An important part of living a well-rounded life is keeping up with hobbies that you're passionate about and can pass the time with in a meaningful way. Whether you want to pick up a new skill or hone in a talent that you already have, you need to find something outside of your work life to stimulate your mind in a different way. The only problem is, sometimes we end up wanting to try hobbies that are way out of our price range... Have you ever had an expensive hobby that you would try if you had the money? People from all over the world took to the internet to submit what they would love to give a shot at, if money wasn't an issue:
Don't forget to check the comment section below the article for more interesting stories!
#1 Soar Above The Sky
Flying without a doubt. I would want to get a pilots license. Though, I have been on a discovery flight before. I really enjoyed it, but I was never able to budget for a PPL. Later, I learned that I’ll never qualify anyway because of a medical condition, so... Oh well. Now, I just fly on commercial planes using miles for my birthday every year. My job usually has me flying 50,000 miles a year, so I always have enough for a free flight.
#2 Endless Possibilities
3D printing. If I get a cheap printer, I know I'll just end up jonesing for a more expensive printer, and pretty soon I'll be convincing my wife to let me buy $50,000 worth of plastic so I can print a new shed to house my collection of printers. My local library has a 3-D printer and I could take classes to print out your own stuff... I guess that's something to consider.
#3 How Far I'll Go
Sailing looks fun. But I wouldn't buy a boat— I've been told to look into sailing centers in my area. Apparently, I can get lessons, rent the boats, and even get into racing. In my area, Boston, there are many of these places. You can go on a one-person boat on the river or as a group as large as six to seven people. Relative to owning a boat, memberships are EXTREMELY affordable. The best part is that if you decide you don't love it, you're not $50,000 (or more) in the hole!
#4 Rich Kid Fantasy
Unemployment. I knew two unemployed guys—one was just ridiculously rich and despite having a company, he didn't actually work. His money (and staff) worked for him. The other guy was living at home with his mommy and daddy, even now at 32, and he just lives off their money and whatever benefits he is entitled to. Both their lives are so easy.
#5 Chasing Craftwork
I'd like to do a lot more craftwork, like woodworking. I do metallurgy already, and the tools are expensive enough. Adding woodworking or leatherworking would just be too much. Woodworking, in particular, requires space more than money. Yes, there are tools that cost $20,000, but there are options for $100. And, as the saying goes: a bad craftsman blames his tools.
#6 The Simple Life
Farming. Not on a massive commercial level, just a couple of acres maybe... But even that requires several thousand dollars worth of equipment to properly manage. I often dream about farming instead of a 9-5 job but it's a completely different lifestyle with no vacations... Not sure I wanna deal with that. It's admirable, though.
#7 The Secret? Have Children
My dad bought a small cattle ranch, he works part-time at a normal job and takes month-long vacations every winter. It's easy! You just have to pass your responsibilities onto your children. Your hobby becomes their work!
#8 40K Is A Lifestyle
Warhammer 40K. It's basically tabletop wargaming. I have a friend who is single, in his 50s, has no kids, and lives in a house with two rooms filled with 40K stuff. He also has a room dedicated to just painting. His figures (to my untrained eye) look amazing. He admits that 40K is a lifestyle. I accept it but I don't completely understand it.
#9 Warbirds
R/C attack helicopter models. I don't mean the little ones, but the ones that are two meters in length. I want warbirds, basically. So much more fun. My brother and I fly RCA quarter-scale warbirds and we dog fight a lot. P-51 vs Spitfire is quite fun but gets pretty expensive because you will, at least a few times, drive it into the ground.
#10 Making Glass Art
Glassblowing. I did this for a while. Classes were basically $25 per hour, which was definitely not cheap, but it was doable. Of course, after you finish taking classes, it stays expensive. Know the best thing about taking glassblowing classes? Nobody knows what terrible glassblowing looks like. You'll bring your first paperweight or pumpkin home and everybody will be like "Wow, it's amazing."
#11 A Former Glory
Restoring a classic muscle car. I'd just love to learn mechanics but I learn through doing and I can't afford a second car to play with. I also can't afford to play around with my own car...
#12 How To Train A Falcon
Falconry. I asked a fellow on here a few years back what went into becoming a falconer and he said it's a lengthy process that involves building an enormous enclosure for them to live in. I don't even own a house, let alone a yard big enough for that type of enclosure, so that ain't happening any time soon. Not only that, the bird can choose to fly away anytime. So all that time and money goes up in the air.
#13 Braving Summits
Mountaineering. Not just your casual hike but crossing glaciers, climbing with rope and reaching summits. Expect a big investment in gear. You'll also want certificates so you'll have to pay for several two-week all-in trips. Many mountains can be summited seasonally so you'll need to take two weeks off at random times of your job, besides finding the time to train several days a week for a few months before departure. I guess I'll keep the $50,000 for something useful instead...
#14 Deep Dive
Scuba diving. When I started 25 years ago it was pretty cheap. Then came more gear as I progressed. Many sets of doubles, dozens of regs, deco bottles, computers, and five-day dive trips. Then came rebreathers and I could not afford to keep going! It can be as expensive as you make it.
#15 Violin Dreams
I want to take up a new instrument. You can get a cheap instrument to learn. I told my sister I always wanted to learn violin—I was in my early 30s at the time. Next thing I know, she's buying two violins on eBay (because she's going to learn, too) and my other sister is arranging lessons from a high school teen who works part-time at her company and happens to play the violin. She didn't charge us a lot—certainly not what we would've paid to a music teacher.
#16 Mini Dreams
Drones. Golf. Miniature stuff, like Warhammer, Mantic or equivalent. Hell, even models of just places like those crazy train ones look cool. But it's not just getting the miniatures, it's storing it that would cost real-estate in my home that I already don't have much of.
Astrophotography—both time-intensive and expensive. The only reason I couldn't get myself to jump into astrophotography is that I live in the city and the amount of light pollution we get is really bad. I don't know if even an expensive telescope would help. But everyone tells me astrophotography is awesome and spending time looking up is wholly rewarding.
#17 Need For Speed
Drag racing, or racing in general. I'm a huge gearhead but there's no way I can afford even a basic crate motor let alone the fabrication equipment to stuff it into something.
#18 Exotic Fish
I'd love to have a big aquarium with exotic and interesting fish, but the tanks are expensive, the fish are expensive, and the upkeep is expensive. Also, it's extremely time-consuming and fish are so fragile. Anything can and will end them (or sometimes they'll just end themselves). And don't get me started about saltwater aquariums...
#19 The 10-Gallon Solution
I'm deep into the aquarium hobby. Yes, it's expensive to go with a monster tank but you can do a lot with a small tank. My 10 gallon is probably my favorite tank right now. It's rewarding to maintain an ecosystem. I'm currently on my third generation of fish and shrimp, which is the pinnacle for me to have my environment stable enough for wild breeding. Yeah, you can get lost in it. But, look into nano tanks because you can get some cool exotic fauna for those as well.
#20 Haunted Houses
Restoring Victorian houses to their original condition, with all the architectural nuances authentic. I want to buy a Victorian house, restore it, and then turn it into a really great Halloween haunted house, with animatronics, actors, and everything. Guess I need to move to Detroit—some of those houses are already haunted, so I can check off most from my list.
#21 Hamsters Or Rats
Having pets. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time and money to do so. My time will come. Currently, I'm considering a smaller caged animal, like a hamster or rat? Their lifespans aren't too long (2-3 years or so) and they don't cost a ton to get started. Plus, they're fairly low maintenance.
#22 Sharp Objects
Knifemaking and forging. Getting started in this can be surprisingly inexpensive. I got started making knives a couple of years ago on less than $100 and made four or five knives out of that startup money. A functional forge can be built for less than $20. A couple of files and a few odds and ends more and you're making knives. Over time, I have spent more money of course, but I didn't actually have to spend more.
#23 More Glass Art
Stained glass. Here are some tips from a friend I know who actually does this for a living: 1) Stick to hand tools. if you buy a grinder and saw you’ll never get really proficient at hand cutting. hand cutting is more respected in the professional world anyway. 2) Buy scrap by the pound. You find this on FB stained glass groups, eBay. etc. 3) If using lead came ( as opposed to copper foil method) make your own cement with this recipe.
#24 Maps
I've been really considering collecting old maps but I'm putting it off until I have a space that can support actually displaying them. If you're in the US and interested in old but not super old maps (like 100-150 years old) I feel like I've definitely seen some being sold for fairly reasonable prices, especially stuff that might have value to you but not be super sought after broadly (like a map of your local town or something).
#25 A Unique Instrument
Playing the harp! I wanted to learn so badly ever since there was a small segment on a kid's TV show when I was little (maybe Teletubbies). I was upset for years that my parents said no until I looked into it myself much much later and saw that harps easily cost $1,000+! I think it's fair they didn't want to hand that kind of money over to a 7-year-old who would probably have broken it or got bored after a few months. I'm 22 now and still biding my time for financial security to finally give it a shot.
#26 Considering Cosplay
Cosplay. When I see the work and detail that goes into some of the costumes at cons I have been to, I admire the heck out of them but I know I would have neither the time, patience or dedication it would take to create some of the things I have seen.
#27 Aquarium Ambitions
I'd love to have a saltwater aquarium. The fish and coral are just beautiful. It's not so much the up-front cost that keeps me from doing it as the ongoing and optional ones. I was in a place that sold exclusively saltwater fish and fell in love with a little stingray. That stingray would have cost me $2,000... Maybe someday, when I can trust my impulse control a bit more.
#28 Money, Money, Money
I've always wanted to play golf, like a full 18 holes on a proper course, but with the fees and the membership needed and then also the full set of clubs, etc., it is way too expensive. Therefore I tend to settle for the driving range every few weeks or so.
#29 Long-Range Art
Long-range target shooting. Shooting tin cans is fun but I think it would be super satisfying to turn it into an art form and be able to hit a target 1,000 yards away. The equipment is expensive. The scopes are just as much. The ammo is expensive. This isn't sustainable on an hourly income.
#30 Fancy Writing
Calligraphy, All the special pens, classes... Then, if I really want to do something with it, I'd probably buy one of those fancy-schmancy iPad and pen things. So yeah, that adds up.
#31 Chasing Big Air
I joined a competitive skiing association a few years back (slalom, giant slalom, moguls, and downhill). The traveling for competitions, the expense of the four different types of skis for those types of racing, combined with me having a full-time career made it difficult. I only did it one season, now I just ski for fun.
#32 A Time-Consuming Craft
Leather crafting. I'm someone that tends to dive straight into something without much instruction but it looks expensive and time-consuming and something that relies a lot on honing the skill after repeated attempts.
#33 Too Much Time
My mom makes insanely beautiful blankets with big puffy yarn and has done some amazing cross stitch work in the past as well. She tried teaching me her craft ages ago, and I and could absolutely join her again without having to pay a dime, but the time is too expensive at this point. I'm sorry mom.
#34 For The Love Of Music
DJing. I love music and seeing those big DJs like Marshmello, Illenium, Excision, and many others having fun on stage just seems so awesome. Creating a set and just watching the crowd enjoy themselves seems so cool.
#35 Motion On Two Wheels
Mountain biking can have a very steep upfront cost especially if you buy new, but buying a used bike that's two to three years old can be a good way to get your feet wet. A mountain bike without rear suspension (known as a hardtail) is the best place to start in terms of value. Once you get into the sport, you will meet a lot of new people. It's not uncommon to go out on a ride with a carpenter, a dentist, a lawyer, a machinist, and a bike shop employee all in the same ride.
Chances are one of these people who have or know somebody who is looking to get rid of a bike. This is a good way to upgrade to a better bike down the road. Mountain biking is also a really good way to network and meet new people. If you have a hard time finding a social circle it could really help. Lastly, it's a good way to fool yourself into getting a workout in.
#36 The Best Camera
Photography. Cameras and lenses are stupid expensive. But here's what my friend said: "As someone who has done photography as a hobby for years, it's totally fine to start with your phone. I did end up saving for months to get a DSLR and saved for more months to get some extra lenses, over the last couple of years, I spent over 1k in gear. And the lense I REALLY want is $1,000 alone. But I still end up using my phone quite a bit still. Why? Because I won't always be hauling my gear around. And the best camera to have is the one you have with you."
#37 Shopping Spree
Buying nicer clothes... Except, I'm actually spending money on it now and it's getting expensive. Doesn't seem like it should be qualified as a hobby but I've pretty recently gotten into buying some quality brands of shirts, suits, ties, and shoes, and it's starting to hit my wallet pretty hard. I just bought my third pair of Allen Edmonds oxfords and I already want to buy more.
Turns out that buying quality, handmade gear and having it actually fit properly makes you look pretty great. I've lost 52 pounds so far and I'm still dropping weight. I didn't care an awful lot about how I looked when I was obese, but now I'm really into pairing colors and contrasting shirt and tie patterns. The compliments I get give me a huge confidence boost.
#38 Save The Bees
I want to collect vaporwave cassettes and types of vinyl but I don't have enough money. Plus, I can't buy things over the internet. I would also like to learn to play ukulele but that's probably just me being lazy since basic ukuleles only cost about $40. One hobby that I did start last year is beekeeping. I'm so happy that my bees survived the winter.
39# Missing Out
Playing an instrument. I started playing saxophone in 5th grade. I had to pay $80 fees at the beginning of every school year to rent one from the school to use because I couldn’t afford to buy my own. During high school, I was shunned as still being one of the only kids not to have their own brand new instrument (even buying a used alto sax online can be in the thousands).
I missed out on certain events and clubs and things because I wasn’t allowed to bring the rented sax out of the building except for competitions. I was a first chair all-state and all-city tenor player and had to give it all up once I graduated high school. Now I’m just a really poor college student wishing I could minor in music or even just play one last time but can’t afford it.
#40 Collector's Vice
Collecting memorabilia from my favorite movies and TV shows. That can get super expensive really fast if you want cool things. The most I will probably ever have is German Shepherd puppet I won from an auction that was on Danger 5, which is one of my favorite shows. That set me back $1,000 and the thing I really wanted, Sensible Chuckle, ended up selling for $13,000. I am happy with my puppet though and am glad to own at least one thing from a show I really enjoy.
#41 Philanthropist's Itch
I would love to be able to do more volunteer work. I would love to work with the elderly a lot more but A lot of the volunteer work requires certain certificates, training or education. I’ve looked at how to gain qualifications to be able to volunteer more. Besides the degrees or year-long studies. Most are short courses or certificates gained in a day or two, or others such as getting my manual license gaining medical certificate that’s not first aid.
It’s the cost of these that stop me from volunteering more as I simply can’t afford it or the travel is too expensive for me to partake. I have my license I just don’t have a car so transport on trains and buses sometimes can be in excess of $20. I try my best and put savings towards certain certificates to gain but it takes me a while and any free courses I can attend I do. I really really enjoy learning and listening from meeting these people.
I could spend every afternoon at the elderly homes having the best conversations and genuinely appreciate their time. Also, it breaks my heart knowing that someone can feel so lonely and by themselves that if I can help change that even slightly, then I’ve done what I should do. I’d rather do this than go to the pub or club. Besides collecting gnomes, gardening and reading I look forward to the days I do spend time at retirement villages so I consider it a hobby.
#42 Bender B. Rodriguez
I'm a big fan of horseracing and I would love to own and race my own horse, but it is so expensive. On top of the cost for the horse, you have to consider stabling, food, and tons of other expenses. It's still my dream to one day own a grey racehorse named Bender B. Rodriguez.
#43 Be One With Your Body
I really want to try exotic dancing and burlesque because those women are so strong and powerful. I want to be that confident and in tune with my body one day.
#45 Ouch
Medical school. Enough said.
