I’m a strong believer that everyone should do something that they enjoy doing to relax them but I’m well aware that lots of hobbies cost money so I wanted to give you a bit of an idea of what frugal hobbies you can do that won’t break the bank – some of them might even make or save you some money as well as bringing you enjoyment.
I’ve written about how I try to create every day before because just a few minutes of creativity makes me happier but it doesn’t have to be every day – just taking a few minutes when you can to do something you enjoy will definitely have a positive effect on your life!
I asked a few of my bloggy friends for some ideas about what frugal hobbies they enjoy and added a few of my own and this is the list of the top twenty frugal hobbies that I thought you might enjoy.
Photography
This is the one for me! I love taking photos and I’ve gone from using my phone to take basic pictures for the blog to saving up for a nice camera to take photos for enjoyment as well as for the blog. I often spend time arranging random things into photos for no reason other than my own enjoyment or I’ll go for a walk and take pictures that never get seen by anyone but me.
Cooking
If you are a lover of all things food and the kitchen, then this frugal hobby is perfect for you. You can use cooking as your frugal hobby easily by trying to create clever meals from ingredients you already have at home. If you’re good at it then you might find a way to make some money if you’re particularly good at making and icing cakes as you could take orders and sell them to your friends.
Knitting or crocheting
One of the frugal hobbies I have heard others enjoy a lot is knitting although I just cannot get the hang of it so I can’t personally vouch for this one. I’ve heard that knitting has been proven to be very relaxing and is a great new hobby to try as it doesn’t cost a lot of money.
Crocheting is something that I’m determined to master this year as it looks easier than knitting (I think) but the results when you know what you’re doing are amazing. The lovely ladies at Joleisa both enjoy doing crochet. The yarn they use is about £1 for 100g so doesn’t break the bank and the items they make, like blankets and kids’ dresses that they produce make lovely gifts.
Comping
Melissa from At Home and Online enters competitions in her spare time and told me that she only needs a computer and internet connection (which I already have for work anyway). It’s frugal because she wins prizes to give as birthday and Christmas gifts, and things which she wants to buy anyway so it saves a lot of money throughout the year.
Get on your bike
Eileen from your money sorted is a fan of getting out on her bike and loves both mountain biking and road biking. Do some research and I’ll bet there and are some fab trails in your area. Once you’ve bought the gear, which doesn’t have to cost the earth, your biking is free!
Learn a musical instrument
Mr Frugal has been saying for years that he wants to learn the guitar because it’s something he’s always wanted to do but as yet, he’s never gotten around to it – it’s easy to learn from what I’ve heard as there are so many great tutorials on YouTune these days. Nicola from The Frugal Cottage plays the piano to relax and loves how relaxing it is to just be able to sit and play her music.
Meditation
Or from Cord Busters is one step ahead of me as his hobby is something I’ve been halfheartedly attempting for months now but I keep getting distracted. His hobby is mindfulness meditation and he told me that he started doing Mindfulness Meditation this year – either at home, or even better – out in the park using the Headspace app, which is a paid service, but at around £5.99/month, he gets a lot of value out of it.
Write
Jane from Lady Janey enjoys writing poetry in her spare time and writes them for all occasions but if you’re not great at writing creatively then why not start a blog and write about your life or your personal interests.
Podcasts
There are many podcasts that you can listen to on a regular basis. From self-improvement to entertainment, listening to podcasts is one of my favorite frugal hobbies. I love being able to sit back, relax and listen to my favorite podcasts at the end of the night.
Walking (or running)
The lovely Becky from Family Budgeting suggests getting outside and walking which will keep you fit and help clear your mind. She really enjoys her walks, especially when she takes a flask and a friend. ;-). Pete from Household Money saving is more a fan of running and enjoys the fact that he can fit it in anytime!
Get fit without a gym
We made our own gym in the garage which we put together with a few bits we bought second hand – we added a TV and a Firestick and we have a fitness room with YouTube installed. 😉 . Emma from Bee Money Savvy has a few more ideas about getting fit on a budget here.
Get yourself an allotment
Katy from Katy Kicker says that keeping an allotment is a frugal hobby. Your initial outlay for tools and seeds will yield you fruit and vegetables and then going forward the running costs are low!
Make kindness rocks
I love this idea from Emma over at Emma and 3 – she suggests making Kindness Rocks which is something I’ve only recently heard of myself. Basically, you decorate pebbles and leave them when out walking. It’s a huge thing in some areas and it’s fun to make the pebbles themselves and then more fun to get everyone outside on a walk to leave them for others to find. Emma from The Money Whisperer is a fan of this too and mentioned that there’s even a local shop near her that do rock painting classes to make it even more fun.
YouTube
If you just want something that’s going to fit in with whatever you already enjoy, why not investigate YouTube where you can watch everything from lifestyle vlogs to how to videos and from travel vlogs to funny cat videos.
Geocaching
Naomi from Skint Dad enjoys geocaching with her family which is something we’ve enjoyed ourselves in the past. Geocaching is like real life treasure hunting using GPS coordinates but it’s completely free to do and there are thousands to find all over the world so you won’t even need to travel far if you’re looking for a last minute thing to do.
Online Gaming
And by online gaming, I absolutely do not mean the online casino and bingo sites! There are plenty of online games that you can play though! Sara from The Debt Camel used to play online bridge in the evening when her kids were younger. It’s not free – though you can join most clubs on a trial basis – but for about £6 a month you can play unlimited bridge any time of day or night. No need to make arrangements in advance, no need for a babysitter, no need to drive or pay for expensive drinks out.
Helen from the Complaining Cow is a fan of ItsYourTurn which is a free to play site where you can play hundreds of games, including chess which I love, against human opponents – either someone you know or someone you can be randomly paired with. I like the idea of this as you basically take your turn when you get chance and wait for the other person to take theirs.
Get crafty
I’m ridiculously bad at crafting but I do like to do a few simple DIY projects like my painted vases but nine times out of ten they don’t turn out as good as this one did (see my greatest Pinterest fails here). Emily from the Frugal Fox is much better at crafts than me though and manages to sell a few of her handmade goodies on Etsy to make some extra money too.
Reading
I love reading and when I was younger I used to spend hours in my local library taking advantage of all of the free books. Then when I’d read just about every book in our small library and the larger town library closed, I started to enjoy a good book hunt around the local charity shops where I would buy a book and then donate it back again the following week after I’d read it. Then I discovered the world of Kindles which was an absolute game-changer – I love love love my Kindle (I have this one which is the most basic one as I literally only want it to read books on) and together with the Kindle Lenders Library that comes with my Amazon Prime and my Kindle Unlimited membership, I have a constant supply of books of all genres and I absolutely love it. I read every night before I go to bed and it helps me switch off after a busy day.
What frugal hobbies do you enjoy?
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