Hobbies Are Expensive
Remember going to a craft and hobby show or looking through a magazine and seeing in your mind’s eye all those great projects you could make? Or watching the sports channel and dreaming about aces, holes-in-one and the salmon you could catch? I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with having a hobby.
Hobbies can be relaxing and a great way to get together with like-minded friends, but many times the dream is a lot better than the reality.
Expensive Hobbies
Hobbies need time to master and a lot of practice before you become an expert or even just skillful. Also, to create your masterpieces you won’t be satisfied unless you have all the expensive equipment and enough gadgets to fill a good-sized closet (or room) and empty a good-sized bank account.
It’s easy for us who share the impulsive gene to make snap decisions, and before we know it we’ve brought home the bag of scrapbooking supplies that never made it out of the bag.
We think we’ll get to that great project as soon as we have the time. Or, that pulling out all the supplies and then having to put them all away again is too much of a hassle. Or, our initial attempt is pretty amateurish and disappointing, and we think we’ll never be good enough to master the skills so why bother to try again.
Related: 35 Ways To Save Money
So instead of jumping in with both feet, sign up for a class to check out a new hobby. A few sessions will tell you how committed you are to the craft. Then if you decide it’s a go, look for equipment and supplies on eBay or similar sites. You’ll be amazed at what you can find for sale by others who got a bit too ambitious and bought the whole caboodle.
When you consider that enough yarn to knit a sweater can cost $75 or more, a digital camera with removable lenses can cost over $1000 and scuba diving equipment up to $2000, looking before you take the leap will keep hundreds, if not thousands in your wallet.
By all means, enjoy your hobbies. Have fun. Some people can even turn their hobbies into a lucrative business. But don’t waste your money on something that may seem like a good idea without further investigation. Other people might thoroughly enjoy an activity, but maybe it’s just not for you.
I know a friend’s mother that does that. She like her hobby, but she is always underestimating the costs of making her creations.
But she seems happy, so I just not and smile along 🙂
Great advice. I am willing to bet there is enough “lightly used” exercise equipment in basements to fill many, many workout gyms! Intuitively, a great idea keeps gaining in strength over time, not waning. As you suggest, the trick is to start even when we might not think we have all the “necessary” resources.
If you enjoy your hobby and/or it relaxes you, the cost is seems justifiable. It’s when you buy all the supplies that end up sitting in a closet (or basement) unused that’s a big waste of time and money.