Hey, not all hobbies have to be expensive, you know?
And, let’s be honest, most of us don’t have the cash to pursue things like yachting and flying private airplanes in our spare time.
So what are some good hobbies that are inexpensive?
Let’s see what these folks had to say…
1. Let’s see what you can do.
“Cooking can be a pretty cheap hobby.
I mean, you have to eat anyway, might as well enjoy the processes of making your own food.”
2. Use your brain!
“Learning.
Despite having a fairly good degree, I found the ability to learn through mediums like YouTube to be invaluable and free.
I have access to more subjects and direct access to specialists in their field without having to be in a university theatre.
The internet is beautiful at times.”
3. Up in the sky.
“Bird watching is underrated.
Knowing a lot about local ecology is cool.”
4. Keep your hands busy.
“Cross stitching is very cheap and relatively easy to learn.
I’m pretty fidgety so it’s nice keeping my hands busy while watching or listening to something.”
5. Time to get creative.
“Writing.
It is the cheapest hobby in the whole world and does nothing but make you and others happy.”
6. Get moving!
“Exercise.
You can do plenty of routines like crunches, squats, pushups, sit-ups and jogging and not spend a cent beyond a decent pair of shoes for jogging in.”
7. Fix it up!
“Fixing stuff.
Most things can be taken apart with a cheap screwdriver set. Grab something of yours that broke, pull it apart and try to figure out what’s wrong.
Researching how to pull things apart, how they work, and what causes them to break is free. If you fix it, you’ve just saved yourself money from having to replace it. Worst case scenario you can’t fix it and you’re back where you started.”
8. Sounds cool.
“Citizen Science.
Record the plants and animals around you, even if it’s stuff you find in your backyard or the local park, and share it online. Many sites connect with GBIF, which allows scientists to use the data in their research, and just learning more about the nature around you can be an interesting and enlightening experience.
I’ve had some of my beewolf photos cited in a research paper, have been contacted about collecting seeds and mites for researchers specializing in those areas, and have been contacted about potentially finding a species new to science. In 2015, scientists recorded 30 new fly species from Los Angeles backyards, so even urban areas can yield interesting finds.
On top of that, it can be a lot of fun to learn about the differences in things that look the same and the relationships between organisms.
iNaturalist and eBird are both fairly large international sites but there are local ones as well. (Here in South Korea we have 모야모/Moyamo and 네이처링/Naturing, for example.) All it takes is a cell phone camera to get started – and sometimes not even that! – and I do highly recommend it.”
9. There you go!
“I collect the rubber bands the postman drops and now I have a rubber band ball 18” across.
All free, all mine.”
10. Get started!
“Learning knots.
It’s not 100% free if you actually make things (like bracelets, guitar straps, etc.), but it doesn’t hurt to learn a few knots.
Just buy some paracord, go on animatedknots.com or some other knot tutorial website (Youtube works too), and start tying.”
11. No doubt!
“Reading. Library is free if you return books on time.
Thrift stores and used book stores are good as well. I have stacks on stacks of books that I’ve paid less than a dollar for.”
12. It’s good for you!
“Hiking
If you have a comfortable pair of walking shoes and the ability to get to a large park, walking is pretty cheap and relaxing.”
13. Run!
“Running. Take the Forrest Gump approach and just start.
Then stop when you’re tired. Maybe you made it 400 feet. Do it the next day.
Two weeks in I bet you’d be pretty surprised what you can do.”
14. Clear your mind.
“Meditation.
Have a heartbeat? You can meditate.
Just sit down somewhere quiet and allow yourself to not have to do anything for 5 minutes. Your mind will race; you will get distracted, that’s okay. When you notice you are distracted, just focus again on your breathing. Repeat until the 5 minutes is up.
Once you get used to it, extend the time period and allow yourself not to have to do anything for 10 minutes. Just keep bringing yourself back to your breath whenever you notice you were swept away by your thoughts again. No judgement, it’s all good, just get back to your breath.
Keep giving yourself more time whenever you feel comfortable. It will keep being challenging, but interesting things will start to happen in your mind, your life, your relationships if you stick with it.”
15. A good way to pass the time.
“Origami.
If your not picky, a ream of printer paper is like $20, and YouTube is full of instructions.
Great way to pass time while The Office plays in the background for the fourth time.”
16. What’s the deal with…
“Standup comedy.
You can walk up to an open mic and get your name on the list and talk trash for absolutely nothing. Sure some say you should spend enough to write your material down, but you don’t have to
Not saying this means you’re good at it, but if you don’t run a big bar tab, you can have fun, meet people and what not for nothing more than the cost of showing up.”
17. I do it all the time!
“Google Maps.
I’ve been to Japan, Philippines, Russia, and different parts of the USA. I did this with only a mouse, keyboard, monitor, and a laptop.
Best part, it is completely free.”
18. Write some songs.
“Songwriting.
I’ve been doing it since I was eight, making up silly songs in the playground, long before I could actually play any instruments. The more you do it, the better you get, and I’ve found it to be one of the most therapeutic things I can do.
Writing a song about a feeling or experience feels like purging it out, and then when you’re feeling that way or thinking about the experience later on, you can sing a song that’s completely unique to you.”
19. How’s your left hook?
“Boxing.
It helps to have a few personal lessons, but YouTube has a lot of great tutorials for beginners.”
20. Good stuff.
“Baking bread, cooking, archery, hiking…the list goes on.
If you like working with your hands, you might consider a little furniture refurbishing hobby/side hustle.”
21. A whole lifetime.
“Chess.
It’s free to play and you can spend a whole lifetime studying it and still not master it.”
22. A great one.
“As amazing as it may seem, learning foreign languages.
There are sooo many free resources online, I’m talking full textbooks, lessons, vocab lists and grammar explanations. All free of charge and legal too!
Specially for the more popular languages (like German, Spanish, Japanese etc…) you’re gonna find more material then you could ever use.”
23. Frolfing.
“Disc golf.
You can get a starter set for cheap and it’s a great way to get out in nature and exercise!
Not to mention it’s extremely fun.”
24. Thrashin’!
“Skateboarding has never been cheaper than it is now. There are sites to order all components individually, and there are a lot of different directions to take it in: downhill, trick, dance, cruising, and eboarding.
Skateparks are free and everywhere and can be looked up on speakeasy, and southwest and united both let you put a board under your seat for no charge. I highly recommend it as a cheap and empowering hobby!”
Can you recommend some inexpensive hobbies?
If so, talk to us in the comments and let us know.
Thanks a lot!
