Q&A for How to Find a Low‐Cost Hobby

There are a lot of hobbies that don’t cost a lot of money or have a one-time cost associated with them, such as sports like surfing and skating. You can also look for local meetups to get an idea of the different hobbies people have. The biggest thing is actually going out there and trying new things to see what you like.

It sounds to me like a good hobby for you might be jigsaw puzzles! There are millions of different puzzles available in all sorts of themes, so look for one that will create an image you will enjoy looking at. The main thing you will need is a large, flat surface (like a table) that you can comfortably sit at while completing the puzzle, and ideally where you can leave the puzzle in place when you are not working on it. Jigsaw puzzles are great because they don't require any particular skill to complete, you can do as much or as little in one sitting as you want, and you can work on them while doing other things like listening to an audiobook or watching TV.

Reading is a great hobby, and you could even write your own stories or books. Do this outside if you like! You might also enjoy horseback riding (which admittedly is not cheap), bird-watching, or volunteering at an animal shelter.

Sounds like you would enjoy baking, journaling, gardening, or maybe volunteering at an animal shelter! You could write a blog about your adventures with trying new baking recipes since you like writing!

Yes! Of course you can make that your hobby. In fact, there are lots of people who collect snow globes, so if your collection gets serious, maybe you can join a snow globe community and even travel for conventions and meetups. It's a nice hobby idea!

Baking is largely about chemistry, so paying attention in science class or reading books provides a strong advantage. Whether baking or cooking, the first step is always following recipes. Where possible, learn from tried-and-true recipes, so you do not question if it is you or the recipe. From there, you learn textures and effects of mistake. With this, you begin to learn what ingredients do (science and books can help with this part). You will soon learn how to fix it when things go wrong. With this understanding, you can start making substitutions and eventually create your own recipes. Once you can create your own and succeed, you are considered an advanced home practitioner.

It is both! Baking requires chemical reactions to achieve its textures, such as the mixing of acids and bases. Understanding those reactions can help you fix mistakes, improvise and invent recipes. However, for most of time, people understood the cake needed baking soda and buttermilk, but never understood why - and that's okay! Cooking is reliant on science too (try looking up the Maillard reaction) but, where too much baking soda can ruin baking, cooking is less exact; you can make some mistakes like throwing in too much water, and all that happens is you need to cook it longer. To start though, you only require the ability to follow instructions.

Technically, no, not of itself: a series is a limited-time event, whereas a hobby - assuming it becomes your hobby - is continuing. Watching a series can be part of another hobby, such as a documentary series on the environment or a writer studying storytelling structure. Generally, watching Netflix (or any television), while fun, is too passive on its own to confer the benefits of a hobby... but still, watch the series and enjoy!

The possibilities are endless. If you want to garden, you can use your interest in art to design a flower garden, or design recipes from your vegetable garden. All you need is the price of a few packets of seeds and some basic gardening equipment you may already have or can borrow. All of these hobbies can benefit from apps you create. Best of all, there is the potential for making money in all these hobbies.

You could take up hiking or bird watching if you want to be out in nature. You could start sketching and draw the outdoor things that you love. You could get into bug or butterfly collecting, or start an ant farm.