Loving pocket friendly hobbies is one of the best, long-term compounding investments you can make. Decades of spending your time, happily hobbying on the cheap could be the differentiator that makes you RICH!
Cheap hobby lovers can save hundreds every month compared to people who have expensive pastimes. Multiply that by a lifetime, and see how it really makes a difference.
Besides being pocket friendly, my favorite cheap hobbies are good for your health and soul….making you rich in so many ways! Plus, these are hobbies that you can do pretty much anywhere, anytime, at any age.
Walking
We all know how good walking is for us. Its good for the body, easy on the joints, good for your mind. Walking can take many forms. It can be hardcore, climbing a mountain or with snow shoes strapped on your feet.
It can be a slow stroll around the block with your partner after dinner. It can be on a treadmill while you watch Netflix…although I think the ‘getting outside’ form of walking is a big part of ‘its good for you’ factor.
Now, you can probably spend a bunch of money to walk, if you buy an expensive treadmill, for example. But generally, all you need is a good pair of shoes. There’s also tons of free phone apps for tracking walking, gamifying walking, share to your social media…all sorts of things to keep you motivated, make it more fun.
Writing
Putting your thoughts down is an excellent workout for your brain! Whether or not anyone ever reads a word you write, doesn’t matter. Writing helps you organize your thoughts, get things out of your brain that are rattling around in there. If you choose to share your writing, even better! Everyone’s voice is welcome in the cacophony of humanity.
But can’t I just read? Reading is great, too….but I think the creative experience of writing is different and valuable. Keep a journal, write an actual letter to a friend. Doesn’t have to be a novel.
With the current state of digital resources its cheap and easy to write and keep your writings. Going back and reading old journals or writings is like stepping into a time machine. It can provide amazing perspective.
I look back at my old stuff and think “that was so important to me?….I didn’t even remember that happened now?” Writing and reflecting make day to day stresses easier to let go.
Cooking
Learning to cook food is so primal, I believe it should be mandatory. But…I don’t rule the world, and I know there are lots of people who HATE cooking. If you’re a pliable person and can convince yourself how beautiful it is to take natures gifts and turn them into nourishment for your body, you SHOULD. (Okay, I’ll stop shoulding on people now.)
Cooking your own food is generally less expensive and better for your health than eating out in restaurants. If you get really into cooking, you can spend a fortune on fancy equipment and ingredients, of course. But you’re still probably going to be better off than if you went out for comparable meals or if all the restaurants suddenly close. Like in say…a pandemic!
I would suggest watching some cooking shows to get you excited about it. Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and the Netflix series Cooked totally inspired me!
Volunteering
Last but not least on my list of cheap hobbies is volunteering. This might be the highest ROI hobby of them all.
I know, in your free time you could be side-hustling, leveling-up skills….not giving away your time for FREE! I mean, do all that stuff, too, if you’re working on wealth building. But save some TIME to give away. And I do mean TIME, not just giving money.
Find a cause you’re passionate about, however weird or niche it is, it must be meaningful to you. If you want to spread model train building to youth in Indonesia, there’s probably an organization that does it. If not, start it!
Volunteering is a great way to connect to the world, to people, to yourself. It can give you perspective on the ways in which you are lucky, the skills and talents that you possess. It can help you build new skills, stretch yourself to try new things.
Finding a great cause that is meaningful to you and giving your time and talent is a great way to find value to the world when our day to day can often feel so meaningless. Did you fill out your TPS report today, Office Space fans? If you give, you will probably find you get way more, in the end.
To Wrap it Up
Our consumeristic society exerts relentless pressure on us to embrace expensive hobbies, as if we need extravagant pastimes to be cool. You can spend your free time golfing at high end clubs, collecting classic cars, or sky diving. Maybe you need to collect fine wine. If you’ve done the work and figured out that’s REALLY what makes you most happy, okay. But you will need to find a way to finance it.
If you’ve decided that its not worth trading your time chasing lots of money, or its just not in the cards for you…you can still become RICH!
Valuing simpler, meaningful hobbies can enrich your life without burdening your wallet. True wealth isn’t always measured in dollars and cents. By embracing these pocket-friendly pastimes, you’re not just saving money but building a fortune of health, creativity, and purpose that will compound over the years.
And when you need less, the sooner your bank account can become enough to stop trading time for money at all!
Invest WISELY.
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