The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
I'd like to hear about your expensive toys.
azith28
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I'm looking for a new interest/hobby. I'm a single guy doing pretty decently but not like what i would call 'rich'. I have saved up money for a while for a down payment on a home, but that is likely going to be put on hold for a few years, and while I don't really hold back on purchases of things for my current interests, they are reasonable so i have a decent surplus to my income, especially after paying off my Credit Cards.
I'm not interested in a fancy car or motorcycle. I'm not an outdoor person. My current hobbies are mostly games, reading, books, anime, I do some painting of game miniatures, etc, but I don't weeb over them (not going to spend money on merchandising stuff/statues/figures etc).
I've sometimes thought about getting a VR setup or a 3D printer, but i know these will likely be short lived interests (at least until VR gets better). But I would like to hear about other peoples hobbies that might attract me.
It's not that i want to stop saving money, but living on my own makes me feel like I need to occasionally spend some money on myself, else whats the point.
Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
0
Posts
https://www.penaddict.com
https://www.relay.fm/penaddict
It's actually an interesting hobby and these guys are fun to listen to even if you're not super into pens.
Pick something you can start cheap and grow into.
Edit: Baking stuff can get as expensive as you want it to. A sourdough starter is basically free to get going yourself, but you can buy all sorts of things to do different types of breads.
Nothing is quite like eating your own first loaf of sourdough. Even if it's not perfect.
I have a HTC Vive (first gen) and it has been great, so you could always burn money on a suped up PC, and an HMD of your choice and go that route, there is more than enough content to make it worth while I think. But you really need space to set it up. I lucked out with my old house and was able to put aside a decent sized space in my basement for the setup. If you don't have space then I don't recommend getting one.
I love to cook and that is my other big hobby. I have 2 smokers, one electric and one charcoal. I have nice Japanese chef knives, I have a nice Kitchenaid mixer for making various things, I also make cider and have a fruit/apple press and grinder a few large 5 - 6 gallon carboys, various booze making tubes, siphons etc.
My brother is like me, though he isnt that into smoking but he does make charcuterie, cured meats, bacon and he also makes beer and spirits. He has a robobrew which he uses for beer along with some kegs and CO2 rigs for the beverages once they are done. You really can get into that and spend money, and make various devices to assist with brewing/etc.
If anything I suggest a hobby where you make something, I like the food/drink side of things as you can be creative and enjoy the fruits of your labor and you get better and better as you keep doing it.
I like building things, weaving, crafts in general, but weaving is definitely a hobby than can cost real money. A nice loom costs money, nice materials cost money, and sure you can make nail boards and unravel sweaters to use for almost free, but the nicer things can get a bit expensive. Blankets also make nice gifts, pretty much universally.
I probably have more hobbies than I have lifetime. :P
I'm taking a screen printing class in a few weeks, and while I'm already an artschool nerd, its a good way to get out of my house, work with materials I cant buy or store in my apartment, and just in general have an experience. Classes geared towards working adults in the evening and on weekends are usually chill and aimed at "this could be your new hobby!". I'm planning to look for woodworking classes next.
You can also look into wellness activities that are out of reach of more strained budgets. Yoga and personal training are great pass times but wrack up the bills after a while.
Drone racing. You can get FPV displays and do a real life version of Wipeout XL.
It kinda depends on your location though. Lots of places have clubs and leagues and you might be surprised.
I live in an apartment townhome, so lots of baking equipment isnt really fitting in with my space/existing crappy oven requirements. Nice idea tho, Getting a nice kitchen is definately on my wish list whenever i finally buy a house.
Dutch Oven
Big Bowl with lid
Dough Scraper
Food Scale
Banneton
The only item I had exclusively for bread was the banneton. (shaping basket)
You utilize the energy storage and seal of the Dutch Oven to mitigate crappy home ovens. I literally have the cheapest electric whirlpool oven ever made.
I found purchasing a small pantry to store all my stuff in decluttered my kitchen substantially and made me feel like actually being in it.
If you just want a different hobby, totally understand. If you think space for kitchen gadgets limits you, I think you would be surprised. You don't need a mixer or anything.
Edit: I've since purchased an Ankarsrum mixer and have a pretty well organized collection of flours, baskets, Ziploc bags, racks and a countertop proofer. None of it necessary.
Edit2: Girlfriend recently started making soft cheeses as a hobby. It's pretty amazing and cheap too. You can get more advanced and buy presses and molds and do hard cheeses.
It's like an alchemy pot where I'm just tossing ingredients in to see what they transmute into 8 hours later.
My other hobbies all lean toward outdoors stuff unfortunately.
You can't give someone a pirate ship in one game, and then take it back in the next game. It's rude.
A cheaper but similar option is to track down an older car (70's and early 80's is a good range) in drivable condition and never take it to a shop. Like a boat they become a money sink, but the skills aren't too hard to develop and there's a hell of a lot of things you can do to them.
If you did go ahead with buying a home, it's the same thing. The projects are eternal. For example I'm currently building an elaborate charging station by the back door which will house everything from power tool and lawnmower batteries to game controllers and backup cell phones, and just finished converting all the false drawers below the sinks into a mix of flip out racks and U-shaped drawers that we didn't need but... You know, I already had all the tools.
Of course my truly expensive hobby is collecting a brand of ball jointed dolls called Smart doll, for example this girl here (wearing a top I knitted for her, no less), they're about twice the size of a barbie doll and a lot more posable. I know you said you don't want to get into figures, but I really like these dolls so had to mention them. Added bonus is that they are largely hollow and this brand was initially developed to be used as cases for raspberry pi computers. I have thoughts of one day building a raspberry pi inside a Smart Doll.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
I have 2 CNC machines and a 3d printer.
Both cncs are from carbide 3d. The nomad 883 pro and the larger and noisier and messier shapeoko 3.
Also have the prusa i3 mk 3 for the 3d printer.
I can't say enough good things about the CNC router. I've been very happy with it.
I am a terrible player but I own 5 guitars because I enjoy tinkering with them. You can buy cheap off-brand electric guitars (even broken ones!), gut the electronics and replace them with good quality pickups and nicer tuning keys. You don't need a lot of tools to get started (as long as you're not doing serious body/neck repairs or working with acoustic guitars). A good screwdriver set, a soldering iron, wire cutters/strippers and some steel wool is enough to get going.
I started by replacing the pickups on the guitar I've had since I was a kid, and I moved up to buying a kit guitar which I assembled and finished myself (black stain + tru oil).
Playing them is also fun, so really it becomes a two in one hobby if you'd like to learn to play.
Do... Re... Mi... So... Fa.... Do... Re.... Do...
Forget it...
I wouldn't start out looking for an expensive hobby. Rather, I'd look at trying a variety of things and seeing what you like. Once you find something you like, you can spend whatever you're comfortable with. You stated you build and paint minis, so why not try something related like a Gundam model kit. You said you like games, so why not something game related like a trip to Pax?
Also, and I can't stress this enough, there is nothing wrong with living below your means. If you're comfortable and enjoying life, then keep doing what you're doing, because you're winning at life. Don't tie your happiness with how much you're spending, because you'll either end up unhappy or broke.
I took up target shooting a couple years back and have really enjoyed it. Indoor or outdoor - I rent a handgun when I go indoor at a local range or the local university's shooting center, and I own .22 and bolt-action .223 rifles for target shooting outdoor at the local Dept. of Natural Resources range. I've since bought some other stuff; lot of fun figuring out what I wanted based on where I wanted to go with the hobby. Targets or clays, rifle, handgun, or shotgun, what distance, competitive or not, etc. Long-range target shooting is a blast and really satisfying difficult - trying to get a whole bunch of things working together to eke out incremental gains.
Lots of free events getting new shooters into the hobby - I just attended a DNR clinic for getting into shooting clays with a shotgun. Free, 4-5 instructors supplying guns, ammo, and equipment for a small group of people. Ammo is also federally taxed such that taxes from sales of guns and ammo make up 75% of state DNR budgets for all kinds of conservation funding.
It's friggin' gigantic and beautiful:
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
Pretty much everyone could benefit from spending more time and money at the gym and on training sessions/coaches. I'd love to get a running coach and break past this plateau without getting sidelined by some injury...
Why not level up at life and look good and feel good (and strain your soleus.)
I "invested" in a Pilot Vanishing Point. At $150 per, it seems extravagant and stupid to spend on what is just a pen.
However, the philosophy is basically this: I can't afford to pick up a hobby or reinvent myself at the moment. I could save up money to buy a sweet house and trick it out with a functional and sturdy workout area, a reading room that makes it comfortable and easy to keep up the study of my craft, a fancy bathroom, a state of the art kitchen, a spacious living area optimal for parties, a backyard garden with a pond and a firepit and a pool and rows of fresh fruit trees, vegetables, and flowers, and a comfy bedroom. I love doing home improvement for fun, and I fix up my parents' house whenever I'm on leave. I know a person that built their house from the ground up with an architect, and among many things, they've got an open kitchen/dining room with multiple tables completely walled with glass overlooking the garden and neighborhood, a climbing wall, an indoor pool, an elevator, and an indoor slide to the basement recreation area.
But that would be particularly ambitious of me, and I think I'm going to spend most of my time at work anyway and not be able to enjoy that kind of stuff until late in life. That's what my retirement account is for.
What I can do is make my work life more pleasurable. The pen is a pleasure to write with, and I have to write a lot, so I might as well make what was once a chore into a hobby. I tend to splurge on whatever makes my work life easier or more fun, since it's what I'll be doing for the rest of my life.
Doc: That's right, twenty five years into the future. I've always dreamed on seeing the future, looking beyond my years, seeing the progress of mankind. I'll also be able to see who wins the next twenty-five world series.
So my first question is, what do you like to do in your spare time?
My second question is, what is something you've always dreamed of doing since you were a kid?
My third question is, what is something you can happily visualise yourself doing right now, like, emptying your pockets except for your wallet and car keys, jumping in your car, driving to the place, and doing the thing?
If the answer to all three questions is the same, you already know what your calling in life is and this whole thread is redundant.
It's all really quite simple in the end - if you want to be an astronaut, go visit the Kennedy space center. If you want to be a firefighter, go join the volunteer fire brigade. If you wanna be a race car driver, buy an old shitheap and do autocross. If you wanna be Ansel Adams, get yourself a camera and start taking some photos. If you wanna be a rockstar, buy an instrument that interests you and start taking lessons.
Only YOU can know what you REALLY want, so it's time for some soul-searching and deep introspection.
My motor tends to idle a lot. I work 8-5 M-F, and spent the last 15 years establishing myself at my job...while i can put at least part of the blame of my lack of social life on that, some of it is also just being terrible at meeting new people. My group of friends meet weekly for board game night or to watch movies, but I don't like alcohol so the bar scene is very uncomfortable a place to socialize.
Getting a new novel or game can excite me, meeting with my friends is fun. While I'm willing to do things with other people that are outside my comfort zone (I'm not an introvert, i actively want to do things with my friends Just suck at meeting people so when those friends are not available, I'm stagnant) As far as some of the suggestions, Every now and then I will pick up one of the Lego sets. I like putting them together, but I'm not a creative/artistic type, so building something from scratch isnt an interest. I have some mini's and for a while i was assembling and painting them, but due to my eyes getting a bit worse for detail work, It's more tiring then it use to be.
As far as vacations go, I do have a few ideal vacation spots, but I really would not want to do them alone.
I'm not depressed or anything, I'm not seeking meaning in life, I just want a new toy to keep me occupied.
At this point I would start to wonder, why not build a real Vespa?
What are your living conditions? I know you said you were saving for a down payment on a house, but that's getting pushed back. Apartment? Condo? Townhouse?
What's your available hobby space? I wouldn't want to suggest, say, RC plane building and collecting if you didn't have a garage or unfinished basement or similar storage space for them and associated tools/fluids.
What are you looking to spend? A 200 hundred dollar Lego set is doable for me once every two or three months without plunging me into an all ramen diet, but for other people that might be change in their couch cushions.
What do you do for a living? I wouldn't want to suggest "teach yourself programming" to someone who already spends 10+ hours a day neck deep in code.
Iruka's suggestion of taking a classes sounds good to me. If you have a local community college or something hit their website up and see what they have on offer.
You just need to get a bigger doll.
If they made step by step build kits like this for full size Vespa, I would!
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
I live in a rented 1k sqft apartment townhouse. The house thing is on hold cause my company is looking to move its global headquarters, wont know where for at least several months, likely not offically moving for 3-4 years. My current place is getting a bit full of stuff, but im not like a horder or anything, just accumulated stuff, so i was looking for a bigger place. I don't really have a garage i can use for that, no basement. so nothing too huge, or nothing i have to like wire and install in in the house somewhere.
I could probably drop 300-400 a month on junk if i really got into something and still be fine with saving.
and yes, I am a Software Programmer so I already code
If I had an extra 300-400 a month is probably buy a shitload of Gundam kits and Transformers
But then you end up with a house full of those so be prepared for that
I can has cheezburger, yes?