this post was submitted on 30 Aug 2023
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Ask Lemmy

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Inspired by the previous question: What is your "inexpensive" hobby that turned out to be expensive/ you gradually invested lots of money into? : asklemmy, I would like to know what hobbies are easier to keep cheap.

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[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Coffee. It CAN get extremely expensive, but importantly the expensive parts can be re-used for decades, and also there's a bit of a bend point in value for the hobby.

Once you get a $150 really good grinder and start grinding whole beans every day, you've gotten 40% better. Then maybe a Chemex or Aeropress for $50 and a weight scale for $20 and you're another 30% better. After that...it's easy to spend $300+ at a time on better equipment or getting into espresso but each thing is like a 5% improvement. You'll notice, but if you don't have much money, it's not really worth it.

And the beans SEEM like they're getting expensive but a bag gets 2 weeks of coffee for me, $20 for really nice beans just isn't that much per cup.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Finally a coffee enthusiast who thinks like me. Too often the mentality is, it must be expensive to be a good coffee, which is not true at all.

I use a 150€ portafilter machine for espresso, americano and cappuccino, and depending on beans and mood, just a French press for “coffee”.

And my home brewed coffee is better than like 95% of the coffee I get elsewhere.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

Yes, coffee! It's wonderful when you figure out how to taste coffee and work out what qualities of a roast you enjoy.

I got into coffee during the pandemic and can wholeheartedly recommend it as a cost-effective hobby, particularly if you're already a coffee drinker.

[–] gameboyhomeboy 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Cooking. I have accumulated good cookware through the years and I don't find myself wanting anything new. The only expense at this point is good quality ingredients, but I only eat meat once or twice a week so even that doesn't get expensive.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago

As a tradeoff, cooking for yourself also saves quite a bit of money compared to eating out. You'll spend more on ingredients but less on staff to prep and clean and serve. And with a enough practice, some of the food you make can be better than what you get in the restaurant. 🤭

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago

I still ride my mountain bike from 15 years ago. It requires a yearly budget of maybe 100€ for the usual maintenance stuff, like chains and tires.

[–] DLBPointon 6 points 1 year ago

Wait... those exist?

Writing lore is pretty cheap unless you start getting very into fancy notebooks for it. My, my daughter and a couple friends like writing stories set in fictional works and sharing them.

Honestly other than that...

I put down £50 on a raspberry pi to lean about more about computers when I started a new job.... I'm trying to find a grand to upgrade my 3 pi homelab into something with a few more teeth.

Mechanical keyboards... You can guess...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 year ago

Cross stitching is an extremely inexpensive hobby. You can get started cross stitching for less than $20, if it's a small project. It does require a lot of time as a tradeoff, but can be a very fun way to express your creative side and make cute gifts for friends.

If you have a computer, learning to program is literally free. It'll take time and discipline but I personally enjoy it and the mental challenge it presents.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Skyrim/Fallout modding. I have never bought a mod, only gotten them from the nexus or made my own.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 year ago

Absolutely. My friends get upset I refuse to buy new games and just mod instead. Its like a new game all the time.