Do you have a frivolous expensive hobby that makes you feel guilty wasting money?

In My Humble Opinion
61

Furniture. Structural parts of furniture must be metal or real, solid wood. My aversion to owning particleboard borders on the neurotic. As one of my coworkers put it, I am quite possibly the only college student in history to have bought “real furniture” immediately after graduation. For a while the only actual furniture I owned was my bed, because real wood is surprisingly hard to come by these days. I count this as a hobby because I like to do a lot of the finishing work myself; the commissioned table I got at the end of December is almost finished now.

By my count, I have half the furniture of any of my friends who graduated at the same time, and I’ve spent about three times as much.

Cosplay is the other big one. I believe I’ve posted (tangentially) about it before. I spend grotesque amounts of money on making costumes, and equally grotesque amounts of money easing my conscience about it.

I have a friend who really takes the cake on this one, at least in my opinion. She’s a dollfie person and has this wonderfully ridiculous little $800 resin doll (about two feet tall). The doll, named Elena, is spoken to and of by name, almost like a person (it’s eerily lifelike, actually). Elena’s wardrobe is probably worth more than any two pieces of furniture I have put together. I have to admire her exuberance, though. This conversation basically sums it up:
Her: Well, yeah, it’s a really expensive hobby. Elana has clothes that cost more than any of mine!
Me: Think about this. What does this tell you?
Her: I need more expensive clothes!

62

well, I collect gold and silver coins. But I don’t really feel guilty. I do dirve a 10 year old car and will only buy a new one when this one dies.

63

I also accept yaoi donations. :smiley: The con keeps a library full of books for fans to come in and read for free. If the books are in English and you no longer read them, feel free to donate. If you come to yaoi con, you can also sell the books you never read.

64

It’s an indoor range, which doubtlessly has higher overhead, in the middle of the city five minutes from my house. I could probably find cheaper places if I was willing to drive fifty miles to get there. (That’s living in the big city for you) $700 buys the “silver” membership which includes unlimited range time, a utility room for cleaning your gun on site if you want, free paper targets, heavily discounted guest passes, some free gun rentals if you want to try one of the range guns, and a few other perks. Reasonable considering the off-the-street range fee is $20 a visit (less if you buy range tokens in volume, etc.)

65

crafts. I have quite a large stash of supplies for various crafts. I did manage to cut down on the costs by worming myself into the good graces of a manufacturer. They send me free stuff, so now I buy less.

I would be spending bunches on photography if I could afford it. Alas, my DSLR must make do with (gag) entry level Sigma lenses.

66

I’m a foodie, so I buy more expensive and varied food than most folks. I also like very good kitchen appliances, so I have:

  1. A pasta maker
  2. A burr grinder
  3. An Italian espresso machine
  4. A bread machine
  5. A rice cooker
  6. A gelato maker
  7. A Kitchen Aid food processor
  8. A pressure cooker

Plus German knives, French gadgets, and God knows what in the kitchen drawers.

I also adore good restaurants, particularly mom ‘n’ pop ethnic restaurants.

It all adds up, folks. That’s why I skimp on just about everything else.

67

Model trains, which doesn’t always need to be an expensive hobby since I’ve learned to lay track by hand and scratchbuild structures, but last year I figured out a brand new way to spend large amounts of money on the hobby by attending a convention a thousand miles from my home. Five days of geeky happiness…

Curate

68

I board two horses and take weekly dressage lessons from one instructor, bi-monthly lessons from another instructor and monthly lessons from a third instructor! And, no matter how good you get, you always need more lessons. Heaven help us when a big name trainer flies over from Europe to give clinics. Even more expensive - you have to pay just to watch other people’s lessons!

I have been looking to buy a new horse lately and was interested in a well-trained one that was “cheap” at only $20,000. I was thinking of refinancing my house and paying for the horse that way. Then I decided that that was ridiculous so now I’m looking at younger untrained horses in the lowly $10,000 range. Then there is all the tack, supplements, farrier and vet bills, leg wraps, blankets, chiropractic (yes, for the horse!) grooming supplies, special feed, trailer expenses, and riding clothes!

69

Sattua, please message me with etsy info too.

Because, yes, huge yarn stash and related expenses is my big one right now. Not that I feel the least bit guilty. Making things is good.

70

Ditto.
I spend gobs on keeping myself entertained and love every minute of it and every dollar is worth it*.

It’s only money and life is short.

*Now Ms Hook might, and often does, voice a different opinion.

71

I play Magic as well, I thought it would be cheaper to play online, but you still have to buy the cards. I figure that if I’m choosing between electronic pieces of cardboard and real pieces of cardboard it makes sense to get the real thing.

Of course if I was to use Apprentice at www.magic-league.com it would be totally free, but the gameplay leaves a bit to be desired.

72

I have a fair number of DVDs, and a lot of books about special effects and movie making.

The only guilty part I feel is if I only watch a DVD or read an expensive book I buy once, rather than many times.

But I don’t really spend that much money on that stuff anyway. I actually have more money than I need.

73

Does three little girls count as a hobby? Seriously, I don’t really have any free time outside of work that isn’t kid related.

And the kids have ended my travelling hobby. $50 for Kenpo Karate DVD’s so I can remember my old kata’s to get back into shape doesn’t really count since I don’t have any of the “hobby” type crap that would go with it to make it frivolous.

74

Wow! I love Steroid Maximus, but of course I only have Ectopia. I’ve never found an affordable copy of Quilombo! or Gondwanaland, not even “extra-legal” versions!

As for me, action figures. I have a pretty good collection, but it’s nothing compared to a lot of collectors. I buy relatively few toys – only characters or pieces I like – and I’m an opener (I remove them from their packages for display) and I’m NOT a completist. I also trade a lot with fellow collectors online, sell old stuff on eBay when I get tired of it, compulsively hunt for deals, and pick up the occasional hot or rare items to barter or scalp, balancing out my own meager action figure budget. And yet, I still often feel silly or guilty about it.

I have a few collection pictures here: Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

I also have awesome comic book (and graphic novel and trade paperback) and DVD collections, but I’m even more conservative and budget-conscious in buying those. I quit purchasing monthly comics cold turkey, preferring the trade paperbacks (collected editions without ads) since you can get them from Amazon.com at 30% discounts, display them on bookshelves, loan them to friends, and not worry about keeping them in immaculate condition. I don’t miss “floppy” comics at all! I go to a comic convention or two every year to meet professionals, get books signed, and scout for bargains, but NEVER in costume!
Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos

And as for DVDs, I don’t buy it if I don’t expect to watch it multiple times and get my money’s worth.

75

YAY!

Another knitter!
I have only been knitting since Sept 05, but my needle collection, I realized, is frighteningly large due to the fact that I wasn’t sure if I liked Bamboo or addi’s or bryspun, so I have wads of all. ( Addi’s are the only circular needles to own.)

I have only three knitting books and the rest I borrow from the library.

I won’t even talk about my SABLE. ( Stash Acquistion Beyond Life Expectancy)

However, the fact that I thought myself how to knit and have progressed beyond scaves and have moved onto basic fair isle hats and Lovikka mittens ( first pair finished last night and they didn’t look half bad. Though, that said, they do look wonky. Because of their size. They are for toddlers.) The sense of pleasure and the huge sense of community I get, and a connection to something worldwide, historical and feminine ( yet wasn’t always so) is priceless. Knitting completes me.

I have no embarrassment or qualms about my hobby.

76

No hobbies, no money or no guilt?

77

No, they aren’t. After buying several pairs, I had to sadly admit that I find them completely unusable. The tips are simply too blunt–for a person who knits tightly, that’s a nightmare.

INOX circulars. Those are the way to go. Nice flexy cords, almost as slippery as Addis, and with sharp points.

Of course, I wept the day I was forced to send back my KnitPicks circular collection because three separate pieces BROKE in the first six rows I knit with them. The needles were as slippery as Addis, the cords the flexiest I’d ever seen (and purple!), and the tips were dreamy-sharp. Like, weapon-sharp. Sigh. Why the heck did they have to make it an interchangeable set. WHY? Just sell me regular circular needles you hacks!