How much do you spend on your hobbies and what are they?

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This got way long because it turns out I really like shit when I’m not cripplingly depressed? :scream:

Hiking is the big one for me right now - I want to climb a Munro by Midsummer. I have a good backpack, good walking boots and proper trousers & base layers accumulated so that doesn’t need to cost me anything except buying coffee afterwards in return for my cousin driving. It also doubles as fun family hanging out time with my cousin and niece (who is a little frustrated that Auntie ThreeOfWands is fat and slow but knows better than to say that now unless she wants a lecture about how all bodies are beautiful and I like my tummy and that if someone is doing something they find very hard and continues to do it despite that, that’s a really big deal and she should be proud of me). This will hopefully also expand into camping this summer, which will be a reasonable outlay but then should pay for itself pretty much since campsites in Scotland tend only to cost a few quid for the night (especially if you don’t mind that the woods they’re in are probably haunted).

threipmuir

I really, really want to try rock climbing so I’d like to book myself a taster session at some point, probably around May, which costs £32 and is walkable from my flat. Then one-off sessions are between around £15, I imagine I’d go maybe once a month.

Next on the list is wild swimming, partly because one of my favourite memories of my mother is that we couldn’t pass a body of water without her grabbing the swimming costumes and insisting we have a dip, no matter that it’s Wales IN MARCH, and this makes me feel closer to her. The cost is technically free - and I can incorporate it into the hiking because Threipmuir Reservoir (above) is in the Pentland Hills and apparently isn’t freezing because the water is very peaty (bonus - probably tastes like whisky?). My friend Emily and I are going to go on road trips and she says I can make the playlists. We also live by the sea, and there’s a group that goes out every Sunday. I will need a wetsuit for that, and probably some kind of neoprene sock so my foot doesn’t touch a fish??? I do not want my hobby to be ‘fish touching my feet’, no I do not.

Spin class is an unexpected addiction after literally the worst experience of my life at SoulCycle, but Tribe Cycle is much, much nicer and there’s a whole backstory about how it literally saved my life one very bad day, but that’s for another time. I usually stock up on ten or five class passes for £50 or £100 when I get a freelance gig I haven’t already budgeted for - in an ideal world I’d be able to spend £1,000 on a yearly membership and then go whenever I wanted, probably a few times a week, but I do not live in that world yet. Also, they do really good yoga classes.

Inspired by a friend who has just met her goal of being able to outlift Brie ‘Captain Marvel’ Larson, I’ve started lifting very small handheld weights and I want to do more of that? I have some at home, gifted from a friend which was lovely but also means I can’t justify buying the really pretty pastel set I saw. There’s a social enterprise gym in town that’s super queer-friendly and aimed at people on a budget and they do proper lifting classes as well as disco yoga and yoga for women and femmes which all sound like my cup of tea (they also do separate training classes for transmasc and transfeminine people which I don’t need but love the existence of). They have a reasonably priced personal trainer and also a sliding scale for a counsellor which I could probably do with, just to sort some of my people-pleasing shit out.

Fandom is probably my biggest - and most sedentary! - hobby, and is also effectively free unless you count the many hours lost to staring at pictures of Miranda Otto.

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I sucked balls at actually playingroller derby, but the Edinburgh league is really good and I should support them more! Bouts are pretty cheap to attend, but I just discovered their merch site so I’m pretty fucked.

Beyond that… reading feels like my job a lot of the time, although now I’ve stepped back from most of my reviewing responsibilities that feels more like pleasure again. Compulsively making and organising Spotify playlists. I also enjoy booping my cats on the nose, which is free provided I don’t to it do FCat because he is too dignified for that shit and will twat me, then requiring a plaster.

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Everything about this is amazing and I want to join you.

I will definitely join you in the “staring at pictures of Miranda Otto” hobby.

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Here in The Villages we have amenities fees of $149/month. Exercise classes, all activities and 9-hole golf courses are included in that. It’s not optional; it’s one of the costs of living here.

My principal hobby is golf. I play the 9-hole golf courses. If you want to use the online reservation system, it’s $96 per year. If you want to use golf carts rather than carrying your clubs, it’s $141 per year. Since some of the people I play with are in their eighties, I pay the cart fees. I paid $200 for used clubs and $140 for a new bag and expect those to last 5 years. $68 per year. I use one new glove and one new pair of golf shoes per year. $50. I buy used golf balls for .50 and lose perhaps 2 dozen per year. $6. I take on average three lessons per year. $300. I go to the driving range once per week, $260. So cost per year for golf is $921 or about $77/month, not including amenities fees.

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Rock Climbing

Indoor rock climbing is my primary hobby with obvious expense.

Membership: $50 per month for my half of the two-person family plan. Technically the gym has free yoga for members, which would be a great benefit if I had ever gone… I used to pay $100/month for a yoga membership for just me.

Parking: There is very little free parking at the gym, and if I go on a weekday before 6 I usually have to pay for street parking. So call it $2/visit, or $16/ month at my average. But I usually carpool with my partner, so for my “half” it’s $8/month.

Gear:

  • $60 for my shoes (and you really want your own shoes; it’s often $5 extra cost to borrow them from the gym, so you’ll make it up in a dozen sessions)
  • $100 for the harness (some climbing gyms will provide this free if you have a membership, but it’s nice to have your own that fits well; it’s also unnecessary if you don’t plan to “top rope”)
  • ~$40 for the carabiner and belay device (not necessary if you don’t plan to belay others, and you may only need one set between you and a dedicated belay buddy).
  • $10 bag for chalk and and $10 bag of chalk.
    Total: $220 (at least half of which was not strictly necessary)

I haven’t needed to replace any of this in 2 years, even the more-consumable chalk. So far, that’s less than $10/month for gear and I’m not even close to wearing any of it out, and that’s brand new.

Total Monthly Cost (So Far): $67/month, which continues to decrease as I use my gear. Partner has an equal cost.

Alternate Gym Possible Savings: While my usual gym is undergoing construction (still open, but too loud & crowded for my sensitivities), I’m trying out another smaller gym. The vibe is different, no free yoga, but it’s slightly less expensive ($45/month vs 50) and there’s no charging for parking in the area. So that’s a savings of $13/month for my half, $26/month household. Plus I’ve been flirting with a girl that goes there, so, that’s a perk.

Cost Per Session: I wish I knew the cost per session precisely, but I haven’t diligently tracked how many times I’ve gone until very recently. Right now I’m going roughly twice per week, there was a period of time where I went four times a week, and there were about six months where I was depressed and paying for a membership and saying I was going to go “tomorrow” while never actually going. My best guess is that I’ve gone an average of twice a month for two years, meaning 48 sessions, or $31.58 per session. This is why I’ve recently committed to going twice a week – this is simply too high a cost-per-use for me to find acceptable. Going twice per week should bring the cost-per-session down under $10.

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Priceless really.

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I have a had a TON of hobbies over my life from cross-stitch, soap making, and yoga to roller derby (more competitive, less “hobby” on that one).

But currently, aside from the occasional balm or soap-making day, my only hobby is Crossfit.
And I know people think it’s dumb and bro-ey, but I don’t care, I love it.
I spend $90/mo on my membership which is hack-a-doodle-doo’d from the $140 that it’s normally priced at.
I have also, over the years, purchased some things to use at home related to the hobby…
soft Med ball, Kettle bells, barbells, weights, foam rollers, and a few other things, likely in the range of $150 total over the six or so years I’ve owned those things.

So, about 1k/year. (felt anxious when I saw that typed out)

Edited to add cost per session (because I saw others doing that):
ummmmm, I go approx 200 times per year (maybe 225?) so I guess that’s around ~$5 per session.
Me and math tho…

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I have always wanted to Crossfit and I think you are extra cool for doing it.

Also, I have been quoted 60-120 for a single intro session so 90/month seems like a steal

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Aw shucks, thanks.
It’s a very extra level of extra the things I do to get that price, but it’s totally worth it!

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My banjo was around $1300 and I have a lesson approximately once a month which is $60 for an hour. Speaking of which, my next lesson is in 1.5 weeks and I should practice…

My piano cost an insane amount and I’m currently getting it tuned 3-4 times a year at $200/pop (my tech is one of the best in town and started charging a travel fee because of the traffic). Plus voicing/regulation several years ago which was thousands. In the next couple of years I plan to get a new action and hammers which will again be a lot of money but I’m hoping that it will make it into the piano that I had always wanted it to be (long story about “the one” that got away). Thing is that I’m hardly playing these days but the piano still needs maintenance because of humidity changes, but that should change once I have more time and fewer health issues. I have a concert with my violin friend that we’re slowly working toward! I kinda feel like my piano is an extra pet when it comes to expenses-- I just throw money at it when needed.

If we take up Taiko, I think it would be about $50/month for each of us. It would be totally worth it for the community and exercise, so I’m hoping that we like it!

Paid $350 for a used spin bike and then ended up putting in another $600 to replace worn parts when I’d assumed it just needed a tune up (sometimes that Craigslist deal is not such a deal). Paying $20/month for the Peloton app which I love, but currently am not being very diligent about my classes. Marmalade is actually great about using the bike regularly but he does it while watching his own videos and not a class through the app.

If you include cats or eating out as hobbies, we spend a lot on those as well :joy_cat:

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Now I really really wish I lived somewhere where I could camp in haunted woods.

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Any woods can be haunted if you bury enough bodies there.

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It’s this forum’s positive, can-do attitude that keeps me coming back.

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53

This SNL skit is relevant to our interests.

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Bikes are my main hobby. Besides the embarrassing amount of money each one of them costs, I probably spend $100 a month on maintenance/gear/nutrition, etc for racing/training. I work at a shop though, so stuff is decently cheap and I don’t pay retail for bikes. I sell the bikes as well, about every 2 years and usually make enough to buy my next bike so honestly it’s not a huge out of pocket cost (well, it was the very first time I bought a bike for $4k)

Mountain biking is my very favorite thing in the world to do, and it has taken me so many incredible places that it has been worth it. It does leave very little extra money for any other hobbies…so the rest are all cheap/free! I love to hike, climb mountains, camp, etc…I try to mostly use gear from mountain biking so I don’t have a lot of extra expensive fancy things for those hobbies. I sleep in my car at trailheads, and carry pretty minimal gear. Probably the only specialty things I have are good trail running shoes, a warm sleeping bag, and a few good pieces of outerwear…but all (except shoes) are well used and purchased on sale.

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The way you describe it as your “very favorite thing in the world to do” really seemed to simply sum up the purpose of hobbies, and why they’re important even though they do cost us some money. Many continued happy miles to you buddy.

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Just found this thread and I love it!

My most favorite thing in the world to do is hang out with my friends. Since that usually involves restaurant meals and alcohol, that is a lot. We average around $800/month. My portion is less than half, since I drink less alcohol than Stingray, and don’t eat seafood or meat.
The Mardi Gras Krewe membership is $200/yr for Stingray (only 1 of us needs to be a member). Then costumes and ball gowns, of course.(I spent about $125 this year.). I’ll be able to wear this year’s gown again, but probably not next year.

And then there is reading. $10/month to Kindle Unlmited, plus the library, plus around $10/month for used books off Amazon.

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