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| Thursday, January 25, 2007 |
| How Hobbies Can Hobble |
 I try to involve myself in low-cost hobbies. My current obsession is with plants. They appeal to my frugal heart because they are decorative, they clean the air, and they can even feed you! However, as with any hobby they can start to impact your wallet. Recently I purchased a plant stand for my green friends. Realizing that my hobby could overwhelm my house at some point, I have placed a restriction on myself - the plants must all fit in front of of this one window. That should keep my collection in check and it makes watering and maintaining them easier.
It is so easy to spend on your hobby. I have done it in the past - found myself buying supplies and tools with some great project in mind - only to find the items years later in some plastic tub. Half completed, never really started, or worse - completed but not used.
When I purchased this house (and found a bunch of the old craft stuff during the move) I decided that any new hobby I wanted to pursue had to meet the following criteria:
1) Be Useful
2) Bring me Joy
3) Be Completable
4) Be Long Lasting
5) Not Require a Huge Investment in Time or Money
What are your hobbies? Can you think of any other criteria I should add? As always, comments are welcome! :) |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 5:01 PM *
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| 7 Comments: |
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With certain hobbies, I can sometimes justify their expenses, as I may be able to make a bit of money to offset the cost. For example, there are plenty of amateur photographers that sell photographs. If it's under a certain amount, then you won't have to pay taxes on that income either, though I can't remember the exact IRS rules offhand.
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Actually, my current hobby is keeping a blog. Haha, cheap enough? ... But you know, why don't you 'budget your hobby' then. Don't let the money thing eat away the fun part. ... Anyways, great plant display.
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In addition to your criteria, I'd add, 'create opportunities for meaningful, social interaction'. A few years ago, when I had just a tad bit more free time and disposable income than I do now, I started taking flying lessons. But it was a huge time suck - 3 hours every Sat morning, alone with a flight instructor. On the advice of a friend, I wound up dropping my newfound hobby. I'd been complaining for months that I didn't have enough time for family and friends. And flying lessons certainly didn't help.
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Reading your blog is one of my hobbies but that's the cheapest...I also like renting movies either netflix or the library and window shopping. It gives me great satisfaction to do indepth research online before buying something or going to a store checking out a product or trying on an outfit and walking out without buying something on impulse. traveling is probably my most pricey hobby...if I can't afford to set aside double what it seems a trip will cost, I usually will not take it.
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I can certainly relate to this because I am an avid gardner. I do keep a limited amount of plants inside(no more than 6) but do have a lot in my garden outside. I find If I don't set a limit in my budget upfront and limit my trips to the nursery I end up spending a boat load of cash. I have adopted a new strategy about 9 months ago to not go to the nursery more than once per month and try to get as much free plants as possible. My outdoor space is not how I want it to be as yet but I have told muself Rome was not built in a day so I have time to complete it in stages.
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Starting only one project at a time! When I sew, sometimes I get halfway through and want to start another... OR my friends that scrapbook will have like 4 going at a time, and even though they're organized, they have a lot of $$ invested in unfinished projects.
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I'm with IRA. I love my hobbies of knitting and spinning because I do the kaffeeklatsche thing and it forms the core of my social outings for the week. My groups know about the blog and support what I'm doing. (I try not to post about the cheapness of my holiday gifts *before* they get theirs.)
There is a problem of 'stash acquisition' for many knitters. I give up. I buy in spurts as I use yarn up. It can often be sold off, or gifted to a friend, so mostly I manage my extra yarn due to space constraints. It has to fit into my apartment without overtaking it.
The other thing is that it's a useful hobby. Making my own yarn turns into knitting it into an item. Very satisfying. I know what I can do to make money when the apocalypse gets here. Do you? (Having a trade/vocation is good stuff!)
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With certain hobbies, I can sometimes justify their expenses, as I may be able to make a bit of money to offset the cost. For example, there are plenty of amateur photographers that sell photographs. If it's under a certain amount, then you won't have to pay taxes on that income either, though I can't remember the exact IRS rules offhand.