in traffic is like drugs and the intensity cannot be described -- it has to be experienced.

Indeed it is an addiction. The problem is the withdrawal. That part has not gone well for me. That is at least partly because of my focus on FI.

First, find an "arrive and drive" experience. The work involved in maintaining a car used to be estimated at 40 hours for each hour of track time. Also, the work involved a lot of crawling around on the floor, something that at 75YO I simply could not do.

I enjoyed wrenching as much as I enjoyed being on track. Come to think of it, I enjoyed just being in the paddock with a lot of interesting personalities. And for some weird reason, I always liked trailering... it just made me feel like w@rk was worth it.

The thing that flipped my switch was the death of my sister. She passed away at 47 and since then I just sort of am like, what is a life lived if I can't do fun things, and if that costs money, or more money then I would have normally spent so what.

I keep telling myself that something like this will happen and it will kick me into living the life I and my wife want. Until then, I'm still trying to understand how anyone can spend money with the knowledge of it's extreme expense. If someone can't find value because of the expense, and they still do the activity, then how do they turn it a blind eye and keep spending on it?

That was ultimately what I was asking in the opening post. I never intended for this to become a "permission to spend thread" because that's not going to help me see the light. Though I do greatly appreciate nearly everyone's comments!

I either need a life event to show me the light or I need to see the light that others are seeing. I'm looking for a way to feel better about spending a big chunk of money. There were a few responses like this, but the post below is outstanding...

My expensive hobby was horses. Now that is a hobby that would be difficult to justify! But I could afford it and wasn't hurting anyone, so I didn't care what anyone thought about it. I have wonderful memories of my horses and horsey friends. I'm glad I had the opportunity to enjoy that part of my life when I could.

 

[EastWest Gal]

We are a childless couple and the last of our gene pool. All of our relatives are older than we are so there will be no heirs other than the charities in our will. But if we die before 95, they will do well enough, expensive hobby or not.


Thank you. Nice way to look at it. My wife and I can both work an additional year and cover 80% of 10 years of the hobby. She's onboard with that but it won't change my concern that this hobby is too expensive. It would suck to work an extra year and then not get into the hobby!


Maybe I oversold the idea of it as an addiction. Or maybe it is the addiction that made me write that last sentence.


Our plan gets us to age 95 with a 2.7% WR inclusive of the hobby expense.


Exactly! Exactly! Exactly! Good to know that someone understands. Thank you for posting this.


I'm not that reluctant to say what it is. I just didn't want to add bias to the replies. I'd rather get opinions about how others spend money on things that are simply too expensive without their answers being tweaked to reflect a disagreement with my former hobby. Not sure why the hobby can be polarizing, but I've been badgered, belittled, and berated for it... due to it seeming ostentatious.


Truly wishing I never wrote the part about God. Would take it back if I could at this point, especially in light of what one poster wrote.


I guess my hope was that some others out there had expensive hobbies that were hard to justify but did it anyway. I hoped to see it in the same light.


Club racing. In my racing class, it is not cheap.

I spent $17K on new flutes since partial retirement in 2014. Does that count? I have my eye on a $7K piccolo but I’m happy with mine at the moment. Musical instruments can be expensive, but they last years/decades/centuries if they are cared for.

 

[check6]

A very hard way to move from a two bladed prop to a three...

Ouch!


One way to avoid that is to fly a fix gear:

 

[FlaGator]

To the OP, if you’re looking for a “life event” to sanction your desire, don’t wait. That event will be ugly.

I started riding motorcycles in the early 90’s, loved every mile, including the 25 yards I slid on my back. Sold the last one when I moved to FL in 1998.

Busy with work, kids come along, wife dies, don’t want to take extraordinary risks as a single parent.

Life moves on. Kids grow up. Youngest now 18, new wife goes back to work FT, I’m looking for something to do. Bought another motorcycle [emoji2], nearly 25 years later.

You can afford it and it’s safer than what I moved to.

Don’t wait for the “life event” to tell you it’s OK. Move forward so you’re ready for the 2023 season[emoji2]

 

[JackJester]

Wow. These hobbies are quite interesting, and high-end expensive. Cars, Planes, Horses, oh my! For me its Fly fishing and Skiing and fine Red Wine. To Each His Own. Although, I guess when I total it all up the cost difference probably isn't that great between my hobbies and others. The sentiment with this thread really boils down to ... 'Blow That Dough' and ... 'Time > $'. Enjoy Life While You Have It.

 

[dm]

I miss my plane, but I’ve gotten quite a bit of use out of the boat at somewhat less cost.

And This is how I justify the boat cost. My son and grandson both enjoy it also.

 

[KimmK451]

I've started jewelry making and as a goldsmith, I was thinking starting out in MY hobby was really expensive! Thank you for making a $900 rolling mill, $2200 hydrogen torch, in addition to all the other tools, gems and metals, seem positively cheap in comparison to all you guys' hobbies! LOL I feel ever so much better.

 

[Pointby2]

.
What if you 100%, absolutely, positively can afford a certain very enjoyable and very expensive hobby, but you simply can not justify the cost?


Have you had an expensive and hard-to-justify hobby? Did you leave it due to the cost? If not, how did you carry on with it?

I'm also very conservative when it comes to finances and spending. However, I modified and "tracked" an Audi A4 and later a Porsche GT3 I owned.

Between travel, modifications and repairs it was very expensive. I think I put about $25,000 into the Audi and sold it for about $5k. For me, it was a combination of cost and not being able to improve any more that made me finally sell off everything and move on.

Hobbies usually signal their own end when they just don't seem enjoyable anymore.

 

[1242Vintage]

Not quite as spendy as many of the hobbies here, but have ten high-end race bicycles in my garage. Race on gravel
roads, cyclocross, cross country mtn bike and some technical mtn bike stuff that actually takes skill. Each type requires a different bike and with my lack of skill I tend to break things so of course I need a back-up bike. And then there’s the race fees and travel expenses.