Making expensive hobbies more affordable
Posted
Aug 01 2008, 09:29 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar.
Before my financial turnaround, I had several expensive hobbies. I loved to golf on the weekends, I played Magic: The Gathering competitively, I collected DVDs, and I thought it was great to eat as many meals as possible at high-end restaurants.
Each of these hobbies was a massive drain on my bank account, consuming money in huge bites like a cash-starved elephant.
Since then, I've given up most of my hobbies and channeled the remainder onto paths that are much more financially stable. To do that, I had to adopt a handful of useful tactics. If you have a hobby that's a constant money drain, try some of these to see if you can make it more affordable.
Reduce your competitiveness. I played Magic: The Gathering in a very competitive environment, trying to qualify for $25,000 tournaments and the like. In order to keep up with the other players, I threw quite a bit of money into the hobby at the start. As I grew more skilled, I didn't spend as much on the hobby as I did on trips to tournaments. My competitiveness was in full swing.
The solution for me was simply toning down my competitiveness. I still play on occasion, but it's usually just to meet up with friends. I borrow extra cards they have and play with those, and I don't travel to tournaments. I get much of the joy and social connection I had during the days when I played heavily, but it doesn't require me to constantly dump cash down a sinkhole.
Focus on low-end equipment. When I was avidly golfing, there was always a push to have the latest and greatest equipment -- massive drivers, well-crafted irons, and balls that flew a mile. It was almost like an arm's race -- who would pull the most impressive weapon out of their bag?
Fortunately, I saw the light here as well. Golfing can be just as much fun with a dirt cheap 4-iron and a used golf ball as it is with the latest Titleist equipment. Sure, your shot might not fly as far through the air, but that just means you yank out the 3-iron instead of the 4- iron. Problem solved -- and golf becomes much cheaper to enjoy.
If you have equipment that does the job, stick with that equipment. Don’t worry about blowing money on a barely-better piece of equipment if the old one does the job just fine.
Learn the craftsmanship. Whenever I'd go out to eat at restaurants, I'd marvel at the amazing foods put before me -- breads, delicious cheeses, fine beer and wine, the tender entrees. I was always impressed by the quality and craftsmanship.
What I found is that I got much the same joy in my own kitchen preparing my own food. I got to enjoy the craftsmanship of making foods for myself -- the joy of homebrewing, the pleasure of baking my own bread and making my own pasta. I went from spending $30 on a restaurant meal to spending $10 in ingredients and a passionate hour in the kitchen creating something amazing for myself. I found that an hour making homemade fettuccine was well worth the time invested, as I began to intimately understand the elements of good food that made me love it.
You can apply this to almost anything you're passionate about, from soaps to clothes. Instead of spending tons of money in the stores or shops on this stuff, channel that passion into learning about the craftsmanship behind the item. You can make almost anything (aside from some electronics) at home with some basic equipment, time and passion. Instead of just enjoying buying what others make, channel that interest into making it yourself.
Understand what you're actually collecting. I used to collect DVDs -- they nearly overwhelmed our old apartment. I'd buy huge piles of DVDs so that I could have all of Johnny Depp's films on hand, or every one directed by Akira Kurosawa. Thankfully, I got that desire under control, because I realized that I was spending $20 a pop collecting something that I rarely actually looked at after the first experience. It turned out that I was actually collecting the experience of watching a great film.
I still made it a point just to watch every Kurosawa film and every film with Depp in it, but I'd check them out at the library. Some I'd check out time and time again, and if that happened, I'd usually put them on my Amazon wish list. I also made a concerted effort to purge all of the unwatched stuff from my DVD collection, narrowing it down to what I wanted to watch again and again, or what I intended to share with my children later on.
Now, I use a number of tools to enjoy movies -- the library, trading with friends, and SwapADVD chief among them. I still get that rush from watching a great movie.
Hopefully, some of these tactics will help you get some of your own expensive hobbies in line.
Other articles of interest at The Simple Dollar:
Evaluating and minimizing hobby expenses
7 tips for avoiding boredom during a financial turnaround
The road to financial Armageddon: The yuppie years
