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

[Joggernot]

When I neared retirement I bought a 250 Yamaha. When I retired I upgraded to an 1100 Yamaha. Put 50k miles on it in 5 years. Then four hip replacements later I had to sell it, too. Can't walk, so I took up woodcarving and haven't looked back. Of course we do much more than our hobbies...e.g. went to hear a bluegrass band tonight.

 

[Al18]

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!

Microsoft’s Flight Simulator looks great, and I just recently built a gaming PC for $850 less $200 in gift cards. Mid range video cards are back in stock for $250-$400, so there’s no reason not to build a gaming PC. For 1080P to 1440P gaming, there’s no reason to spend more on a video card IMHO.

 

[RxMan]

My wife and I picked this up a year ago. We didn’t want to wait until retirement to have fun.

 

[sdtech]

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

It was a malfunction - a cable in the system bound up in a push/pull tube. Tried to lower gear for over an hour.

 

[Dean56]

If I really enjoy something and am able to spend a lot of time doing it, and can afford it, IMO the cost is already justified! What’s the point of having the money otherwise?!?

+1

 

[Coach Shoe]

I've been fortunate … for most of my life my desires for recreation were in line with my available funds.

Flying was the exception many years ago; had to walk away from that one.
Wood working - just did not do it for me.
Motorcycles - quit at age 70.
Golf - my body (bad back) made me quit.
Fancy sport cars- quit when I had to place a hand on the ground to get out.
Sailing - still has me by the throat at a cost of $10k to 20k / yr. Now 80 YO, for-see selling the boat in 3 or 4 years.… maybe! DW is still a fan.

 

[Car-Guy]

Fancy sport cars- quit when I had to place a hand on the ground to get out.

How well I know about that! I have had to learn to sort of roll in and out of mine when I'm "out and about". When at home, I actually have a rope hanging from a rafter in the barn where I park with a hand loop setup as an assist to get in an out. Took a few adjustments but works well.

 

[Trailwalker]

I've been fortunate … for most of my life my desires for recreation were in line with my available funds.

Flying was the exception many years ago; had to walk away from that one.
Wood working - just did not do it for me.
Motorcycles - quit at age 70.
Golf - my body (bad back) made me quit.
Fancy sport cars- quit when I had to place a hand on the ground to get out.
Sailing - still has me by the throat at a cost of $10k to 20k / yr. Now 80 YO, for-see selling the boat in 3 or 4 years.… maybe! DW is still a fan.

Wow. I wanna be you at 80--maybe on mountain trails instead of a beautiful boat, but still...that's living large.

 

[eytonxav]

If there is an element of "addiction" to the hobby, I'd suggest that just MIGHT be a reason not to go back to it. Forget the money! Avoid addiction because addiction is potentially bad for you.

If you want something to get excited over and is quite addictive and cheap, try pickleball. That can easily soak up the majority of your time and provide great fun.

Unfortunately most of my hobbies have been expensive, with sports cars/racing leading the pack. I had to wean myself off of them due to back and balance problems and declining reflexes. Nevertheless, if finances aren't a concern or there are physical limitations getting in the way, I'd say enjoy your hobbies as long as they remain enjoyable.

 

[HenryD]

Sailing - still has me by the throat at a cost of $10k to 20k / yr. Now 80 YO, for-see selling the boat in 3 or 4 years.… maybe! DW is still a fan.

Rock on, sailing at 80+! We're probably under $10k, but not much. We will be using it as summer housing for the next few years before upgrading though. I couldn't justify it without future liveaboard goals.

 

[Coach Shoe]

Nice boat! Following the rules… don't see many at anchor balls being used. [emoji106]

 

[ls99]

Shees, I thought spending $1400.- a few years ago on a used kevlar 18 foot kayak was extravagant. It replaced my 30 yo wooden kayak I built.

Other hobbies, a totally isolated 14 acre camp I bought around 15 years ago, Then proceeded to build a self sufficient solar sytem was a bit pricey and good bit of fun w*rk... The serenity and quiet there, priceless.
Other cheap hobby is figure skating, about $200 in ice fees per winter season. And before Covid used to rent apartment in Pittsburgh, so after Tango dacing did not have to drive home late at night. Hope to get back to dancing once the madness of Covid rules all settle down.

Few substitues for having a woman who can dance, in a close embrace and dancing Argentine Tango. No, not the show off acrobatic stuff seen on TV and in movies. Genuine close embrace social dancing when she dances for me and I dance for her. Sometimes referred to as a three minute love affair.

Last big ticket pleasure item was a 2020 Caddi CT6 with all bells and whistles,taxes etc. was around $70K, it replaced my 2014 CTS4. Nice to travel in decadent comfort and style with theatre sound of Panaray sound system. And not needing a shoehorn to get in and out of the thing. BTW the first thing I did was remove the front plate holder thingy, in PA no front plates to wreck the look of front end.

Comapred to most as discussed in this thread, am definitely in miser hobby camp. Yet all the stuff I do is tons of fun.

 

[captain3d]

Delete

 

[Koolau]

I always thought the Comanche was a class aircraft. I had a boss who flew one back when I was flying a C-150. Heh, heh, not much comparison.

No way I'd pass a 3rd class so I won't be taking up that particular hobby - again.

 

[pacergal]

OP--it sounds like you obviously can afford to race and enjoy it.
How does your DW feel about you racing?

 

[Koolau]

OP--it sounds like you obviously can afford to race and enjoy it.
How does your DW feel about you racing?

Heh, heh, always the most important question in any hobby or money issue. OP I hope she loves it so you have NO excuse NOT to do what you love.

 

[ls99]

One does not have to be married to have serious input from the Sgnificant Other

 

[Car-Guy]

^^^^^^
I've been very fortunate during my retirement. The DW has always supported me in my hobbies, especially the ones that keep me out of the house for a day or two at a time.

 

[MercyMe]

OP--it sounds like you obviously can afford to race and enjoy it.
How does your DW feel about you racing?

My DW is completely fine with the hobby. I think I mentioned this in my post.

But again this was never intended to be a "permission to spend" thread. Those kinds of posts are like giving a man/woman a fish. I'm looking at this from through the lens of teach a man/woman to fish by asking how others were able to carry on with a hobby even though it was woefully expensive.

 

[MC Rider]

........ teach a man/woman to fish ............

Give a man a fire and he'll be warm for a day.
Set fire to the man and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.

 

[RobbieB]

Teach a man to fish and he will spend huge amounts of money buying boats and be out on the water having fun for the rest of his life.

 

[FreeBear]

I had a single-engine experimental aircraft for many years that I sold the same year I retired. Cost-wise, before flying it for a single minute, the annual maintenance, hangar, insurance, tax costs were above $15K. Flying it 150 hours in a year added another ~$10K.

We spent $10-20K/year on sailing (excluding the substantial cost of the boats) for almost 30 years. While we were doing it, it was exhilarating and it seemed worth it.

Sailing - still has me by the throat at a cost of $10k to 20k / yr. Now 80 YO, for-see selling the boat in 3 or 4 years.… maybe! DW is still a fan.��

It's quite interesting to see some real numbers on planes and boats. Seems like $10-20K/year is not uncommon. I'm a little surprised to see that we run the same with our motor home, a 35 ft diesel pusher mini "bus". Call it $10K/yr for storage, insurance, planned maintenance, unscheduled repairs, and registration. Add another $10K for fuel & campsites for a typical 7500 mile (150 hours??) year, maybe 50 camping nights. Of course, this doesn't include cost of the rig.

Honestly, this burn rate probably isn't sustainable forever. We figure we've got maybe a decade at best of reasonably active years as a couple and we want to enjoy it as much as possible. The rig is a real PITA to maintain, both $$$ and time-wise, but we have a blast on the road and in camp.

 

[Koolau]

One does not have to be married to have serious input from the Sgnificant Other

Yeah, I guess I only think in terms of marriage because I've spent most of my life (over 50 years) married. SO status can be just as binding and require the same kind of give and take as marriage.

 

[tryan]

Anything you can afford is not too expensive.

 

[Time2]

Anything you can afford is not too expensive.

The trick is understanding what "afford" really means. Being able to afford the monthly payment, does not necessarily mean you can afford it.
Thus the creation of 72 month auto loans.