I think that one important that can make or break you, at least financially, are your hobbies. There are many types of hobbies, some of which range from the expensive, for example traveling, to free ones such as jogging, reading or blogging. There are also some hobbies that can even help us make money by using some of the information acquired with our interest in the topic, for example investing.
Having expensive hobbies can be a real drain on your wallet. I think that a large proportion of our discretionary income goes towards our hobbies, so it is one area that we should be able to cut back our spending on without having a large impact on our lives.
If we choose expensive hobbies, maybe like playing golf as an example, that requires a large piece of land for us to play on, we would be channeling money away from other uses such as investing to fund our short-term enjoyment. This is obviously disadvantageous as we would be forced to choose between our hobbies and saving money, which will have a negative consequence either way as we are either unable to do things that make us happy or unable to save for our future.
I think that it's good for us to acquire cheap or even free hobbies that we enjoy to help us relax while not putting a major strain on our finances. Some of these hobbies (in addition to the ones above) include cooking (we have to eat right?), hobby craft, volunteering or investing. These hobbies and some such as volunteering help bring joy to others around you while investing would help you to better grow your money.
I've previously had some hobbies that cost quite a bit as well, but I've started picking up investing and blogging as hobbies that I are much cheaper (at least when I don't lose money in investing) and also present good learning opportunities for myself. One suggestion to get rid of expensive hobbies is to find cheaper or free ones that we enjoy as well. By focusing on the cheaper ones, we will eventually forget the more expensive ones, or at least that's what worked for me.
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Hi
ReplyDeleteGood post for reflections. My hobbies are almost "free cost basis". However, if ones truly enjoy golfing, isn't it sad to avoid the game just because it is higher cost?
I agreed that given a choice, we should choose our hobbies and the closer friends we want to spend our valuable resources (time and money) on. However, if after due diligence and the person still have to upkeep that hobby, there should be a more affordable method, unless he/she has different agenda. For example, some went golfing because of networking with the riches, and not for the sport. One can also argue that the "investment" on golfing network will get him opportunity of lifetime. :)
Hi Frugal Daddy,
DeleteI agree that if the person really loves the hobby he should keep it unless he is able to find a lower cost one to replace it, but try to find a more affordable way. But if the person has another agenda, it sounds more like work or an investment than a hobby to me as the person may not really enjoy it.
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ReplyDeleteHaha, I think if you can replace the costly hobbies, that's not a hobby anymore! I don't see how one can replace hobbies. If you really like it, then you like it. I'll find a way to sustain it instead of cutting it.
Hi la papillon,
DeleteI find that one person can have multiple interests (for me, I've found finding good companies and investing in them quite an enjoyable journey). So it's possible for us to find other less costly hobbies. Being able to stick with our hobby while being able to cut costs is still definitely the best option though.
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