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I get the most mileage out of my local creative reuse store! I’m assuming Portland has at least 1! A giant stack of paper for less than a dollar! Basically every hobby can be cheap if you can get cheap supplies.
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You can also make hobbies cheaper by getting into making the supplies! I follow at least 1 person on Tumblr who went DEEP on fiber arts! They buy the wool, comb it out hand spin it on a supported spindle they made out of a stick they found (I’ve seen them make multiple spindles), dye the resulting yarn with natural materials they’ve harvested, then use the yarn to knit or crochet items of their own design. Another friend got into paper making with a 2nd hand blender and scrap paper.
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stamp-making! Use cheap erasers and carve them!
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And obviously, leverage the library for all of this! Books on how to draw/do whatever art thing, how to do any number of steps in the yarn making process, etc etc etc.
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I also like meetup.com or free meetups on whatever platform! Socialize, make connections with people who would probably trade supplies, get help without taking a class, or learn about something new for free (I used to do programming meetups for the networking, but part of it was also a presentation on some tech thing related to the meetup).
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Libraries are also a source for free other media hobbies like films and music.
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Get into plant identification! iNaturalist is moderately helpful, and other guidebooks can be library sourced or cheaper 2nd hand. Combine with drawing! Hand lenses for looking at details are not required but fun and under $10.
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This cute little Insta video about cheap woodworking: Annabelle | Woodwork, DIY & home decor on Instagram: "The two things I get asked the most is how to woodwork on a budget and how to woodwork in a small space - so I thought I’d answer both of them in one! What other things hold you back from starting a new hobby? #annabellejune #femalewoodworker #beginnerwoodworking #diydecor"
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I also think embroidery floss is pretty cheap, for friendship bracelets! And if you’re willing to scrounge the Internet for line art, or use the library for patterns, doing fabric embroidery is pretty cheap. It really doesn’t use that much floss, and a skein of floss is still under a dollar.
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Pickup sports! Free to play if you can find a group, and maybe the cost of a special pair of shoes ie soccer cleats or something.
I’m thinking a bunch about the difference between hobbies that are default done solo, and ones that people default to think about being more of a thing done with others. I think most of them are on a continuum, but I wonder if pushing them more towards thinking about how they can deepen friendships and create community with this time might make sense.
Even my bird watching, I share out the photos, which reinforces a community feel I think.
It’s…obscure, but listening to shortwave radio, or even listening to amateur radio operators is a cheap hobby. Some gamify it by trying to find stations from far away, or small countries, etc. Collect them al!
These days, you don’t even need your own radio or antenna strung up… there’s tons of online receivers to listen to. I host one at my cabin, where up to 3 users can listen online to shortwave frequencies.
I know board games have been mentioned but tabletop games… like D&D and such? I’ve never played it myself but I know it’s a great social thing and requires more creativity and flexible thinking than material stuff.
Oh also re: library things, and particular to the PDX area: I’m in Clackamas County and our library system is relatively generous with cultural passes to places like the art museum, Japanese gardens, etc. The MultCo system is much less accessible–I hear of people having to log in at midnight on the first of the month? It’s not like that here. So if they have a ClackCo library card they can get more access to stuff like that.