5 Expensive Hobbies article

[HopHeadGrady]

Hiking is awesome too. All you need is feet.

 

[sweetcell]

hiking is indeed cheap, but i wouldn't say free. decent footwear comes at a cost, and if you start over-nighting then you need a tent, sleeping bag, cooking tools, etc.

but it's still damn cheap.

 

[NervousDad]

This has been by far one of my cheapest hobbies and you don't need to keep on dumping money into once you get going other than propane and grain.

In order of expensiveness for me was

1. Reef keeping was by far the most expensive.
2. RC car racing was second
3. Flying (if I would have kept flying it probably would have been number one on the list)

 

[jturie]

Homebrewing most likely wouldn't make the top 100.

Now, my other hobby (Amateur Astronomy) can get pricey in a hurry if you're into imaging. Sort of like combining 3 hobbies: Astronomy, Photography, and Computers. Add a fourth if you're one of those crazy total eclipse chasers who travel to Bora Bora to see a 3-minute event that might be clouded out.

Couple of guys in my club have $20K-30K invested in scopes, observatories, CCD cameras, and remote control. Like someone else said above--any hobby can get expensive if you get serious.

 

[SwivelHips]

Was waiting for someone to bring up astronomy, though it doesn't quite compare to tuning/restoring/hot rodding cars.

 

[jturie]

Was waiting for someone to bring up astronomy, though it doesn't quite compare to tuning/restoring/hot rodding cars.

Nope--not even close to cars, boats or planes for sure. That list had a couple of odd ones though.

 

[Squatchito]

Flyfishing isn't so bad. I started out over the Summer for about $200 . . . which is great . . . if you don't mind catching nothing but 4 inch Bluegill in warm water.

In all honesty though, if I were to tally up all the fishing and brewing stuff I actually want I would probably have an aneurysm.

 

[stikman33]

Yeah, I brew, have a classic car, and golf! Right now I'm only really doing homebrewing and golf on discount days because the car just costs too much!

10mpg in an old muscle car is hard on gas when its $4+ per gallon!

 

[AgentHubcap]

Homebrewing is cheap compared to my other hobbies. Justifying a $10k engine build to the wife is a lot more difficult than pretty much anything homebrew-related that I've done...

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,tuner cars def cost me some $$. I got some 15K in my Probe SE. Grease stains on my hands,& I don't know where I've been. I'm in trouble for the parts I haven't got to yet. I'm chomping at the bit,& my palms are getting wet...:rockin:
Beer brewing is less intensive & expensive,even when the sun gets warm,on my form.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

Cool. Always liked the look of the Mazda errr Ford Probe
There was one in my auto club a few years back that was done up really nice.
I have a 09 Cobalt SS Turbo with a bunch of bolt ons and Trifecta 23PSI tune. Dynod 335 whp and 345wtq

I also have a 67 Honda CB160 with only 800 miles on it, like new. I hardly ever drive it.

Cars + Horsepower = $$$$


What about those freaks who collect Minerals, Fossils and geodes etc?

 

[unionrdr]

I've also collected fossils & native American relics as well. firestones,flint tools,arrow heads,etc. But the tuners are the real money pits.

 

[HopHeadGrady]

Native American relics and war memorabilia is cool.

 

[Homercidal]

$500 for SCUBA is perfectly reasonable if you never go below 30' and only dive in small local lakes. And that is for used or very cheap gear. I think I had $600 into my stuff and it was fairly low end back in 93 (I did buy a slightly better reg set). And I didn't even get around to buying a tank!

It's all about saving money vs risking your life.

 

[SwivelHips]

I know guys who have 80-100k into their G35 coupes; I am barely even allowed to talk with them! I probably have less thaan3k in mods into my 03 sedan, including a rare factory aero package, but it looks and drives great and is still rock-solid dependable, unlike some other highly-modded cars I've seen.

Another buddy has probably 15k into TeleVue astronomy gear -- I see lots of cool stuff with my 6" Newtonian worth a few hundred.

 

[LandoLincoln]

Beer brewing is pretty darn cheap compared to a lot of other hobbies.

I don't like to think about all of the money I sunk into photography.

I could make a really nice brew rig for the cost of a single lens for my camera.

 

[Photopilot]

While trying to make a point this article was done with 0 credible research. A pilots liscence would cost $8000+, maybe as much as $15k. Used planes can be had for $40k. It's been a while since I talked to my travel agent but I'm guessing climbing Everest is 30k+. Maybe the author is a ballroom dancer and made up the rest of his stats.

 

[Mogwai]

Hiking is pretty cheap. The entry cost is $0. Generally, you don't need anything other than things you already have. Outings usually run at the cost of gas and food.

Do you have any hiking trail recommendations in South Jersey?

 

[Sween]

My other hobbies are pretty expensive...

--DJing - Over $35,000 worth of equipment
--Skiing - A single day lift ticket is running almost $100/day now in VT. Not to mention the cost of equipment!

Sure as hell more expensive than BALLROOM DANCING!!!! WTF?

 

[DenverUSMC]

Beer brewing is pretty darn cheap compared to a lot of other hobbies.

I don't like to think about all of the money I sunk into photography.

I could make a really nice brew rig for the cost of a single lens for my camera.

My wife is an amateur photographer, between the computer for editing, lens, camera body etc.... She has thousands invested.

 

[Photopilot]

My wife is an amateur photographer, between the computer for editing, lens, camera body etc.... She has thousands invested.

I'm also a photographer. While initial investment is expensive, now with digital the costs per day of shooting is nil. When I learned and for many years after, I had to pay for slide film and processing, so each shot had to count. Now I think nothing about shooting 700 images in a day.

 

[thadius856]

I am a PADI Dive Master and the only way you could get a set of $500 scuba gear would but some old piece of crap gear off ebay. Hell my dive computer alone was around $800.

I was able to do it for about $500 in college because they provided the BCD, regulator and tank.

Probably could have done it much cheaper, but I just had the have those ScubaPro split fins. :d

 

[thadius856]

While trying to make a point this article was done with 0 credible research. A pilots liscence would cost $8000+, maybe as much as $15k. Used planes can be had for $40k. It's been a while since I talked to my travel agent but I'm guessing climbing Everest is 30k+. Maybe the author is a ballroom dancer and made up the rest of his stats.

Yup. My license cost me just under $10k including books and exam fees. That was in 2004 when gas prices were much, much lower. It makes up a pretty good chunk of the cost.

 

[Photopilot]

Yup. My license cost me just under $10k including books and exam fees. That was in 2004 when gas prices were much, much lower. It makes up a pretty good chunk of the cost.

Mine cost $4k, for my private but that was pre 911. If I took all the money I spent on aviation and invested it instead I'd have my own brew pub.

 

[jerryteague]

Brewing is without a doubt, the cheapest hobby I have. Hell, my brew rig cost a small fraction of what my bass fishing gear did. Not to mention my hunting habit, and my motorcycle.

 

[hunter_le five]

Brewing started off for me as my cheap hobby. I just used a borrowed pot, a plastic bucket, and some 2 liter soda bottles. The most expensive thing was a little LME.... Until I discovered all-grain, bottling, kegging, kegerators, brew stands, yeast culturing, lagering.... I have a tendency to always look for ways to take my hobbies as far as my finances will carry them, instead of the "cheap" way. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing right.

It's pretty much supplanted my previous "crazy expensive hobby", which was guns/gun smithing/gun collecting/hunting/target shooting/skeet/IDPA competitions/etc.