# Cost of hobbies **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 30, 2016, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523 "2016-04-30T17:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/21 "2016-05-01T12:29:36Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > …I’d say that as long as the bills are paid and you have a reasonable reserve funds/retirement savings going on have fun. Spend what you can afford, avoid doing hobbies on credit. This. If you are otherwise frugal and have a good income, you might spend most of it on a hobby without that being a problem. If you are scraping to pay the rent, not so much. The other thing to consider is whether the joy the hobby gives you is worth what you are paying. I’m sure there’s no par answer for that question. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/22 "2016-05-01T13:08:32Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > $1500 to fly around the world with exotic stops of your choice? Can I have the phone number of your travel agent? Do it yourself. Houston-Manila on Eva, $401 Manila-Qatar on Cebu Pacific, $128 (Don’t ask me how this is possible) Qatar-Addis Ababa on Gulfair $228 Addis-Houston on Emirates, $703. Total $1460. Another $141 for a side trip, Manila-Brunei return, not counted in RTW calculation. I think it would have been a little cheaper to buy RT tickets, and return from Addis back across Asia and the Pacific. ---
**Author:** ![quiltguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e47774/32.png) [@quiltguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/quiltguy)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2016, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/23 "2016-05-01T13:51:02Z")
My hobby of quiltmaking has caused me to run up some sizable bills. Had no sewing supplies at all when I started, so I had to make that investment. Fabric WAS cheaper back then, but so was the quality; unfortunately, I loaded up on it before I knew any better. I continue to make enough quilts to keep me happy, and most of them have gone out the door as gifts. The purchase of a longarm quilting machine was the biggest mistake I ever made. Half of what a Mercedes cost(at the time) now sits in my sewing room gathering dust because I never really learned to use it properly. I’ve taken the pledge, no more purchases until it’s all gone, and I have enough for several lifetimes. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/24 "2016-05-02T11:12:59Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > You can look up a web site called " primitive archer index". Several thousand members now and lots of guys posting pics. It will give you a very good insight into the hobby, extremely addicting! So you are done with your hobby? I believe you have set a bunch of records - so you are tired of it and have achieved what you’ve wanted? As a musician, I will play until I can’t. My playing preferences evolve but haven’t faded. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/25 "2016-05-02T11:43:49Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > Good example of what I was talking about, I just bought a set of new binocs, mostly for watching local hawks and the odd birds that have been showing up in So Cal the last few years. This is what I did and still do. I’ve never let myself get so involved that I suddenly _need_ more expensive binoculars or I suddenly _need_ to go to X to see Rare Bird. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/26 "2016-05-02T11:53:27Z")
I meant to add it helps having “cheap” hobbies. My dogs are no doubt my biggest expense (technically they’re not a hobby but family, but YKWIM). Vet bills can be ridiculous. It costs $ to buy decent food for them as well as certain toys (my boyz are quite fussy). I just spent close to $100 on seat covers for my car. Writing – my main hobby – is cheap. You can do it anywhere, anytime, as long as you have paper, pen, or a laptop, or even a note app on your phone. Ditto reading. My library card is well worn. I don’t know if I’d consider culinary arts a hobby since I do it for a living, but I’ve probably dropped a couple thousand in total on pots, pans, gadgets, Kitchen Aid mixer, etc., for my own kitchen. I used to love messing around with recipes I wouldn’t ordinarily make just to experience it. I’ve sort of gone off that now…maybe I’m burnt out from work, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/27 "2016-05-02T11:55:52Z")
Right now my main hobby is board gaming, which certainly can be a relatively inexpensive activity, given the large secondary market for used games. The high level of replayability also gives you a good fun/cost ratio. Of course, all that gets thrown out if you get into the CCG or miniatures games. If you want to play, for example, Warhammer 40K, you might as well just get addicted to cocaine instead, it’ll be much better for your bank account. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/28 "2016-05-02T12:51:52Z")
I find when one hobby starts overtaking another hobby there is an emotional battle that starts taking place. Sometimes the old hobby wins and the new hobby gets tossed aside. My new hobby, writing is overtaking my old hobby of primitive archery presently. The cost factor is looking very attractive and writing seems to be winning the battle. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/29 "2016-05-02T14:36:35Z")
My hobby was motorcycle road racing. Expensive? Whooo. There is a reason why my wife and I called our team “Paycheck by Paycheck Racing”. We gave it up when when our son got old enough that we needed to start spending money on him 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/30 "2016-05-02T15:18:16Z")
I don’t know a percentage, but 10% over my adult life wouldn’t be far off. I have turned a couple of hobbies into businesses in a sense, mainly just using the hobby as justification to spend the money needed to get started. And on the flip side I’ve stopped hobbies that originally looked like they could lead to profit but didn’t pan out that way. ---
**Author:** ![Chihuahua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dec6dc/32.png) [@Chihuahua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chihuahua)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/31 "2016-05-02T15:25:27Z")
I think my hobbies are averaging around 1% of my income. If you can afford to spend 10%, you are very fortunate. ---
**Author:** ![that\_darn\_cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/59ef9b/32.png) [@that\_darn\_cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that_darn_cat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/32 "2016-05-02T17:38:40Z")
I probably have around $2k in homebrewing gear, including setting up the dedicated space in the basement. That was aquired a little a time over several years, some if it as gifts. I spend $20-40 a batch on ingredients, which in a per case basis makes it cheaper than craft beer. So, I probably about break even considering I’d just buy the beer anyway. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/33 "2016-05-02T19:20:18Z")
> [@Chihuahua](#): > > I think my hobbies are averaging around 1% of my income. If you can afford to spend 10%, you are very fortunate. That was my point, I could afford it but at the cost of sacrificing somewhere else like money I should have been saving. I think in my case 5% would have been more realistic. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/34 "2016-05-02T19:53:34Z")
> [@quiltguy](#): > > My hobby of quiltmaking has caused me to run up some sizable bills. Had no sewing supplies at all when I started, so I had to make that investment. Fabric WAS cheaper back then, but so was the quality; unfortunately, I loaded up on it before I knew any better. I continue to make enough quilts to keep me happy, and most of them have gone out the door as gifts. The purchase of a longarm quilting machine was the biggest mistake I ever made. Half of what a Mercedes cost(at the time) now sits in my sewing room gathering dust because I never really learned to use it properly. I’ve taken the pledge, no more purchases until it’s all gone, and I have enough for several lifetimes. :smack: (S)he who dies with the most fabric wins! I have a tiny stash compared to other quilters-- I try to only buy sets of fabric that would work together for a discrete project, not really getting random pieces unless they are truly gorgeous. Plus I have a bunch of projects my mom left when she died. I still have fabric for more projects than I will complete for many years! When I get tired of what I have, at least I have a community service group I can donate to, and then I am allowed to look at more. 🙂 Prices are climbing for the good stuff. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/35 "2016-05-02T20:27:59Z")
For several years, I collected pocket (folding) knives. I have a few hundred knives, and now I don’t have any idea what they now are worth. At some point I realized that getting deeper into it would mean I’d have to spend a lot of time sitting behind tables at knife shows, haggling with strangers. I’m not the kind of guy who enjoys that sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/36 "2016-05-02T21:48:03Z")
I’m about 5% but I have also been very very lucky. Most of the hobbies/collections have shown a pretty good profit once I disposed of them. The only one I really took a beating on was archery and that was because almost all my fancy-schmansy target bows were Golden Eagles – a company that went under and no one is interested in now. :smack: But I did enjoy it all so what the heck; its why I called it a hobby and not an investment. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/37 "2016-05-02T23:28:01Z")
I have a heavy chunk of cash in my woodworking tools, but nowhere near what people with a large shop have invested. I don’t have room for joiners, planers, belt/disc sanders, vacuum system, a large table saw, etc., so I choose my power tools carefully to be either handheld or capable of being folded up or rolled into a corner when done. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2016, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/38 "2016-05-02T23:44:31Z")
My most frequent hobby is cooking, but I figure we need to eat anyway. The cost of decent equipment, cookbooks, spices, etc. is probably balanced out by, say, a loaf of homemade bread costing practically nothing in ingredients and the cost of a stand mixer being amortized over multiple decades. Gardening? Well, I’ve been growing mostly food items - except for some bulbs for the front yard, the cost of seeds, fertilizer, materials to build a couple of trellises for the raised beds, etc. it doesn’t cost much, especially when you take into account what fresh organically grown vegetables cost. The one that probably costs the most is travel. We try not to stay anywhere outrageously expensive, and to keep food costs down, use public transportation where feasible (I prefer it over driving in unfamiliar places, actually), but international plane tickets add up quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/39 "2016-05-03T01:03:39Z")
> [@Jake\_Jones](#): > > $1500 to fly around the world with exotic stops of your choice? Can I have the phone number of your travel agent? That’s expensive. But I have a kid who works for an airline. She and her husband flew from SFO to Korea for around $900 round trip for the two of them. Travel is going to be my hobby as soon as I retire and am flexible. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2016, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523/40 "2016-05-03T01:05:25Z")
From 1999 to 2011, I drove my sports car on race tracks around the country, a non-racing activity known as high-performance driver’s education. I wrote about it at length [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=369540). Over the course of those twelve years, I spent almost $63,000 in equipment, event registration, hotels, meals, fuel, parts (brake pads!), etc. This does not include the cost of the three cars I drove over that period (a Miata, a Porsche 944T, and a Nissan 350Z). If you include the purchase prices (and deduct the income from selling two of them), I spent another $51,000. A total of almost $114,000, or about $9,500 a year. All that was for an average of about 10 track days per year, for which I spent an average of $470 each (not including the cars) or $850 if you do include them. Over that period, my taxable income averaged about $31,000, so I was spending about 15% of my income on the salary. It helped that I wasn’t married and didn’t have any kids! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cost-of-hobbies/753523.md?page=3)