Fun "inexpensive" hobbies

Sewing machines are rather inexpensive, and last a long time.
Ah, but all that comes along with sewing can get expensive quickly. Trust me, I speak from experience. My wife got interested in quilting a number of years ago. She made a couple of nice bags and a quilt or two. Fast forward and she now has taken over the largest room in the house, 2 sewing machines, 3 tables, a Cricut, multiple sets of drawers and storage for fabric, hardware, accessories, patterns, a printer, and more.


To be fair, she does also sell her creations so she's making some money in the process, but she's nowhere near even on how much she has poured into it over the years.
 
Golf is a cheap hobby for me. Yearly membership at a local course works out to less than 9 dollars for a round. I'm not one who changes there clubs yearly, my current set I bought 8 years ago and will upgrade, but I am not under the illusion that more expensive clubs will improve my game a whole lot :).

Biking is inexpensive as well, we are still using Schwinn bikes bought from Walmart 13 years ago without a problem. We bike for leisure, primarily on paved off road paths, 10-20 miles at a shot, so not a lot of wear and tear on the bikes.

As a former DJ I play around a lot with beats - converting my records to digital, editing/creating loops and dance sequences, etc.

Hiking is not boring as we have so many trails and towns within an hour of us that we rarely repeat.

Programming, playing with Linux and other source source technologies, all free.

Our gym is inexpensive because we joined when the owner was in a storefront and had a dream to expand. He pitched to us and other "charter members" that if we signed up, our rates would never rise and our kids would also be under our family membership even after they became adults were living on their own. The gym did expand to its own property, added features over the years, and the promise has been kept, so we pay a very cheap rate to use it.
 
Hiking.
Volunteering not just at weekly/monthly places/events. My dad volunteers at air shows once or twice a year. He gets free admission to the show and free meals/water on his shift. My brother-in-law maintains a section of the Appalachian Trail a couple times a year. Another brother-in-law volunteers at music fests in his area and gets free tickets to see different artists and free meals. Some of these volunteer jobs you start at the bottom of the volunteer jobs like trash pickup, car parking, seating attendant. Actually seating attendant is probably one of the better jobs at the music fest.
Copper metal work can be started without a lot of expensive equipment. You can use a plumber's torch from Home Depot to anneal, a few cheap hammers from Harbor Freight even the "forming" hammers from Contenti Supply aren't that expensive, make "forming/forging" blocks from pieces of wood, "dishing" stump for making bowls/platters made from a tree stump. When you finish forming your piece, you can cut out designs with a jewelers saw, use a drill to add a pattern, etch the metal with acids, use colored pencils to add some color. You can make some great copper jewelry too just make sure you use sterling silver chains and ear wires so you don't end up with green skin from a copper chain or copper ear wires.
Baking is one of my sister's favorite new pandemic hobbies. We are all 5 pounds heavier due to her fantastic cakes. She made a chocolate layer cake with some kind of whipped cream and raspberry filling that is to die for.

OK, I'm really gonna need your sister's contact info! I'll pay whatever she's asking for this cake. :D :LOL:
 
Brewing beer.
My wife and I are long time lovers of craft beer since the late 1980s. We drink about 1 beer a day each; not big consumers but enjoy the variety.
Today more than ever (compared to when I started brewing in the 1980s) there is much more variety of malts, yeasts, other adjuncts, and hops. Many old time myths have been debunked as not necessary, making it easier to brew.
Like any hobby I started with basics (many stay there and enjoy) however I went from extracts to all-grain as a way to learn more and have more flexibility in customization.
Like cooking there are so many possibilities and fun. Plus beer is great to share.
Cost - $200 and up as you invest in more equipment that you “need”. If lower overall cost vs purchasing beer is the goal; quality craft beer can be made for 1/2 the price (not including labor of course but being retired...).
That’s my revitalized hobby.
 
Brewing beer.
My wife and I are long time lovers of craft beer since the late 1980s. We drink about 1 beer a day each; not big consumers but enjoy the variety.
Today more than ever (compared to when I started brewing in the 1980s) there is much more variety of malts, yeasts, other adjuncts, and hops. Many old time myths have been debunked as not necessary, making it easier to brew.
Like any hobby I started with basics (many stay there and enjoy) however I went from extracts to all-grain as a way to learn more and have more flexibility in customization.
Like cooking there are so many possibilities and fun. Plus beer is great to share.
Cost - $200 and up as you invest in more equipment that you “need”. If lower overall cost vs purchasing beer is the goal; quality craft beer can be made for 1/2 the price (not including labor of course but being retired...).
That’s my revitalized hobby.

Yes! I’ve recently started brewing, mainly because I looked at our beer money and realized how much we were spending. But as someone who enjoys cooking, it’s a fun hobby. Though I admit, I spent a fair amount on initial equipment to make it easier to get good results. Still, I should break even this year, if my calculations hold and I don’t buy anything else!!
 
Building a house when materials go up 100% is not a cheap hobby...
 
Building a house when materials go up 100% is not a cheap hobby...

On a smaller scale....building a deck isn't as much fun either. On the other hand, I look at my pile of leftover lumber with a different perspective. 2' scraps of 2"x4" are now too valuable to use as firewood :LOL:
 
Here are some ideas: [...]

I forgot to mention researching historical mysteries of interest. For example, I can read and wonder about the JFK assassination for hours and hours on the internet and it doesn't cost me a dime. Sometimes I conclude it just had to be Oswald. Other times quite the opposite. To me it's a fascinating mystery and one that matters a great deal to our country and to those of us who watched in horror as it all happened on TV back then. I will never get bored reading about it. Cost? FREE

I also like reading about the Zodiac killer and similar mysteries from long ago. Many of these mysteries now have a solution that is put forth and accepted by most people, but unless/until somebody confesses to this type of heinous crime and is convicted in court, these mysteries are still unsolved as far as I'm concerned, so they are fun to read about and wonder.
 
Take up a musical instrument. Easier than ever with many free online courses.
Ideally there are jams in the area you live in, where you can show up and play along (I do blues jams), it's always nice to have a community.
You may spend a few 100's -1000 depending on the instrument. Very good beginner guitars less than $500, not so much with a fiddle.
Buy used if you can depending on the instrument. Craigslist has lots of affordable choices.
 
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I forgot to mention researching historical mysteries of interest. For example, I can read and wonder about the JFK assassination for hours and hours on the internet and it doesn't cost me a dime. Sometimes I conclude it just had to be Oswald. Other times quite the opposite.
Have you read "The Road to Dallas" by David Kaiser? Or watched the movie "The Irishman", which is way too long IMHO? The movie is based on a book called "I Heard You Paint Houses" which I also read. If you watch the movie, you'll learn what happened to Jimmy Hoffa and find out why the mob wanted to assassinate JFK. David Kaiser's book lays out the case for that conclusion. It was enough for me, but then I am too young to be a part of that generation.
 
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Have you read "The Road to Dallas" by David Kaiser? Or watched the movie "The Irishman", which is way too long IMHO? The movie is based on a book called "I Heard You Paint Houses" which I also read. If you watch the movie, you'll learn what happened to Jimmy Hoffa and find out why the mob wanted to assassinate JFK. David Kaiser's book lays out the case that conclusion. It was enough for me, but then I am too young to be a part of that cultural time period in our country's history.

Sounds interesting! And yes, many local New Orleans figures suggest that Carlos Marcello and his mob were involved in the JFK assassination. (But others implicate Giancana and the Chicago mob, and/or Trafficante and the Tampa mob). Anyway, as I'm sure you know, Oswald had been a runner for his bookie uncle here in New Orleans, and thus had ties with Marcello. And, Marcello had no love for RFK and the Kennedy family after being "deported" (forcibly whisked away and dropped off in the jungles of Guatemala with nothing) back in 1961. But the JFK assassination saga is incredibly intricate and fascinating to me, and far from clear cut.
 
I spent an hour outside yesterday doing target archery and I figured it would qualify as a relatively inexpensive hobby that provides hours of enjoyment.

I have two recurve bows. One moderately priced from Cabelas and one cheapy off of Amazon. A finger tab, a couple of targets and a few dozen arrows (when you shoot like me, arrows are a consumable item). Maybe into it for a few hundred dollars ? Probably less.

Of course much like anything, avoid the gear wars. Although, I have been tempted lately to try out a compound bow.... :facepalm:
 
Tent camping can be fun and inexpensive if you can find a free camping place, or gather max allowed number of people to share the overnight fee.

I also try different varieties. I have not been hardcore to attack the long trail hiking but I am able to bike to the campsite using the back roads and equipting my bike with the things I need for overnight camping. By the time I arrive I have already put in solid four hours or so of exercise. The cheap part is you can do this with a $100 walmart bike and less than $50 of accessories like the one I recently assembled:

IMG_20210328_133740334.jpeg
 
OK, I'm really gonna need your sister's contact info! I'll pay whatever she's asking for this cake. :D :LOL:


Calico, What's amazing is, she never did much baking/cooking before the lock downs from covid. She is a natural. She took my basic biscotti recipe tweaked it a little and add veggies and nuts.

Anyone that makes biscotti, she did some combos with dried tomatoes and pecan, spinach and walnuts, caramelized onions and walnuts. The last one took her a bit to work out so the onions didn't dry out too much due to the long cooking time. Oh and peanut butter and spinach was so-so. Most of my family doesn't like an overly sweet dessert so these veggie biscotti fit in well. I don't even know if there are recipes out there for these.
 
On a smaller scale....building a deck isn't as much fun either. On the other hand, I look at my pile of leftover lumber with a different perspective. 2' scraps of 2"x4" are now too valuable to use as firewood :LOL:

i used some scrap wood i refused to throw away.
 

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i used some scrap wood i refused to throw away.

I'm curious what you use those "stands?" for??
a pic is worth a thousand words
 

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i used some scrap wood i refused to throw away.

Last fall I built a 3 sided raised planter bed (66' in total) with wood from an old deck. I did use new fence boards for facing so it looked nice, but the entire structure was old, ugly and twisted 2x's.
 
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