Many hobbies can actually save money while providing entertainment that can be shared with both friends and family. Cooking, needlework (knitting, cross-stitch embroidery, crocheting, sewing, etc.), carpentry and mechanics, and gardening are just a few examples of money-saving hobbies. Many of these require an investment to get started, such as ingredients for recipes, seeds for planting, wood for carpentry, or fabric for quilting, but in the long run, they can save money. For example, home-cooked food is significantly cheaper than eating out.
Hobbies may look like they are hard to break into, but there are teachers in many forms just waiting to help. These include classes and books offered at public libraries and local recreation departments. In addition, the sources available on the internet are endless, with many blogs devoted to each different type of hobby and sites such as YouTube available for instruction and tutorials. And once you learn a hobby, you can teach it to your children for family fun!
There are also many hobbies that do not necessarily save or make money but are free, inexpensive, and exciting. Among these are: bird watching, bug and leaf collecting, bottle collecting (to redeem, recycle, or decorate), cartooning, stargazing, dancing, singing, making sculptures out of found objects, Geocaching, hiking and walking, juggling, kite building and flying, letter writing, rock climbing, sign language, storytelling, whittling, writing, painting, and yoga.
These hobbies mentioned are only a fraction of thousands of hobbies waiting for people to try out. A good place to start is either on the internet or at your library for different ideas. Pinterest is excellent source for finding interesting and inexpensive hobbies. Hobbies are not only a great way to create family fun but also good entertainment to keep children busy while you are occupied with work. Use your imagination and creativity to open yourself and your family to a world of fun activities.
By Meagan Devlin
