# What are your most expensive hobbies?



## Reecedouglas1 (Oct 10, 2019)

I would gaming

Have 100 video games , spent £3000


----------



## FloridaGuy48 (Jun 30, 2014)

Tried horseback riding lessons a couple years ago. The price adds up on that. Golf as well can get expensive


----------



## movingbee (Oct 12, 2017)

I think the most expensive hobbies that I have is training. I love trying out new skills. There are some which are free, but most have fees that really cost my pocket. But I think it is an investment so it is okay.


----------



## FloridaGuy48 (Jun 30, 2014)

movingbee said:


> I think the most expensive hobbies that I have is training. I love trying out new skills. There are some which are free, but most have fees that really cost my pocket. But I think it is an investment so it is okay.


So what is the valuable training you have gotten? Or the training you have enjoyed the most?


----------



## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Not really so much of a hobby (as pretty much everyone likes movies) but I would probably watch a lot more movies if I could afford it. And would likely either collect DVDs or Blu-Ray movies. I know it's kinda outdated in the internet age but there's nothing quite like owning a physical copy. Could be very expensive. I don't really do it though. I buy a movie every now and then. DVD isn't as much fun as it used to be since they don't load the discs down with extras like they used to.


----------



## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Books (rare books) - I've spent a lot of money on books in the past.

Also just existing - being bipolar can be pretty expensive. I've spent eye-watering amounts on things like hotels and travel.


----------



## Canadian Brotha (Jan 23, 2009)

Musical instruments, performance, & recording gear


----------



## Tetragammon (Jun 2, 2015)

Yeah, probably video games; but they've always been more of an obsession than a mere hobby. I've had NES, SNES, N64, Wii and Switch; Playstation 1, 2, 3 and 4; and a few different Gameboys. Plus at least 5-10 games for each system. And then four different gaming PCs I've built over the past few decades, plus all the games... I have almost 300 games in my Steam library alone, plus maybe 50ish non-Steam games. Plus subscriptions for games like World of Warcraft, on which I've probably spent thousands over the years. 

I wonder how much it would all add up to... Tens of thousands of dollars, maybe, over the course of about three decades.


----------



## Blue Dino (Aug 17, 2013)

Owning a dog.


----------



## CarpeLibrum (Jun 2, 2015)

Traveling! I'm waiting for the day I can fly freely again and set out on an adventure. 

Cooking/baking can also get expensive sometimes.


----------



## appledapple (Mar 27, 2018)

gaming...not only the games themselves but the hardware to play it with, my computer is honestly too expensive...


----------



## Orb (Nov 5, 2012)

Tetragammon said:


> Yeah, probably video games; but they've always been more of an obsession than a mere hobby. I've had NES, SNES, N64, Wii and Switch; Playstation 1, 2, 3 and 4; and a few different Gameboys. Plus at least 5-10 games for each system. And then four different gaming PCs I've built over the past few decades, plus all the games... I have almost 300 games in my Steam library alone, plus maybe 50ish non-Steam games. Plus subscriptions for games like World of Warcraft, on which I've probably spent thousands over the years.
> 
> I wonder how much it would all add up to... Tens of thousands of dollars, maybe, over the course of about three decades.


I'd be really similar both in terms of consoles/PCs owned (and built) and money spent. Easily tens of thousands lol. Add in a Genesis, Saturn instead of a NES and N64, plus a DS, minus the PS2 and Switch. Also I love retro handhelds like, like the Retroid Pocket 2. What was your favorite console?

And hey, a fellow C# coder


----------



## staticradio725 (Oct 25, 2020)

CarpeLibrum said:


> Traveling! I'm waiting for the day I can fly freely again and set out on an adventure.


Dear God, don't tempt me, that sounds amazing. I would sacrifice my hypothetical future firstborn to Satan just to be able to hop on a plane and go somewhere right now.

I have to say, I'm pretty envious of you all. I don't think I've ever been in a place in my life where I could afford expensive hobbies. Hooray for student debt! And a social anxiety disorder that prevents me from being able to work full-time! The best I can do right now for non-essential purchases is splurging on cookies at the grocery store


----------



## Omni-slash (Feb 10, 2016)

Games Workshop. And that's counting all the video games, whfb, 40k and the 500+ (mostly terrible) books over the years.


----------



## blue2 (May 20, 2013)

Life.


----------



## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

Gaming, powerlifting, reading and collecting books/audiobooks, collecting and customizing vehicles.

Been doing gaming the longest and have no idea what I've spent over the years. Started with NES in the 80's all the way to PS5 currently and had some of the more obscure consoles in between like Atari Jaguar.

Books probably haven't added up to a lot as I get most at used book sales. Have around 500 total. Lately with driving 2000-2500 miles weekly for work I've been going through a lot of audiobooks. Listened to about 80 last year.

Powerlifting since 2014, but taken a backseat lately due to working more hours and injury. Gym memberships, traveling for meets, eating more food than normal to keep weight up, etc can add up.

The last year or so my biggest money pit has been truck upgrades. Still got a big list of stuff I want to do when I can afford it, plus stuff for other vehicles, and other cars I'd like to buy. Wish I made like twice as much money.

Also have two large cats.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## CoolLilChickadee (Nov 10, 2019)

Reading, probably. My home library is close to a thousand books, although at least half of them were second hand or clearance and I've been collecting for about twenty years. And the bookcases they sit on were a few hundred dollars total.


----------



## FloridaGuy48 (Jun 30, 2014)

CoolLilChickadee said:


> Reading, probably. My home library is close to a thousand books, although at least half of them were second hand or clearance and I've been collecting for about twenty years. And the bookcases they sit on were a few hundred dollars total.


Oh yes I love the Library. To bad they have been closed where I live since March due to Covid. One of the things I will enjoy when they finally open back up.


----------



## zonebox (Oct 22, 2012)

My hobbies are not really expensive, not for me at any rate. The total costs of my hobbies since December of 2019 have been well below $1,000 USD, I find ways to enjoy them without expending money. When I do spend money on hobbies, such money spent will last me for years. I often feel guilty about bragging about things I enjoy, when such things become expensive - the things I spend money on are often done so when there is a deal, and they are rare or purchases I made before they became popular. I have the benefit of age on my side when it comes to hobbies, there is an accumulation that favors me and an appreciation on my own part, for what I do have. One thing that does bother me, is that people that eventually find enjoyment of the things I do, drive up the costs.. lol.. Usually, this demand is driven through some social media platform or another, and people flock to it like crazy. Oh well, I just move on. I usually find my hobbies, before they become mainstream.

I would never spend beyond my reach and at the expense of my loved ones for my hobbies. I remember a time, in the 90s when I was collecting old computers, because I thought they were cool, and I could do so at an outrageously cheap price. Now the things I bought then, are going for hundreds if not thousands of dollars, it is pretty crazy. When things go that out of hand, I find ways around them.. I try to convince others to do so as well. My hobbies, are not the result of popularity, which ultimately results in my favor. The thing that is funny, is eventually, the things I am interested in, do become popular and expensive though.


----------



## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

The only thing I've really spent a lot of money on is books. I own probably close to 1,500 (idrk). Most of them are secondhand, many of them I got for $1 in bargain bins (some of them I got for free, with the covers ripped off). But some of them were more expensive (like my programming books, which I bought when I had a regular job). Altogether, I've spent probably over $10,000 on books. But that's over a period of close to 40 years. For the last few years, I've only been able to spend about $100 a year on books. And I have to cut back even more. :rain

Most of my books aren't really worth anything. If I sold my most valuable books, I'd probably only make a couple hundred dollars. The rest would have to be recycled.


----------



## staticradio725 (Oct 25, 2020)

truant said:


> The only thing I've really spent a lot of money on is books. I own probably close to 1,500 (idrk).


Oh my lord, where do you even put them all?? I think I own maybe 30 books tops, and I can't even find a place to put them half the time xD


----------



## truant (Jul 4, 2014)

staticradio725 said:


> Oh my lord, where do you even put them all?? I think I own maybe 30 books tops, and I can't even find a place to put them half the time xD


I have around 10 bookcases. A lot of them are just stacked on the floor right now, though.


----------



## Reality Sucks (May 9, 2014)

Video Games. Games are really expensive if you want to keep up with the trends. 

Subscriptions to play online on Console soon adds up, too.


----------



## Caduceus (May 21, 2012)

It’s probably video games for me. I’ve built quite a collection over the years (over 1000) with quite a few rare games that are worth at least $250 a piece. I wouldn’t be surprised if my collection was worth at least $10k. They take up quite a large section of my basement.


----------



## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

Reality Sucks said:


> Video Games. Games are really expensive if you want to keep up with the trends.
> 
> Subscriptions to play online on Console soon adds up, too.


 Gaming was always expensive but it's just ridiculous now. I considered getting into gaming maybe a couple years ago and saw where people are expected to spend money INSIDE the game they bought and paid for and I just noped right out of that. Also I don't like the idea of playing games online. I mostly liked single player games when I did have a system and don't see the point of any of that online crap.

Also at some point it seems like they started going in the direction of making games more flashy and complicated just to be doing it. I hate unnecessary bling.


----------



## iAmCodeMonkey (May 23, 2010)

^ What they said, lol


----------



## Fever Dream (Aug 18, 2015)

^ And what he said.


----------



## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

None of my hobbies (hiking, audio/video production, writing, websites, photography, board games, philosophy) cost me anything. And I get all my books from the library.


----------



## rabidfoxes (Apr 17, 2016)

I do spend on my hobbies occasionally but there's no hobby that regularly commands big spending. If it did, I would probably drop it. I like to buy good quality things but the only way to afford them on my income is to buy sparingly.

So, for example, a few years ago I developed an interest in fragrance and learned that I might have to sell a kidney to support my new hobby. So instead I went for a budget version without sacrificing quality: decided not to focus on pricey vintages, never to buy blind, and to keep a maximum of 10 frags at any one time, whether samples or full bottles.


----------



## Reality Sucks (May 9, 2014)

WillYouStopDave said:


> Gaming was always expensive but it's just ridiculous now. I considered getting into gaming maybe a couple years ago and saw where people are expected to spend money INSIDE the game they bought and paid for and I just noped right out of that. Also I don't like the idea of playing games online. I mostly liked single player games when I did have a system and don't see the point of any of that online crap.
> 
> Also at some point it seems like they started going in the direction of making games more flashy and complicated just to be doing it. I hate unnecessary bling.


There is still good games out there, but it's definitely all going the wrong way. Most games don't feel complete these days, there is always extra stuff you can buy to 'enhance' the experience. Some games just feel like they are trying to milk everything out of you. The trick is when they make it free to play but you can buy the lootboxes or season passes, which you are heavily pushed in to, which is a trend with Battle Royale games.

You can still play old games, but even retro gaming can be just as expensive now. Especially with more rarer games.


----------



## cat001 (Nov 1, 2010)

My photography, I know I've spent somewhere over 10k on equipment.


----------



## zork20001 (Aug 8, 2016)

I spend a lot for VR. I always buy the new headset, need to upgrade the computer to run the new headset, I need to buy the VR games. I just bought a 2 tb SSD for only $200 last week just so I could put all my VR games onto it. Now I can load the games up in seconds instead of actual minuets when they were on a regular hard drive. I have been waiting for 10 years for SSD’s to become cheap enough to throw something like giant sized games onto one and this is the first year we can go all SSD.


----------



## zedsonata (Dec 24, 2007)

Flying.


----------



## Cletis (Oct 10, 2011)

Stamp and coin collecting. Spent thousands. Upside is it is [supposedly] an investment as they tend to go up in value over time.


----------



## shyshisho (Apr 19, 2009)

International travel. I would usually take a trip a year when I had a full time job. Now all my hobbies are free.


----------



## harrison (Apr 14, 2012)

Mine has been travel and buying rare books. Can't travel atm though obviously - and nowadays I only usually buy books I know I'll be able to resell later for a profit. I can get just as much pleasure now spending 10 dollars on a little old book I find somewhere as I did spending a lot.

And I get a lot of pleasure when I sell one for a lot too - that's fantastic.


----------



## CeltAngel (Mar 24, 2021)

Music. Definitely music. I used to do it professionally, but it's pretty much just evolved into an expensive, sanity-saving hobby.


----------



## Starcut83 (Feb 13, 2021)

Right now I don't really have any expensive hobbies. In the past I'd say video games but I rarely play them now days and when I do they don't hold my attention for long.


In the future I might expand my writing and start recording and producing tracks which will be more expensive though probably mostly just getting the equipment, after that I don't know.


----------



## slyfox (Nov 18, 2007)

Keeping aquariums. Everything else I try to be frugal in. I try to be frugal with aquariums too, but they are such a money consumer at least when getting started,


----------



## Roberto Gantavre (Aug 11, 2021)

rabidfoxes said:


> I do spend on my hobbies occasionally but there's no hobby that regularly commands big spending. If it did, I would probably drop it. I like to buy good quality things but the only way to afford them on my income is to buy sparingly.
> 
> So, for example, a few years ago I developed an interest in fragrance and learned that I might have to sell a kidney to support my new hobby. So instead I went for a budget version without sacrificing quality: decided not to focus on pricey vintages, never to buy blind, and to keep a maximum of 10 frags at any one time, whether samples or full bottles.


You can buy at a discount. But it's a great hobby. I'm a fan of that, too.


----------



## Hoel (Sep 3, 2021)

Travelling


----------



## RichieRichR (Oct 23, 2021)

I ride a horse. I used to do it as a professional sport, now it's just a weekend hobby.


----------



## snow_drop (May 15, 2021)

Grocery shopping


----------



## proper (Nov 15, 2021)

> Yeah, probably video games; but they've always been more of an obsession than a mere hobby. I've had NES, SNES, N64, Wii and Switch; Playstation 1, 2, 3 and 4; and a few different Gameboys. Plus at least 5-10 games for each system. And then four different gaming PCs I've built over the past few decades, plus all the games... I have almost 300 games in my Steam library alone, plus maybe 50ish non-Steam games. Plus subscriptions for games like World of Warcraft, on which I've probably spent thousands over the years.
> 
> 
> I wonder how much it would all add up to... Tens of thousands of dollars, maybe, over the course of about three decades.
> ...


A brief history of my hobbies past and present; RC Cars, Gaming, Full-size Cars, Air weaponry (Target shooting), BMX/Skateboarding, there's obviously a good few missing there but my point being, everything on that list is as expensive or more expensive than Gaming, arguably with the exception of BMX/Skateboarding.


----------



## VIncymon (Apr 16, 2009)

Music. I try to fight the temptation to keep buying guitars.


----------



## sprinter (Nov 22, 2003)

Farming, though I'm supposed to actually make some money. Equipment and parts for equipment repairs are usually what really cost me.The joke about farming is true...how to make a million dollars farming? Simple just start with 2 million...


----------



## cat001 (Nov 1, 2010)

Photography, I have about £10,000 worth of kit


----------



## WillYouStopDave (Jul 14, 2013)

cat001 said:


> Photography, I have about £10,000 worth of kit


I'm actually surprised the number is that low. Photography has always been expensive. But probably is even more expensive now because digital cameras are always evolving. I assume that it used to be that since the basic film camera was never outdated (as long as the one you bought was a good one) the main ongoing expenses were new lenses and so forth.

EDIT - Though I guess film as a big expense back then too.


----------



## cat001 (Nov 1, 2010)

WillYouStopDave said:


> I'm actually surprised the number is that low. Photography has always been expensive. But probably is even more expensive now because digital cameras are always evolving. I assume that it used to be that since the basic film camera was never outdated (as long as the one you bought was a good one) the main ongoing expenses were new lenses and so forth.
> 
> EDIT - Though I guess film as a big expense back then too.


Partly because of my own poverty lol. Got some of my kit cheaper on the grey market, some second hand and got a camera body for £1,000 less buying it in Japan directly with a few extras thrown in as a courtesy for free (monopod and strap). I've only upgraded 1 lens and buy for purpose (wide angle, mid range, zoom, macro) so think it helps buying expensive good quality once rather than adequate a few times. There is kit I've been desperate to get but just not in the financial position yet. But yeah, it is pretty expensive lol.


----------



## JH1983 (Nov 14, 2013)

Owning, maintaining, and modifying a sports car is my most expensive hobby at the moment. Still wanting to take it to the local drag strip at some point just for fun.


----------



## alwaystooquiet (2 mo ago)

Gaming. I'm already planning how I'm going to afford my next PC when this one craps out.


----------



## Shy extrovert (Dec 6, 2017)

Cosplay. Fabric, tools, foam, wigs, it all adds up. One of the ways I can get around this are "closet cosplays" compromised of street clothes


----------



## normaajwalton (6 d ago)

Collecting rare items (coins, stamps, antiques, art, etc.)


----------

