what do you spend on hobbies, in retirement?

[AlmostThere35]

I continue to work part-time b/c otherwise I cannot rationalize spending money on myself for my hobbies, but my main hobby is gaming and I already built a nice gaming PC, the games I like are cheap, and so I still end up with more than I know what to spend on myself directly so I got creative.

I've ended up supporting others in shared hobbies like my buddy in west africa. In two hours working as an engineer, I can pay his living costs for two weeks and he spends 40 hours on modding whatever games I like in return so I can skip the parts of programming that I find tedious while he spends the rest of his time volunteering to teach kids how to use computers.

I also support my wife's lingerie and other purchases of a similar nature... that easily takes up the rest of my earnings and I am satisfied with the results.

 

[Out of Steam]

Hiking and cycling consume a lot of our time, but we spend only a few hundred bucks on new boots, clothes, tires, maintenance etc.

Except for travel, hiking has always been fairly cheap for me. But as I've gotten older, I've started to prefer lighter weight (read: expensive) gear, and have worn out a pair of boots every year since retiring (lighter = not as durable). I haven't gone full-blown ultralight yet, but am getting there.

Except for watching sales and consigning old gear, I'm not trying to economize.

 

[EarlyandLate]

I don't spend much. I suppose one of my hobbies is foraging. Even though I live in a very urban setting, there is edible stuff growing everywhere. I just made a dewberry cobbler today with some beautiful berries I picked near a parking lot. Got my eye on some others that are almost ready. I make all my own jam and jelly with foraged fruit, bake things with foraged pecans and walnuts. One of my big misses a few years was watermelons. I was keeping my eye on them on a road embankment. Someone must have tossed watermelon seeds out of the car window. However, just before the things ripened, the road department cleared the area.

 

[pb4uski]

We spend a lot on hobbies.

Mostly golf and traveling in our travel trailer. Over 25% of spending over last 12 months were golf, travel/camping, dining out and sewing (DW).

 

[sdtech]

Aviation - and a good rule to continue in plane ownership is NEVER add the costs up.

 

[Fermion]

Aviation - and a good rule to continue in plane ownership is NEVER add the costs up.

So it is like owning a boat that can fly.

 

[rk911]

Aviation - and a good rule to continue in plane ownership is NEVER add the costs up.

same rule applies when owning an RV.

 

[Music Lover]

Aviation - and a good rule to continue in plane ownership is NEVER add the costs up.

Some hobbies cost more than others. I just bought new strings for my acoustic guitar, spent $8

 

[MC Rider]

same rule applies when owning an RV.
.....

Motorcycles too. But they tend to cost less than planes RVs and boats.

 

[Out of Steam]

same rule applies when owning an RV.

My wife hints about wanting to own a camper van or trailer from time to time, but she would insist that I do all the driving. That is not a good idea, as I'm quite prone to mishaps with large vehicles from lack of a sense of what is behind me.

It would get very expensive.

 

[hopeisconstant]

Medicare covers Gym membership?

*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.

 

[Car-Guy]

After my recent trip to Vegas, I'm going to revise the spend rates on my hobbies from a lot to insane. Like they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Goes for your money too.

 

[MC Rider]

After my recent trip to Vegas, I'm going to revise the spend rates on my hobbies from a lot to insane. Like they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Goes for your money too.

They don't call It Lost Wages for nothing.


Spending $6 - $10 a pop for motorcycle gas each ride. Soon I will spend about $300 for 2 new tires installed. Pay to play. And it could cost a lot more.

 

[REWahoo]

Medicare covers Gym membership?

Many Medicare Advantage Plans (and a few Medicare Supplement plans?) include gym membership.

 

[Car-Guy]

^^^^
I need to be careful selecting my plan each year. Sure would hate to have that included. Why pay for something else I won't use.

 

[MC Rider]

^^^^
I need to be careful selecting my plan each year. Sure would hate to have that include. Why pay for something else I won't use.

I agree on no gym. Never liked it. We have open areas and dirt roads and trails I can walk and get all the walking exercise I need right out the front door. I did buy a pair of Skecher hiking boots and some hiking poles for about $100 recently. Will see how I get on with a local hiking group soon.

 

[SunGuy]

My parents are absolutely thriving in retirement, and have a few varied friend groups they go around and do all sorts of cool stuff together.

recently they have:
Picked and built their own flower bouquets and arranged them into hand painted vases.

Helped dig out a neighbors garden and fixed a broken trellis.

Went on a Mediterranean cruise. I Had no clue they can be $15k+ in expenses.

Now they are working on installing new rain gutters and adding a water tank to store runoff.

 

[street]

I spend average ~125 bucks a month on gas with all the activities I do. Here you have to drive to do anything. Then I spend a lot on those outdoor activities but have no idea how much.

 

[eytonxav]

Since I've given up owning sports/performance cars my hobby spend is very modest. Pickleball is cheap, new paddle, league fees and a few balls each year probably no more than $250 since I stopped playing tournaments. My big spend over the past 12 months was on home theater/stereo, probably spent around $6K which is a pittance vs what many spend.

 

[tominboise]

The thing about hobbies, is to never add up the costs. Otherwise, you'd just skip it and after all, what was all that hard work for?

I have many things I do - this is probably the most expensive....

 

[Breedlove]

Guitar and music . Used to bust my tail looking for gigs but no longer . Only play special gigs and open Mic . Now I don’t have to play Free Bird LOL . I can play what I want where I want when I want. To us it can get expensive . Overall I have met some cool people and had fun.

 

[Music Lover]

Guitar and music . Used to bust my tail looking for gigs but no longer . Only play special gigs and open Mic . Now I don’t have to play Free Bird LOL . I can play what I want where I want when I want. To us it can get expensive . Overall I have met some cool people and had fun.

I make money playing music, not a lot but I've made more than it costs for the last 20 years. If you don't suffer from GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) it's a very cheap hobby once you have what you need.

 

[brett]

Travel, researching travel.

How much...? I do not know nor do I want to know. The spend depends on where we go, how we travel, etc.

 

[Car-Guy]

Since I've given up owning sports/performance cars my hobby spend is very modest.

Sorry to hear that. A few years ago, I got out of the old car collection/rebuilding hobby but keep buying "new" high performance vehicles just about every year. A few months ago, I traded off my last high performance car for a very nice new pickup. (Long story) Every day I think of a reason to get another one. It's becoming almost an obsession at this point.

It's sort of like smoking or drinking. I'm finding it hard to give up performance cars. I told the DW that I'd wait until next year (early next year) before I'd decide if I want another one. (Already have my eye on what I want) Unfortunately it looks like there could be a big auto strike later this year affecting availability. Which then makes me want to buy now. (good excuse)

 

[dknighd]

The nice thing about hobby/travel/misc expenses is they are easy to change if you have to. I have some of each boiled into my "comfortable enough" budget. We can not be comfortable enough if we can not spend on hobbies. But we can vary how much is spent, and still be comfortable.
I gave up on high performance cars. My reaction times could no longer keep up. Bummer. it seems be a side effect of getting older. Yes you could putz around in a fast car, and it is nice to be able to go fast if you want. You could easily argue that being able to go fast, and stop fast, is for safety. But the fact is, I do not have the reaction time to be able to safely drive a fast car. I've also given up flying RC airplanes. Eventually you have to admit that hobbies of the past, will change as you get older.