Cost versus satisfaction of Hobbies

[Frederick Skelly]

I have almost as much into kites as I do machines.

KITES? Really? When I was a kid I LOVED kites. Especially Box kites.

I didnt know it was ok for grown men to still fly kites. Tell us about THAT hobby Myk! Puleeeeze?

(This could be the start of a whole new hobby/adventure.)

[Kent A Bathurst]

Yeah, buddy!!

I'm all ears. [eyes?]

[Mike Henderson]

I used to do a lot of jogging. Other than the cost of new shoes maybe twice a year, there's not much else. I'm sure you can find things to spend money on but you don't need anything else.

I traveled a lot and had the opportunity to see a lot of cities on a jog. Also kept my weight down.

Mike

[Brian Elfert]

How in the world do you sink hundreds of thousands into "wet shaving"?

I suspect he meant hundreds OR thousands.

My main hobby right now is working on my converted bus, at least during the summer and fall months. I probably have close to $100,000 into it with no debt tied to it. I enjoy working on it just as much as I do using it. It costs me close to $2,000 a year in costs before I even drive it the first mile each year. I typically only take one 4,000 trip with it each year. I spend so much money on fixing it and finishing the project I have no money to take it on other trips when it costs 50 cents a mile to drive down the road.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

woodworking has a low cost of admission?

someone please 'splain that to my wife.


but really - don't start wood turning. there's always some new tool, or cool piece of wood, or...or...or...

[Matt Day]

Let's see some pictures of this 6 figure project bus Brian! You've got me intrigued!

[Raymond Fries]

I think a hobby is that pastime that you enjoy regardless of the money. Some hobbies are pretty low cost and some others can be carried to extremes for people with really deep pockets. I have not flown for several years now but enjoy R/C airplanes. I like building them and flying them. I went with gliders because they fit my needs and were not as expensive as the ones with engines. They are quiet and a challenge to find thermals to keep them up. Did you know that the speed record for R/C airplanes was a glider. Maybe this has changed since the advent of ducted fan and turbine engines.

Everyone has different resources and incomes that can afford different hobbies. To me, the most important thing is to enjoy what is fun for you with what you have to spend on it.

Take Care and Enjoy Life...

[Myk Rian]

Nothing better than a sky full of kites. There are kite festivals all over the world.
I also fly stunt kites. Those are fun because they maneuver where you want them to go.

kite_0073.jpgkite_0085.jpgkite_0076.jpg

My big one. I fly it with a 2500 lb strength line.
http://vid938.photobucket.com/albums...pskomgzsid.mp4

[Brian Elfert]

Let's see some pictures of this 6 figure project bus Brian! You've got me intrigued!

I looked for some pictures the other day and can't find any. I think they are all on the SD card in my camera and I can't find the camera since I moved a month ago. The bus is currently covered for the winter so hard to take any new photos.

For all the money into the bus it doesn't look like much. It badly needs paint. About $25,000 of the cost is simply mechanical repairs and tires. It needed almost $10,000 in repairs when I got plus all new tires for $3,000. I was just looking at my financial software and it appears I am closer to $125,000 into this project since 2006. No wonder I never have any money.

[Pat Barry]

This summer I was involved in three "hobbies". Wet shaving, woodworking, and Coleman lanterns. I got into wet shaving and joined a forum and gradually while reading the posts there I realized I would "need" hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of stuff if I wanted to be respected in that community. I recently wanted to shave my head so I bought a bag of disposable razors. A few days later I was in a hurry and needed to shave so I just whipped some shaving cream on my face and grabbed one of the disposables and presto, I was shaved. It was an enlightening experience,

I don't have a fascination with shaving so I do it with a modern electric razor every morning before work - no weekend shaving. I do invest money and time in my cabin, fishing, woodworking, poker, but sadly not golf this year. Of these I only have one positive return on my investment but I enjoy all of them equally

[Wade Lippman]

How in the world do you sink hundreds of thousands into "wet shaving"?

It must be a euphemism for something, though I can't imagine what.

[Tom Stenzel]

I noticed you mentioned being respected by forums. Why? Do it for your own pleasure not to show off on the Internet.

Matt nails it.

Or to distill it even further: Hobbies- for your own pleasure.

End of story.

-Tom

[Moses Yoder]

I noticed you mentioned being respected by forums. Why? Do it for your own pleasure not to show off on the Internet.

Yes, I think this is the key. On the other hand, there is no doubt that the internet causes consumerism. It makes me want things I never knew existed. Naturally the hundreds of thousands was a little exaggeration, but there are members on a forum who apparently have hundreds of razors that cost them more than $300 dollars apiece.

[Justin Ludwig]

I found the main key to my happiness was "wanting less." Once I established that, everything started falling in place and I had money to do whatever and buy whatever I wanted.

As for hobbies: I fish in my FIL's 4-5acre pond with 2 different poles (spinning reel and open face). Both were gifts. I've played disc golf for 20 years and have spent less than $500 on gear over that time period. I have entered tourneys and such where hotel costs and traveling were incurred.

I used to surf and found it too expensive because I couldn't stay off the North Shore of Oahu and was breaking boards. Simultaneously, I was downhill racing mountain bikes - which got into the thousands as well.

Woodwork is my profession that I treat as a hobby. I'm rewarded and get the tax write-off.

[Frederick Skelly]

Nothing better than a sky full of kites. There are kite festivals all over the world.
I also fly stunt kites. Those are fun because they maneuver where you want them to go.

My big one. I fly it with a 2500 lb strength line.

Man thats neat! Thanks Myk!