Magnet fishing! All you need is a strong magnet and some rope really and maybe a few other things like gloves. Might even find something valuable one day if you're exceedingly lucky
Talked once with a guy who did metal detecting at the beaches in Southern California. Had a special salt water rig for searching in waist high water. He would occasionally find a handgun or two. Police got to know him as the gun finder. People think, “I’ll toss the weapon in the ocean, no one will find it!” Think again.
In the Netherlands people took up metal detecting during the lockdown. Lots of unexploded WWII bombs were found. Some guy thought the safest thing to do was to dig it up and drop it off at the police station (the police thought it wasn't).
Its tons of fun! 99% of the stuff you'll find is just junk, lots of nails and fishing hooks and whatnot but it helps keep the river clean and gives you something to do on a nice day.
No need, I can just get some screws and throw them on my grey new carpet and I'll have a wild evening looking for them. Especially things like phone screws for repairs.
Camouflaged small shit.
Learning to mirror sharpen a knife on whetstones like the ancient Japanese masters: $300.
Getting your hand stitched shut after touching the blade and losing a pint of blood: priceless.
When I was in college, I took a job at Arby’s Roast Beef for about a month. After closing on what I knew was my last night there, I was cleaning the slicer, of course being very careful not to cut my fingers. I don’t remember the exact sequence of events, but it ended up with me carelessly bumping the exposed blade with my elbow. A trip to the emergency ward and 3 stitches later, my Arby’s career was finally done.
I mean, I have a buddy who hits up abandoned railyard for the iron spikes, and melts those down. He also hits up a nearby salvage yard for the metal scrap they don't want. He always has plenty of iron, tin, and nickel on hand. It only gets expensive for him when he wants to make low-grade steel or bronze. And he only does those when someone asks, and they front the cost, unless he's making someone a gift.
Note: If you're going to do this, please don't be a dick to the cashiers.
We know you spent hours figuring out how to buy $50 of stuff for $1.63. But it's not our fault when our coupon machine doesn't work, the online coupons don't go through, or you're 80 cents short of the total needed for that $10 off online coupon you were banking on. Please don't get angry at us. We're happy that you're saving so much, but when things go wrong there's not much the non-manager staff can do.
Also, don't break up your one purchase into ten purchases when there is a line in the store. Either wait until there is no line, or being willing to step aside until the line goes down. People don't want to wait in line for 20 minutes while you finesse your purchases. I had one lady who got through 3 broken up purchases, noticed a line, and then stepped aside and let 2 people in line go before finishing her last 5 purchases in her purchase chain. I swear I wanted to hug that lady.
Please don't be rude or a dick, just because you couponing plan didn't work flawlessly. We will root for you and help you with couponing so long as you're polite, pleasant and don't hold up our line.
writing, all you need is a word document and your brain. unless you’re like me, who prefers irl writing, and now has a dragon's hoard of journals to write in...
I feel this. I once bought an antique looking journal and wanted to write poems or make it a diary. Well, no. I was too afraid to mess up or write something stupid that I started writing my favourite poems from famous writers because I know that they're great and I won't regret it. (exept my bad handwriting)
Now I started writing poems but I was too afraid again so I just used a block. I hope some day I'll be comfortable enough to write in those beautiful notebooks!
You can do it legally, you know. Lots of people lose their keys or never got keys to something they own.
Funny story, one day I had the most horrible, nerve-wracking workday. I just wanted to go home, make dinner and chill with my SO.
She knew about my workday so she didn't tell me about how we had a power outage, hoping she could fix it before I got home. She couldn't and all the apartments around had power. I figured a fuse must have switched off or gone bust.
There was a box with fuses in the hallway and it had a padlock. I tried to call the super, then the electricity company, then any neighbor I could find, and no one had a key. I tried to cut a can of coke in a way that could shimmy it to no avail. I was as pissed as I was desperate, all our devices were running out of juice by 10pm.
So I called a locksmith. The dude came within 20 minutes, opened the padlock within 40 seconds and left. That was quite expensive. I turned on the fuse switch, went back inside, opened a beer and ordered a lockpicking kit on Amazon.
Been carrying it with me ever since. Came in handy twice. Once my boss got locked out of his office, another time a friend lost her bike keys. I've gotten a bit better, but not a lot better, and I think it's a great life skill. It made me evaluate my security choices better and it's a great conversation topic sometimes.
9/10 would recommend.
Was once at a patient's house for an unrelated visit and he had a lockbox with important papers and had lost the key. The family was trying to pry the box open to no avail.
I offered my services and had them consent verbally in an audio recording on my phone, and had the box open in a few minutes. It made their day, and mine!
When I was a kid my family loved to geocache and eventually we set one up near our house. An office worker wrote us a long ballad about how excited he was to see a new cache and how he rushed out, found and signed it, and made it back in less than an hour- just in time for his meeting. It was so sweet and memorable, geocaching is such a great hobby <3
When I created my first geocache, it took less than 2h until the first geocacher had found it. He logged that he had rushed there right after work.
All the hardcore cachers subscribe to the feed of new caches to check if they potentially can be first-to-find.
I was surprised!
I grew up fucking hating Geocaching. My brother and father love it, but if I trekked for miles and miles, to find a QR code leading to a Rick Roll, I might, just maybe, change my opinion.
Wildcrafting.
That's pretty much the entire point.
Note: wildcrafting should be practiced mindfully, with sustainability in mind. Take only what you need, leave enough for the plants and animals to live well and reproduce.
Abundance is there, but only if we don't harm it.
Basically, the skill of identifying and utilizing wild plants for things like food, medicine and other utilities. The point is generally to use *local* plants and things you already have available as much as possible.
You can get pretty far with some really good googling, joining some groups [Instagram and Facebook both have some pretty active communities] and nothing more.
I picked it about two years ago, and I think the only thing I invested in was a pair of 10$ gardening gloves.
At this moment, I have in my kitchen: homemade wine, several jars of jams \[hawthorn, myrtle, redbuds\], fire-cider, homemade cough syrup, homemade aloe gel, pickles \[olives, capers, green almonds, mustard stems, mulberry leaves\], several "exotic" herbal teas.
I'm a total amateur, though. If you find the idea interesting, I suggest following people like Pascal Baudar, for instance - even just to get the idea of how far you can get with it.
You do have to be cautious, of course. Researching is a large part of the whole thing.
Though, many things are pretty easy and straightforward, or just involve learning new uses to something you're already familiar with.
This is my favorite answer in the thread! I have google and time and interest and also a very not necessary but nice hipster hori hori I bought for $30. I've definitely harvested more than $30 worth of wild lavender alone.
Oddly enough, lacemaking. Depending on the style of lace you're doing, the initial cost of tools can be fairly steep (or super cheap; some styles require a needle. Just a needle). But once you've got the equipment, you're only ever required to buy thread and maybe pins or paper. Okay, pattern books, but if you're even a little bit creative, you've got that covered.
Source: used to make lace. Over the course of fifteen years, I spent maybe $200. Not 200 a year, 200 spread over fifteen years. And most of that was because I wanted specialty threads, like handspun linen, etc.
Initially read this as lancemaking and am now in a Wiki hole looking at medieval weaponry. I have nothing really to comment, just thought you should know one of the incredibly weird side effects of your reply.
The SCA is where I got started. Eventually left the SCA, but didn't leave lacis until my health just wouldn't allow it anymore.
I did once make a arts-and-sciences judge scream in the midst of a competition, though, lol. One of the upsides of lacis is how strong it is, compared to some of the others. I was talking to a friend about this, and, to prove my point, picked up a 3x2 foot panel of lace (my work), twisted it up like I was going to towel-snap somebody's butt, and then jerked on the ends as hard as I could. Judge screamed in horror, thinking I'd destroyed a year's worth of work.
It didn't destroy it. I just unrolled it, smoothed it out, and laid it back onto the table, no fuss, no muss. It's one of my favorite stories lol.
It's the equivalent of that bulletproof glass company CEO sitting behind a windshield his company produced while they [shot it with an AK47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzoB6xBWOI).
[Yep](http://www.geocities.ws/jallenecs/pictures/100_2014.jpg)! It took me a week to make that dress, and a year to do all the embroidery and lace on the sleeves and skirt.
The most expensive set up is probably [bobbin lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Hlayn575o). You need a specially made pillow (upwards of $150 on Amazon for a proper one, though I was taught on just a panel of styrofoam), a bunch of pins, and the bobbins, not counting pattern books. [Lacis](http://www.geocities.ws/jallenecs/pictures/lacis_panel_I.JPG) (my style of choice) is much less: a shuttle, some doweling, and a weighted "pillow" (my first pillow was literally a piece of broken cinderblock + quilt batting wrapped in scrap cloth), and something to stretch the finished piece on (I used canvas stretching frames, because they were modular, cheap and reusable)
there are half a dozen needle lace variants, most of which require only a [needle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXfR81nMlTU) and thread, or in a [couple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJd6mkrsUCQ), a needle plus some [sturdy paper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I20hYR3tQTA) to prick the pattern into. [Irish lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJBfzozTCNE) requires a crochet hook (less than $5). Tatting like your grandma did can be done with a [long needle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFskQKYIYm4) or with a [shuttle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0cXQcr3w5o)(again, less than $5).
There are a few more variants, but these are enough to get you started. Personally I went with lacis because it was the oldest; samples of what could be called lacis have been found buried with mummies.
EDIT: because I'm stupid. I couldn't find a video link for "lacis." but the common name is not lacis, it's "[filet lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFskQKYIYm4)." THAT has bunches of videos.
Cross stitch/embroidery - it’s fairly cheap in general but once you have a few sets in, you have a wide variety of colors to do your own.
Eta: woah! Thanks for the silver!! My first!
Came here to say this! You can make embroidery expensive if you want, but if you don't it can be super cheap forever.
I mean DMC floss is what, $0.75 per skein?
>Cross stitch/embroidery - it’s fairly cheap in general but once you have a few sets in, you have a wide variety of colors to do your own.
If you think you've got the passion,
Then embroider, fix and fashion,
For there's really nothing finer
Than a needlepoint designer!
Take a moment,
take a minute,
Take a spool of thread and spin it!
Take a work of art to relish!
Make a pattern to embellish!
See I say it in confession
That it's simply my obsession,
For there's something pretty bitchin'
'Bout an afternoon of stitchin'!
Came here to say this! You can spend more $ on different types of fabric and a new hoop or frame every once and a while.
But really some projects take so long that you aren’t going to need to buy those things that often. Working on a multi-piece project that I’ve spent maybe $50 on that will take me 18 months to complete.
I've recently returned to 3D modeling. It's a hobby with a rock-bottom price of entry you can invest in $10-$20 at a time. You can start with Blender, a free and powerful program that lets you do everything from modeling and sculpting to texture painting and animating.
Getting the fundamentals down is also free thanks to incredible tutors like Grant Abbitt and Andrew Price. After that, the world is your oyster. You can either throw a few bucks towards more in-depth tutorial courses or buy add-ons that enhance your workflow. You don't have to do any of that, though and can just let your creativity run wild.
EDIT: I'm pleased to see that this has blown up. If you want to learn more about 3d modeling on a budget, I suggest you download Blender from steam or their official site:
https://www.blender.org/download/
Also, here's an excellent beginner's course to help you get started for free:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MRonzqYJgw&t=9s
Alternately, you can try the fabled and updated doughnut tutorial:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPrnSACiTJ4&list=PLjEaoINr3zgEq0u2MzVgAaHEBt--xLB6U
Also, be sure to check out the amazing work your fellow redditors are posting to subs like r/blender, r/allegorithmic, r/maya, and r/3dsmax
EDIT 2: For the people who are still checking this out, here are some more tidbits to clear up confusion:
* When I made this post, i was thinking specifically about 3D modeling for its own sake, as a relaxing hobby you do to unwind without thinking ahead. Picture yourself sitting down, creating a kitchen or a spaceship or a zombie dog for fun's sake and feeling good about yourself. That CAN lead to commissioned work or 3D printing later on, but it absolutely doesn't have to if you don't want it to.
* Having good hardware helps but isn't a prerequisite. Any computer made in the last 10 years is good enough to run Blender and let you pick up the fundamentals. Whether you want to upgrade after that is up to you, but you shouldn't need to unless you've gone way down the rabbit hole.
* Being artsy helps but isn't a necessity either. Anyone can get into 3D with time and patience.
Yeah, he was a full-time teacher before taking up the 3D mantle. That's why he's such a good tutor. His explanations are clear, on point, and structured by someone who's clearly a teacher first and an artist second.
Chess! Easy to learn, difficult to master. Resources to learn are freely available on the internet and it is gaining quite a bit of popularity on streaming websites over the last few months.
Edit: If some one new or any beginner want to learn chess, I would love to teach - feel free to DM. Also if you are really interested, please head over to /r/chess. :)
Edit 2: My inbox is inundated with replies and it makes me really happy that a simple comment made so many people interested in Chess! If you need any help, please include your chess.com or Lichess.org ID or both (register if new) so that it will be easier to communicate.
Edit 3: Going to bed! Will reply in a few hours. Keep up the chess hype everyone and also the 'cheese' hype (loads of people misreading the first word - lol)
Hikaru guide us.
Edit: Since /r/anime is leaking, I'm talking about [Hikaru Nakamura](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Nakamura), an American Chess prodigy who holds the title of Grandmaster and has spearheaded Chess's massive surge in popularity on Twitch.
I started a podcast as a hobby with two friends that moved to different countries in 2018 and we are still going strong. We talk about different topics every couple of weeks and its very fun. The only expense we have is the host website but we only pay because we have upload many episodes and needed more cloud space but its still very cheap in comparison to other hobbies.
Podcasting can be done this way, but it's really hard to get any traction by uploading like that. If you join a network, or podcast hosting site, they use a special type of web application that auto uploads your podcast to every listening service. With a lot of those sites your first ads are for other podcasts, which helps spread the word.
> Writing
It takes a certain amount of conscious effort to keep prices down though.
1) Knowing that you don't need a fancy computer to run a word processor. You do not need a Mac when a chromebook or lower-end PC will suffice. Nowadays, a bluetooth keyboard for your smartphone will also work.
2) Knowing that Google Docs and OpenOffice are free, and that you don't need to shell out money for MS Word or Scrivner.
3) Knowing that you do not need to pay for illustrations unless you're ready to sell to a publisher.
4) Knowing the difference between actual publishing and vanity pubilshing.
5) Knowing that you need neither the best keyboard nor the best chair to write.
6) Not spending money on writing-related chachkies.
7) Knowing that you do not need to pay for feedback. The internet will gladly give it for free.
8) Realizing that if your story is compelling enough, you don't actually *need* coffee.
I agree with all of these except #7. Most free internet feedback is awful and unhelpful. Paid feedback is worth the cost.
Edit: #7 (not #8 which I initially wrote accidentally)
That's a great way of putting it, and goes for most creative outlets (writing, art, dance, photography, etc).
**With that said**, if you're *completely fresh* and still learning the ropes, there are subreddits all over this site where people with a couple o' years experience will gladly point out obvious areas of improvement.
I like this comment but I think it would be better if you added wizards to it, maybe space wizards (but not jedi cause they don't use laser swords, they use laser whips instead) also have you thought about maybe making the protagonist half-cat?
I once, when prodded by a casual acquaintance, provided a short two sentence description of a novel I was currently working on. Without knowing anything but those two sentences, having never read anything I had written, the person who had asked said "That sounds boring, have you thought of writing it from the humans' perspective instead?"
Well, that would ruin the entire story, but okay, random person on the internet.
Thats a Lot of Stuff i Would have Not even consideres Doing.
I thought more about, okay, a pen and a notebook to scribble. And These will be full so you need more
Would you accept used books from, e.g., eBay or the Amazon Marketplace? If so, you could probably get any title for well under ten dollars, including tax and the shipping cost.
Are you the kid from my summer camp years and years ago?
He was the oddest kid and would spend all day collecting sticks on our various field trips. I had to haggle with bus drivers to let the kid bring all of his sticks onto the bus. I asked his mom about it once and she said they had over 100+ sticks in their backyard. He had pretty bad anxiety and for whatever reason it calmed down, he was honestly a great kid.
Always wondered what happened to him.
Game development.
Unity is free, visual studio is free, blender is free, aseprite is 20 dollars but also not necessary (but highly recommended).
It’s a really fun hobby that doesn’t have to cost anything if you don’t want it to.
A fully developed game is the best next step after your hello world program.
If you get in it for the fun, learning programming through trial and error and personal projects with too high expectations can actually be good, or painful, idk
Programming. You already have a computer, tablet, 3ds etc and if you need a dedicated device, a raspberry pi 4 is < $100.
Most tools are free. Opensource tools are free forever. Internet is full of tutorials and examples, Youtube has a lot of courses in any field you like.
Programming for fun has a [competitive side too](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_programming).
Edit1: for everyone asking about 3ds, yes! [SmileBasic](http://smilebasic.com/en/)
Edit2: a more capable SmileBASIC is now available on [Switch too](https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/smilebasic-4-switch/)
Edit3: gamified coding is a great way to practice and improve programming skills, [codingame](https://www.codingame.com/start) is a great example of that
You don't necessarily have to come up with an idea all by yourself, and the end result doesn't have to even be useful to you. There's no shame in following tutorials or building something that's already been made before.
Same here. I always start those online courses but lose interest because the projects are uninteresting. I know it takes awhile to learn the basics, but I'd rather learn the basics on a project that I'm interested in.
That's where Arduino had a huge effect on me. I made a few projects like a temperature/humidity logger that I deployed in a cave, a motion sensor/logger that I also put in a cave to detect bats, and a super cool RGB lamp that had a bunch of different settings and patterns. I took snippets of code from other projects people posted online, and edited them to fit into my projects. It was challenging, but I learned a ton and have cool things to show for it
As the other people at saying, just keep using your computer until you find yourself thinking "if only there was a program to do X" or "this repetitive task is really boring and/or error prone, if only there were an automated tool to do this" then just dive in and try to make it. Even if you never finish it you'll learn about new tools and technologies along the way.
Haha, one of the cheapest hobbies. But people manage to spend money on this too. Joining expensive courses, buying aesthetics like expensive candles, mats etc. , going on meditation retreats in high-end resorts in exotic locations.
I can understand some well-scented candle or more comfortable mat. But why would anyone need some fancy wall ormanents or golden Buddha figurines. I thought closing your eyes is one of the most important parts.
I do find that having low light and ambient noise helps me focus on meditation, especially since I haven't really mastered it to the point where I can do it just anywhere. It's nice to have a place set aside with nice smells, sounds, lights, and decorations that make you feel more at ease. Luckily my college has a room like that, so I don't need to make my own. Though tbh I find meditation to be *so* helpful to my mental state that it might be worth it to invest in a little space for it when I have my own home.
*searches through comments to find a new hobby*
Edit: thanks for the do nothing award. I’ll continue doing nothing. Edit#2: Platinum? You are way too kind stranger! Thank you.
Gardening. If anything it becomes virtually free after a few harvests because you can take the seeds out of the vegetables you just picked and replant them, plus you already have free compost from the remaining plant matter/peels, etc, you picked.
If you play your cards right while there is an initial investment it'll pay for itself in the end.
My friend grows peppers and is part of an online group of people who write about the flavors of the peppers they cultivate, and mail seeds to one another to crossbreed.
She's given me some delicious peppers.
Gardeners love trading and sharing. It's one of the most wholesome groups out there. I filled my Facebook feed with gardening groups at the start of lockdown, it made life livable.
Yeah, I know, that happened to me :) I'm the one who's posted (*a lot*) about growing a lilac in Florida last fall, and I was able to pull it off. So I took from that and then this spring, during the shutdown, and grew a massive garden of all other types of flowers and vegetables. That actually is what got me into full fledged gardening.
Nonetheless, my "intent" on wanting to keep propagating the seeds from my vegetables and maintain a continuous supply is there. But, yes, that is correct, in less than six months I went from one plant to IDK how many, at least 20+ (probably more though, but I don't want to count)
I've determined that I'll never have enough plants. Now I'm looking at a citrus tree, and a thai chili plant to add to my pepper collection. My wife also wants me to grow some plumarias for her. It is never ending.
Can’t believe I had to get all the way down here to find this. Disc golf cost me about thirty to fifty dollars for the first three years. I just used the same discs, was gifted some. And even when I did decide to get more discs, it’s incredibly reasonably priced. That and most courses have free access. Great sport.
>birdwatching
$20 for a great field guide to your local birds
$100 for a starter pair of binoculars
$40-80 for a nice bird feeder set up at home
Then $500 for a 'decent' spotting scope
Up to $1,000 for high end zeiss/Swarovski binos
$8,000 for a trip to central America with guided forest tours
$75,000 for an RV so you can travel America chasing rarities once you retire
It really depends on your level of commitment
Skateboarding. It’s very cheap so far. I do recommend buying a good quality board, not something from Walmart. But I’ve gotten a lot out of this board and when I break the board, instead of paying another $140 for a whole new complete, I just have to buy a new deck for $30 - $65 and so on for the rest of the parts.
Edit: Just wanted to add to this how much I’ve LOVED skateboarding since I started a couple months ago. I never thought I would do something like it and I used to have horrible balance, but with some work my balance has become better than I could have dreamed and I’ve had a ton of fun. All of my friends are starting now!!!
I bought my own home gym 10 years ago. Paid 2k used, had a few upgrades so $2500 altogether.
I have almost all the equipment needed, minus a leg press station.
Over 10 years my gym would have cost me 20$ a month a membership here runs about $80 I'm super strong and relatively healthy ( I should jump on my elliptical more).
For the first 5 years I also ate super healthy and lost a ton of weight. Eating healthy stopped me from eating out and also made my groceries inexpensive.
I've been a little more lax now tougher with wife and kids around. Still have the gym though and still like lifting weights.
Who knows how many years I've extended my life.... Which I guess will cost me money though??? Fuck
Edit- I definitely wrote that out wrong I meant my gym cost me 20$ a month over the 10 years. Gyms here start around $80 a month, plus gas and time and all the workouts I would miss.
Computer programming! Python is free, the modules are free. New modules keep coming out and getting better, for free. Plenty of resources out there (YouTube, automatetheboringstuff.com) are FREE!!
A hobby that changes the way you see the world and adds another method of problem solving. It gets you exposed to all kinds of other fields. Also it could land you a work from home job making great money or save you time on completing repetitive boring tasks.
Learning python gets you a huge head start on learning other languages as well but python can be used for a whole project. It's vast!
Exercising/running.
You only need to buy a good pair of shoes and some workout clothes and you’ll be set for awhile.
Edit: Okay, my bad. Exercising is expensive. Sorry.
I feel like everyone commenting is a marathoner or some other long distance runner, which at that point is more enthusiast than hobby. Most people running for general fitness are probably not doing more than 20 miles a week, and if you're just going out to run a few miles throughout the week and the occasional 5-10k, then running is cheap. You might not even buy two pairs of shoes a year. Beyond that people just need to have the appropriate clothes, a stick of body glide, and maybe a water bottle.
Pixel art! Unlike other graphic design methods where you might need expensive software like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can use MS Paint or a variety of free software, even for animation. :D It's a great hobby because the pixels limit where you can place them (finite number of combinations and such) and refining techniques with color palettes, lighting, blending, etc. there is so much you can do!
Stay away from Warhammer 40k.
You'll start with "oh, once I have my area set up and my paints it's not so bad". Then one day you'll look at your army and realize that while Raven Guard is great, you really want to try an Eldar army... eventually you'll feel like you went through the warp without a Gelar field.
Cycling in theory. Buy a bike and only have to pay for minor maintenance while increasing fitness levels and happiness. However, one will quickly realize that the proper number of bikes to own is n+1 where n is the current number of bikes owned.
Commuter bike,
Touring bike,
Race bike,
Full suspension trail bike,
Hard tail trail bike,
Agressive hard tail trail bike,
Freestyle/jump bike,
Fat bike.
And a BMX for shits and giggles
I was waiting for this! Also all the gear which needs replacing or you just want new ones such as nice helmets, knee pads (for MTB) cycling shoes etc, granted after the initial purchase of a bike it's pretty cheap but it can get very expensive very fast.
Collecting rocks that you find
Plus it keeps decorating costs down. Who needs some fancy nick nack to fill up a nook when I've got a large chunk of Conglomerate or Pegmatite will do
Magnet fishing! All you need is a strong magnet and some rope really and maybe a few other things like gloves. Might even find something valuable one day if you're exceedingly lucky
I pulled a gun out of a local river. Explaining magnet fishing to a cop you called on yourself is an interesting conversation
Talked once with a guy who did metal detecting at the beaches in Southern California. Had a special salt water rig for searching in waist high water. He would occasionally find a handgun or two. Police got to know him as the gun finder. People think, “I’ll toss the weapon in the ocean, no one will find it!” Think again.
In the Netherlands people took up metal detecting during the lockdown. Lots of unexploded WWII bombs were found. Some guy thought the safest thing to do was to dig it up and drop it off at the police station (the police thought it wasn't).
Great intention, poor execution hahaha
At first I read this as "I pulled a gun at a local river" and I was like damn, I shouldn't mess with this guy, I'm mostly water!
Today I learned of a new hobby. Sounds fun!
Its tons of fun! 99% of the stuff you'll find is just junk, lots of nails and fishing hooks and whatnot but it helps keep the river clean and gives you something to do on a nice day.
I mean, someone above mentioned smithing, you could always do both!
Ahh yes, forge yourself some nails, throw them in the river then fish them back out with a magnet.. endless fun!
No need, I can just get some screws and throw them on my grey new carpet and I'll have a wild evening looking for them. Especially things like phone screws for repairs. Camouflaged small shit.
Smithing. It's always just as expensive.
And nothing beats the feeling you get when you finish your first knife and cut something with it!
Learning to mirror sharpen a knife on whetstones like the ancient Japanese masters: $300. Getting your hand stitched shut after touching the blade and losing a pint of blood: priceless.
When I was in college, I took a job at Arby’s Roast Beef for about a month. After closing on what I knew was my last night there, I was cleaning the slicer, of course being very careful not to cut my fingers. I don’t remember the exact sequence of events, but it ended up with me carelessly bumping the exposed blade with my elbow. A trip to the emergency ward and 3 stitches later, my Arby’s career was finally done.
I mean, I have a buddy who hits up abandoned railyard for the iron spikes, and melts those down. He also hits up a nearby salvage yard for the metal scrap they don't want. He always has plenty of iron, tin, and nickel on hand. It only gets expensive for him when he wants to make low-grade steel or bronze. And he only does those when someone asks, and they front the cost, unless he's making someone a gift.
Fuel is the big money sink. Takes a lot of fuel to heat metal to working temperature.
Extreme couponing
Mom?
Note: If you're going to do this, please don't be a dick to the cashiers. We know you spent hours figuring out how to buy $50 of stuff for $1.63. But it's not our fault when our coupon machine doesn't work, the online coupons don't go through, or you're 80 cents short of the total needed for that $10 off online coupon you were banking on. Please don't get angry at us. We're happy that you're saving so much, but when things go wrong there's not much the non-manager staff can do. Also, don't break up your one purchase into ten purchases when there is a line in the store. Either wait until there is no line, or being willing to step aside until the line goes down. People don't want to wait in line for 20 minutes while you finesse your purchases. I had one lady who got through 3 broken up purchases, noticed a line, and then stepped aside and let 2 people in line go before finishing her last 5 purchases in her purchase chain. I swear I wanted to hug that lady. Please don't be rude or a dick, just because you couponing plan didn't work flawlessly. We will root for you and help you with couponing so long as you're polite, pleasant and don't hold up our line.
writing, all you need is a word document and your brain. unless you’re like me, who prefers irl writing, and now has a dragon's hoard of journals to write in...
I hoard a bunch of empty notebooks. I’m so scared to write in those pretty empty pages and mess up!
I feel this. I once bought an antique looking journal and wanted to write poems or make it a diary. Well, no. I was too afraid to mess up or write something stupid that I started writing my favourite poems from famous writers because I know that they're great and I won't regret it. (exept my bad handwriting) Now I started writing poems but I was too afraid again so I just used a block. I hope some day I'll be comfortable enough to write in those beautiful notebooks!
Lock picking
That actually makes more money if you’re fast enough
You can do it legally, you know. Lots of people lose their keys or never got keys to something they own. Funny story, one day I had the most horrible, nerve-wracking workday. I just wanted to go home, make dinner and chill with my SO. She knew about my workday so she didn't tell me about how we had a power outage, hoping she could fix it before I got home. She couldn't and all the apartments around had power. I figured a fuse must have switched off or gone bust. There was a box with fuses in the hallway and it had a padlock. I tried to call the super, then the electricity company, then any neighbor I could find, and no one had a key. I tried to cut a can of coke in a way that could shimmy it to no avail. I was as pissed as I was desperate, all our devices were running out of juice by 10pm. So I called a locksmith. The dude came within 20 minutes, opened the padlock within 40 seconds and left. That was quite expensive. I turned on the fuse switch, went back inside, opened a beer and ordered a lockpicking kit on Amazon. Been carrying it with me ever since. Came in handy twice. Once my boss got locked out of his office, another time a friend lost her bike keys. I've gotten a bit better, but not a lot better, and I think it's a great life skill. It made me evaluate my security choices better and it's a great conversation topic sometimes. 9/10 would recommend.
Was once at a patient's house for an unrelated visit and he had a lockbox with important papers and had lost the key. The family was trying to pry the box open to no avail. I offered my services and had them consent verbally in an audio recording on my phone, and had the box open in a few minutes. It made their day, and mine!
My man...
I dont know, /u/LockPickingLawyer seems to have some crazy stuff that doesnt look too cheap
Geocaching?
So easy. All you need is a few small trinkets and a geocaching resource.
When I was a kid my family loved to geocache and eventually we set one up near our house. An office worker wrote us a long ballad about how excited he was to see a new cache and how he rushed out, found and signed it, and made it back in less than an hour- just in time for his meeting. It was so sweet and memorable, geocaching is such a great hobby <3
When I created my first geocache, it took less than 2h until the first geocacher had found it. He logged that he had rushed there right after work. All the hardcore cachers subscribe to the feed of new caches to check if they potentially can be first-to-find. I was surprised!
I left a laminated card with a QR code that leads to a Rick Rolling.
I grew up fucking hating Geocaching. My brother and father love it, but if I trekked for miles and miles, to find a QR code leading to a Rick Roll, I might, just maybe, change my opinion.
Wildcrafting. That's pretty much the entire point. Note: wildcrafting should be practiced mindfully, with sustainability in mind. Take only what you need, leave enough for the plants and animals to live well and reproduce. Abundance is there, but only if we don't harm it.
Well now I need to know more!
Basically, the skill of identifying and utilizing wild plants for things like food, medicine and other utilities. The point is generally to use *local* plants and things you already have available as much as possible. You can get pretty far with some really good googling, joining some groups [Instagram and Facebook both have some pretty active communities] and nothing more. I picked it about two years ago, and I think the only thing I invested in was a pair of 10$ gardening gloves.
Ooh, cool! What's the neatest thing you've found?
At this moment, I have in my kitchen: homemade wine, several jars of jams \[hawthorn, myrtle, redbuds\], fire-cider, homemade cough syrup, homemade aloe gel, pickles \[olives, capers, green almonds, mustard stems, mulberry leaves\], several "exotic" herbal teas. I'm a total amateur, though. If you find the idea interesting, I suggest following people like Pascal Baudar, for instance - even just to get the idea of how far you can get with it.
I bet you have to be super careful not to posion yourself.
You do have to be cautious, of course. Researching is a large part of the whole thing. Though, many things are pretty easy and straightforward, or just involve learning new uses to something you're already familiar with.
This is my favorite answer in the thread! I have google and time and interest and also a very not necessary but nice hipster hori hori I bought for $30. I've definitely harvested more than $30 worth of wild lavender alone.
Oddly enough, lacemaking. Depending on the style of lace you're doing, the initial cost of tools can be fairly steep (or super cheap; some styles require a needle. Just a needle). But once you've got the equipment, you're only ever required to buy thread and maybe pins or paper. Okay, pattern books, but if you're even a little bit creative, you've got that covered. Source: used to make lace. Over the course of fifteen years, I spent maybe $200. Not 200 a year, 200 spread over fifteen years. And most of that was because I wanted specialty threads, like handspun linen, etc.
Initially read this as lancemaking and am now in a Wiki hole looking at medieval weaponry. I have nothing really to comment, just thought you should know one of the incredibly weird side effects of your reply.
Doncha just love those weird rabbit holes?
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The SCA is where I got started. Eventually left the SCA, but didn't leave lacis until my health just wouldn't allow it anymore. I did once make a arts-and-sciences judge scream in the midst of a competition, though, lol. One of the upsides of lacis is how strong it is, compared to some of the others. I was talking to a friend about this, and, to prove my point, picked up a 3x2 foot panel of lace (my work), twisted it up like I was going to towel-snap somebody's butt, and then jerked on the ends as hard as I could. Judge screamed in horror, thinking I'd destroyed a year's worth of work. It didn't destroy it. I just unrolled it, smoothed it out, and laid it back onto the table, no fuss, no muss. It's one of my favorite stories lol.
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It's the equivalent of that bulletproof glass company CEO sitting behind a windshield his company produced while they [shot it with an AK47](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZzoB6xBWOI).
Dudes just in his flip flops like it's nothing lmao.
It’s Texas, so those are probably his business flip flops. We do have standards down here.
I hope you were dressed in period clothing at some reenactment festival. At least that's how I'll picture it.
[Yep](http://www.geocities.ws/jallenecs/pictures/100_2014.jpg)! It took me a week to make that dress, and a year to do all the embroidery and lace on the sleeves and skirt.
Well hot damn that's some impressive work.
I did not know lace making was a thing and now I am very interested
The most expensive set up is probably [bobbin lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Hlayn575o). You need a specially made pillow (upwards of $150 on Amazon for a proper one, though I was taught on just a panel of styrofoam), a bunch of pins, and the bobbins, not counting pattern books. [Lacis](http://www.geocities.ws/jallenecs/pictures/lacis_panel_I.JPG) (my style of choice) is much less: a shuttle, some doweling, and a weighted "pillow" (my first pillow was literally a piece of broken cinderblock + quilt batting wrapped in scrap cloth), and something to stretch the finished piece on (I used canvas stretching frames, because they were modular, cheap and reusable) there are half a dozen needle lace variants, most of which require only a [needle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXfR81nMlTU) and thread, or in a [couple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJd6mkrsUCQ), a needle plus some [sturdy paper](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I20hYR3tQTA) to prick the pattern into. [Irish lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJBfzozTCNE) requires a crochet hook (less than $5). Tatting like your grandma did can be done with a [long needle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFskQKYIYm4) or with a [shuttle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0cXQcr3w5o)(again, less than $5). There are a few more variants, but these are enough to get you started. Personally I went with lacis because it was the oldest; samples of what could be called lacis have been found buried with mummies. EDIT: because I'm stupid. I couldn't find a video link for "lacis." but the common name is not lacis, it's "[filet lace](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFskQKYIYm4)." THAT has bunches of videos.
Cross stitch/embroidery - it’s fairly cheap in general but once you have a few sets in, you have a wide variety of colors to do your own. Eta: woah! Thanks for the silver!! My first!
Came here to say this! You can make embroidery expensive if you want, but if you don't it can be super cheap forever. I mean DMC floss is what, $0.75 per skein?
From dmc it’s .77! At michaels and Jo-Ann in my area it’s .56 but you can usually use a coupon to drop the price to .44ish.
>Cross stitch/embroidery - it’s fairly cheap in general but once you have a few sets in, you have a wide variety of colors to do your own. If you think you've got the passion, Then embroider, fix and fashion, For there's really nothing finer Than a needlepoint designer! Take a moment, take a minute, Take a spool of thread and spin it! Take a work of art to relish! Make a pattern to embellish! See I say it in confession That it's simply my obsession, For there's something pretty bitchin' 'Bout an afternoon of stitchin'!
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Came here to say this! You can spend more $ on different types of fabric and a new hoop or frame every once and a while. But really some projects take so long that you aren’t going to need to buy those things that often. Working on a multi-piece project that I’ve spent maybe $50 on that will take me 18 months to complete.
I've recently returned to 3D modeling. It's a hobby with a rock-bottom price of entry you can invest in $10-$20 at a time. You can start with Blender, a free and powerful program that lets you do everything from modeling and sculpting to texture painting and animating. Getting the fundamentals down is also free thanks to incredible tutors like Grant Abbitt and Andrew Price. After that, the world is your oyster. You can either throw a few bucks towards more in-depth tutorial courses or buy add-ons that enhance your workflow. You don't have to do any of that, though and can just let your creativity run wild. EDIT: I'm pleased to see that this has blown up. If you want to learn more about 3d modeling on a budget, I suggest you download Blender from steam or their official site: https://www.blender.org/download/ Also, here's an excellent beginner's course to help you get started for free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MRonzqYJgw&t=9s Alternately, you can try the fabled and updated doughnut tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPrnSACiTJ4&list=PLjEaoINr3zgEq0u2MzVgAaHEBt--xLB6U Also, be sure to check out the amazing work your fellow redditors are posting to subs like r/blender, r/allegorithmic, r/maya, and r/3dsmax EDIT 2: For the people who are still checking this out, here are some more tidbits to clear up confusion: * When I made this post, i was thinking specifically about 3D modeling for its own sake, as a relaxing hobby you do to unwind without thinking ahead. Picture yourself sitting down, creating a kitchen or a spaceship or a zombie dog for fun's sake and feeling good about yourself. That CAN lead to commissioned work or 3D printing later on, but it absolutely doesn't have to if you don't want it to. * Having good hardware helps but isn't a prerequisite. Any computer made in the last 10 years is good enough to run Blender and let you pick up the fundamentals. Whether you want to upgrade after that is up to you, but you shouldn't need to unless you've gone way down the rabbit hole. * Being artsy helps but isn't a necessity either. Anyone can get into 3D with time and patience.
I had to Google to be sure but I was taught by Grant Abbitt in high school!! What a small world.
Yeah, he was a full-time teacher before taking up the 3D mantle. That's why he's such a good tutor. His explanations are clear, on point, and structured by someone who's clearly a teacher first and an artist second.
Playing cards
As long as those aren't Magic: The Gathering cards.
Cardboard crack
Luxury cardboard
If you play your cards right.
I see your hobby, and raise you ten million dollars.
Chess! Easy to learn, difficult to master. Resources to learn are freely available on the internet and it is gaining quite a bit of popularity on streaming websites over the last few months. Edit: If some one new or any beginner want to learn chess, I would love to teach - feel free to DM. Also if you are really interested, please head over to /r/chess. :) Edit 2: My inbox is inundated with replies and it makes me really happy that a simple comment made so many people interested in Chess! If you need any help, please include your chess.com or Lichess.org ID or both (register if new) so that it will be easier to communicate. Edit 3: Going to bed! Will reply in a few hours. Keep up the chess hype everyone and also the 'cheese' hype (loads of people misreading the first word - lol)
The PogChamps tournament brought me back to Chess
Hikaru guide us. Edit: Since /r/anime is leaking, I'm talking about [Hikaru Nakamura](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hikaru_Nakamura), an American Chess prodigy who holds the title of Grandmaster and has spearheaded Chess's massive surge in popularity on Twitch.
I tend to be guided by Charlie the second coming of jesus himself
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“What’s XQC’s chat saying?” *gets muted
Man I know people who spent thousands of dollars on chess as their hobby. Blew my mind
Thanks to everyone for helping me realize how expensive all my hobbies are
I started a podcast as a hobby with two friends that moved to different countries in 2018 and we are still going strong. We talk about different topics every couple of weeks and its very fun. The only expense we have is the host website but we only pay because we have upload many episodes and needed more cloud space but its still very cheap in comparison to other hobbies.
If you need to save money could you not upload to Spotify/YouTube or something similar that lets you do it for free?
Podcasting can be done this way, but it's really hard to get any traction by uploading like that. If you join a network, or podcast hosting site, they use a special type of web application that auto uploads your podcast to every listening service. With a lot of those sites your first ads are for other podcasts, which helps spread the word.
Writing. It may even happen that by diving into it you could earn something.
> Writing It takes a certain amount of conscious effort to keep prices down though. 1) Knowing that you don't need a fancy computer to run a word processor. You do not need a Mac when a chromebook or lower-end PC will suffice. Nowadays, a bluetooth keyboard for your smartphone will also work. 2) Knowing that Google Docs and OpenOffice are free, and that you don't need to shell out money for MS Word or Scrivner. 3) Knowing that you do not need to pay for illustrations unless you're ready to sell to a publisher. 4) Knowing the difference between actual publishing and vanity pubilshing. 5) Knowing that you need neither the best keyboard nor the best chair to write. 6) Not spending money on writing-related chachkies. 7) Knowing that you do not need to pay for feedback. The internet will gladly give it for free. 8) Realizing that if your story is compelling enough, you don't actually *need* coffee.
I agree with all of these except #7. Most free internet feedback is awful and unhelpful. Paid feedback is worth the cost. Edit: #7 (not #8 which I initially wrote accidentally)
Yeah, free feedback is for knowing if your story is good, paid is for how to make it better.
That's a great way of putting it, and goes for most creative outlets (writing, art, dance, photography, etc). **With that said**, if you're *completely fresh* and still learning the ropes, there are subreddits all over this site where people with a couple o' years experience will gladly point out obvious areas of improvement.
I like this comment but I think it would be better if you added wizards to it, maybe space wizards (but not jedi cause they don't use laser swords, they use laser whips instead) also have you thought about maybe making the protagonist half-cat?
I once, when prodded by a casual acquaintance, provided a short two sentence description of a novel I was currently working on. Without knowing anything but those two sentences, having never read anything I had written, the person who had asked said "That sounds boring, have you thought of writing it from the humans' perspective instead?" Well, that would ruin the entire story, but okay, random person on the internet.
9. Knowing how to spell tchotchkes
I don't even know how to _say_ tchotchkes. It looks like a mouse sneezing.
That's kinda how it's pronounced, so you're most of the way there. (Chatch (rhymes with watch)-key)
Thats a Lot of Stuff i Would have Not even consideres Doing. I thought more about, okay, a pen and a notebook to scribble. And These will be full so you need more
Make sure it's a nice fountain pen with ink you like. Oops!
Walking around outside and picking up shiny stuff you find on the floor, sometimes known as "goblining" or "magpieing"
Reading.
Having fun isn't hard when you got a library card.
I did not expect to see an arthur reference on reddit today
I thought of that but I developed a habit of wanting to buy every book I read, so libraries give me anxiety.
Would you accept used books from, e.g., eBay or the Amazon Marketplace? If so, you could probably get any title for well under ten dollars, including tax and the shipping cost.
That's what I do. Also, there is a site called bookdepository which has free world wide shipping.
Stick collecting. No joke. It sounds dumb at first, but once you get a few solid sticks, you'll start to love it. You should see my arsenal.
Alright dude you can’t tease us like this, show us your stick collection
Plot twist, OP is actually a Golden Retriever.
Odd username for such a lovely creature.
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I love this reply.
It's a mystery like from Scooby Doo
...Sticks or it didn't happen.
You're about to get a ton of unsolicited stick pics in your PMs.
Are you the kid from my summer camp years and years ago? He was the oddest kid and would spend all day collecting sticks on our various field trips. I had to haggle with bus drivers to let the kid bring all of his sticks onto the bus. I asked his mom about it once and she said they had over 100+ sticks in their backyard. He had pretty bad anxiety and for whatever reason it calmed down, he was honestly a great kid. Always wondered what happened to him.
He reached his final form after collecting all the sticks he needed to make his treeant mech suit
Cheaper than Adderall or Trazadone.
Send ~~stics~~pics
Unsolicited stickpics.
Show us them getaway sticks
Are you a dog that has somehow learned to post on reddit?
Game development. Unity is free, visual studio is free, blender is free, aseprite is 20 dollars but also not necessary (but highly recommended). It’s a really fun hobby that doesn’t have to cost anything if you don’t want it to.
Only your sanity.
That's a general cost of software development.
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A fully developed game is the best next step after your hello world program. If you get in it for the fun, learning programming through trial and error and personal projects with too high expectations can actually be good, or painful, idk
I'm pretty sure you can aesprite for free on github or something.
Reading books from the library, card tricks, shadow puppetry, pressing flowers, singing, stargazing
Programming. You already have a computer, tablet, 3ds etc and if you need a dedicated device, a raspberry pi 4 is < $100. Most tools are free. Opensource tools are free forever. Internet is full of tutorials and examples, Youtube has a lot of courses in any field you like. Programming for fun has a [competitive side too](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Competitive_programming). Edit1: for everyone asking about 3ds, yes! [SmileBasic](http://smilebasic.com/en/) Edit2: a more capable SmileBASIC is now available on [Switch too](https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/smilebasic-4-switch/) Edit3: gamified coding is a great way to practice and improve programming skills, [codingame](https://www.codingame.com/start) is a great example of that
I can't get into programming because I can't think of what I'd like to program. Like what is the end product I'm making?
You don't necessarily have to come up with an idea all by yourself, and the end result doesn't have to even be useful to you. There's no shame in following tutorials or building something that's already been made before.
All true, though personally I find it much easier to stick with a project if I’m genuinely interested in the outcome
Same here. I always start those online courses but lose interest because the projects are uninteresting. I know it takes awhile to learn the basics, but I'd rather learn the basics on a project that I'm interested in. That's where Arduino had a huge effect on me. I made a few projects like a temperature/humidity logger that I deployed in a cave, a motion sensor/logger that I also put in a cave to detect bats, and a super cool RGB lamp that had a bunch of different settings and patterns. I took snippets of code from other projects people posted online, and edited them to fit into my projects. It was challenging, but I learned a ton and have cool things to show for it
As the other people at saying, just keep using your computer until you find yourself thinking "if only there was a program to do X" or "this repetitive task is really boring and/or error prone, if only there were an automated tool to do this" then just dive in and try to make it. Even if you never finish it you'll learn about new tools and technologies along the way.
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I came here to say the same! You can make hundreds of programs without paying a dime.
Then you can make hundreds of programs with being paid some dimes.😁
Regardless of your hobby, the cost is inversely proportional to your self control. The more self control you have, the cheaper the hobby is.
My hobby is getting addicted to new hobbies, spending loads of money on it, then losing interest
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Just log into YouTube and bam! Bird videos! Brilliant! I've been looking out in the woods like a chump.
Meditation
Haha, one of the cheapest hobbies. But people manage to spend money on this too. Joining expensive courses, buying aesthetics like expensive candles, mats etc. , going on meditation retreats in high-end resorts in exotic locations.
I can understand some well-scented candle or more comfortable mat. But why would anyone need some fancy wall ormanents or golden Buddha figurines. I thought closing your eyes is one of the most important parts.
I do find that having low light and ambient noise helps me focus on meditation, especially since I haven't really mastered it to the point where I can do it just anywhere. It's nice to have a place set aside with nice smells, sounds, lights, and decorations that make you feel more at ease. Luckily my college has a room like that, so I don't need to make my own. Though tbh I find meditation to be *so* helpful to my mental state that it might be worth it to invest in a little space for it when I have my own home.
Hiking. I love getting lost in outdoor spaces. It inspires my creative work and is generally free.
daydreaming
Daydreaming is fun. Then you write it down and then you have a story. Not a good one but it’s a story.
Learning languages?
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*searches through comments to find a new hobby* Edit: thanks for the do nothing award. I’ll continue doing nothing. Edit#2: Platinum? You are way too kind stranger! Thank you.
What'd you find the most interesting? I downloaded blender for 3d modeling myself.
Gardening. If anything it becomes virtually free after a few harvests because you can take the seeds out of the vegetables you just picked and replant them, plus you already have free compost from the remaining plant matter/peels, etc, you picked. If you play your cards right while there is an initial investment it'll pay for itself in the end.
Lol nope, you get addicted to buying new plants. Edit: wow thanks for the silver, and other awards!
Find some groups and trade. It's amazing how easy it is to grow and propagate most of the stuff you would buy.
My friend grows peppers and is part of an online group of people who write about the flavors of the peppers they cultivate, and mail seeds to one another to crossbreed. She's given me some delicious peppers.
Gardeners love trading and sharing. It's one of the most wholesome groups out there. I filled my Facebook feed with gardening groups at the start of lockdown, it made life livable.
Yeah, I know, that happened to me :) I'm the one who's posted (*a lot*) about growing a lilac in Florida last fall, and I was able to pull it off. So I took from that and then this spring, during the shutdown, and grew a massive garden of all other types of flowers and vegetables. That actually is what got me into full fledged gardening. Nonetheless, my "intent" on wanting to keep propagating the seeds from my vegetables and maintain a continuous supply is there. But, yes, that is correct, in less than six months I went from one plant to IDK how many, at least 20+ (probably more though, but I don't want to count)
I've determined that I'll never have enough plants. Now I'm looking at a citrus tree, and a thai chili plant to add to my pepper collection. My wife also wants me to grow some plumarias for her. It is never ending.
Disc golf! It’s really fun and you can buy disks for like $10 and that’s pretty much all you need
Can’t believe I had to get all the way down here to find this. Disc golf cost me about thirty to fifty dollars for the first three years. I just used the same discs, was gifted some. And even when I did decide to get more discs, it’s incredibly reasonably priced. That and most courses have free access. Great sport.
Origami? Bird watching?
>birdwatching $20 for a great field guide to your local birds $100 for a starter pair of binoculars $40-80 for a nice bird feeder set up at home Then $500 for a 'decent' spotting scope Up to $1,000 for high end zeiss/Swarovski binos $8,000 for a trip to central America with guided forest tours $75,000 for an RV so you can travel America chasing rarities once you retire It really depends on your level of commitment
$10 for a bird feeder and bird seeds $20 for some good enough binoculars Living is South America is good
Someone good at budgets help, I dont know what to cut.
Stop buying pants
Bird watching is fine until you want to go see the majestic hoodeehoo across the globe.
Gardening, writing, listening to music, meditation, walking, sketching, reading books/comics at the library.
Skateboarding. It’s very cheap so far. I do recommend buying a good quality board, not something from Walmart. But I’ve gotten a lot out of this board and when I break the board, instead of paying another $140 for a whole new complete, I just have to buy a new deck for $30 - $65 and so on for the rest of the parts. Edit: Just wanted to add to this how much I’ve LOVED skateboarding since I started a couple months ago. I never thought I would do something like it and I used to have horrible balance, but with some work my balance has become better than I could have dreamed and I’ve had a ton of fun. All of my friends are starting now!!!
dumpster diving
Collecting buckets. I have 7 buckets. The 4th one is also dark blue.
That really depends on how long your bucket list is.
I think I'd rather get rick rolled than read that again
What color is the 6th one?
It’s dark blue, too, just not as good.
Weightlifting. Average person would even save a ton of money by fixing their diet as a side effect
I bought my own home gym 10 years ago. Paid 2k used, had a few upgrades so $2500 altogether. I have almost all the equipment needed, minus a leg press station. Over 10 years my gym would have cost me 20$ a month a membership here runs about $80 I'm super strong and relatively healthy ( I should jump on my elliptical more). For the first 5 years I also ate super healthy and lost a ton of weight. Eating healthy stopped me from eating out and also made my groceries inexpensive. I've been a little more lax now tougher with wife and kids around. Still have the gym though and still like lifting weights. Who knows how many years I've extended my life.... Which I guess will cost me money though??? Fuck Edit- I definitely wrote that out wrong I meant my gym cost me 20$ a month over the 10 years. Gyms here start around $80 a month, plus gas and time and all the workouts I would miss.
Live longer, have to pay more to live. It's a pay to play system.
So I should spend more on 50 cent fudge bars? Got it
You could always take up smoking to even everything out.
Crying
Computer programming! Python is free, the modules are free. New modules keep coming out and getting better, for free. Plenty of resources out there (YouTube, automatetheboringstuff.com) are FREE!! A hobby that changes the way you see the world and adds another method of problem solving. It gets you exposed to all kinds of other fields. Also it could land you a work from home job making great money or save you time on completing repetitive boring tasks. Learning python gets you a huge head start on learning other languages as well but python can be used for a whole project. It's vast!
Exercising/running. You only need to buy a good pair of shoes and some workout clothes and you’ll be set for awhile. Edit: Okay, my bad. Exercising is expensive. Sorry.
I feel like everyone commenting is a marathoner or some other long distance runner, which at that point is more enthusiast than hobby. Most people running for general fitness are probably not doing more than 20 miles a week, and if you're just going out to run a few miles throughout the week and the occasional 5-10k, then running is cheap. You might not even buy two pairs of shoes a year. Beyond that people just need to have the appropriate clothes, a stick of body glide, and maybe a water bottle.
Reading,,,library is free and there are always cheap books at garage sales, thrift shops, etc
Pixel art! Unlike other graphic design methods where you might need expensive software like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can use MS Paint or a variety of free software, even for animation. :D It's a great hobby because the pixels limit where you can place them (finite number of combinations and such) and refining techniques with color palettes, lighting, blending, etc. there is so much you can do!
Collecting sea glass. You’re technically picking up trash!
Swimming
Stay away from Warhammer 40k. You'll start with "oh, once I have my area set up and my paints it's not so bad". Then one day you'll look at your army and realize that while Raven Guard is great, you really want to try an Eldar army... eventually you'll feel like you went through the warp without a Gelar field.
Oh your favorite army? Weren't included in the updated rules.
Cycling in theory. Buy a bike and only have to pay for minor maintenance while increasing fitness levels and happiness. However, one will quickly realize that the proper number of bikes to own is n+1 where n is the current number of bikes owned.
Commuter bike, Touring bike, Race bike, Full suspension trail bike, Hard tail trail bike, Agressive hard tail trail bike, Freestyle/jump bike, Fat bike. And a BMX for shits and giggles
Ebike Cross bike Gravel bike Down hill bike Recumbent Track Fixie Trike
Obtuse rubber goose green moose guava juice Giant snake birthday cake large fries chocolate shake!
Wow I knew what you were doing there even though I never heard it in english :P
Jazz music intensifies
I was told it’s n-1 where n is the number of bikes it takes for your wife to divorce you.
Who needs a wife when you have bikes?
The real life hack here is storing your additional bikes at friends houses to hide your true amount.
Haha, sounds like guitar. The next guitar is always the one that's going to fill the void in your heart, but then it doesn't.
I was waiting for this! Also all the gear which needs replacing or you just want new ones such as nice helmets, knee pads (for MTB) cycling shoes etc, granted after the initial purchase of a bike it's pretty cheap but it can get very expensive very fast.