How to Find a New Hobby Without Losing Money
Hobbies are fun. They can help you unwind after a long day at work. They can give rise to creativity, new skills, and sometimes even new friends. But first you need to start. And getting started can be an expensive, slippery slope that you might not even be aware of until you find yourself unboxing The Ultimate Bob Ross Painting Package. ( It costs $ 800. But it comes with an easel!)
What’s worse than spending money on a new hobby? Get all the tools, and then they all end up in your garage for years to come. Here are some ways to discover a new hobby without diving headlong into your wallet.
Try a home kit
Do you want to try your hand at the craft? Before you step into a grocery store, look for a kit. “They have everything you need,” said Kelly Rand, founder and CEO of Handheld Handmade . “No need to look for special tools or materials, everything is fine.” She mentioned Joone , which offers starter kits starting at $ 45, as well as kits for crafts like embroidery. Other DIY kit options include Social Crafts (from $ 35), Home Made Luxe (from $ 39.99), and Adults & Crafts (from $ 29).
Take the course to see if you really like it
Even if you are not interested in attending many lessons over time, attending classes when you test out a hobby is one of the easiest ways to assess if it’s worth your time and money. The reason is simple: they almost always provide you with the tools you need.
Classes can be more expensive than a solo route, but they also give you the opportunity to spend time with an instructor as well as the opportunity to try out higher class equipment. “You will be surrounded by other people in the same boat, checking things,” Rand said. “Perhaps this is their first lesson. You all learn from each other and from the instructor. “
Activities are also useful for hobbies that may not fit in your living space. Want to try kayaking but don’t have a garage to store your own boat? Start with a class or excursion where you will learn about rental options and prices. Want to start canning but have a tiny kitchen that you hate? Classes will help you understand what equipment is really needed and teach hobby techniques in small spaces.
Rent or Borrow What You Can
Obviously, the cheapest way to find a new hobby is to borrow some equipment from a friend. Chances are, you know someone with a guitar, or a soldering iron, or a circular saw, or whatever else you’re looking for.
Even if you don’t have friends who are into the hobby you want to check out, you’re not entirely lucky with the free options. If you can find a library of rental tools in your area, you can rent them for free, and a service like Nextdoor can introduce you to neighbors who may be able to help. For electronics, hackerspaces are a fantastic resource with tools and instructions.
If not, it is always possible to rent equipment, especially for hobbies and outdoor sports. Most street shops will let you rent everything from tennis rackets to backpacks. Even the software hits the rental train. For example, if you’re interested in learning Adobe Photoshop, it doesn’t make sense to spend hundreds on an annual subscription right away, but you can check it out for a month for about $ 30 to see what you think. “Rent before you buy” is an old adage, but it still applies when you’re trying something new.
Ask an expert what you really need
But what about all the shiny new products? How about the fun and ability to browse endless supplies and gear?
To keep track of your budget, tell the salesperson that you are just getting started. You may be surprised how little they will try to sell you for more. “Chances are, they know exactly what you need,” Rand said. “They know someone who has been in [a hobby] for 10 years [compared to] someone who is just at the door. They will send you home with very specific newbie tools. “
An expert such as a salesperson or class leader can also prevent you from getting ahead of your skills. Take my developing green finger, for example. I went through the home improvement store repeatedly, collecting all the remotely attractive houseplants to take home and grow. But the odds were not in my favor: Three-quarters of the new plants dried up and toppled over within a month of my splurge.
Don’t be like me. Ask someone for a recommendation to newbies before buying … anything actually. “There are amazing and hardy plants at every price point,” say Morgan Doan and Erin Harding, authors of How To Grow A Plant: And Make It Love You . Save one or two alive before you bring home a whole house full of greenery.
Start cheap and upgrade later
You don’t need a $ 4,000 guitar for your first, you don’t need the full Spider-Man to start reading it, and you probably won’t need a $ 500 raincoat if you’re camping out for the first time. in July. It’s really easy to take a look at a new hobby and see only the best available, but when you’re first starting out, it’s all about figuring out what your intentions really are.
For most hobbies, you don’t need to dive into your head and buy the best (or even mid-line things in some cases). Security provided is not an issue (for example, if you plan on bungee jumping, then you probably need a good cable), you can almost always start with a starter kit or a cheap fake. Once you decide that you really like it, you can update it as needed, and in any case, you have a better understanding of what you really want from this expensive equipment.
The main lesson is that you don’t need a lot of startup money to pursue a hobby. You have a variety of cheap ways to do this when you need to, and it will prevent you from wasting money in the long run.
This post was originally published on 05/03/13 and was updated on 8/14/19 to include new information.