Thrifty Hobbies: How to Keep Costs of Leisure Down in Retirement”

Here’s the sea kayak that my Paul bought me early on in our relationship for Valentine’s Day. ‘But it’s not red!’ I said when I saw it. You can imagine the response that I got from my sweetheart!

I’ve always seen the value of using free time for meaningful leisure activities so much so that I chose occupational therapy as my second career! My own hobbies include motorhoming, crafting, going to live music and comedy events, learning Spanish, allotment keeping, writing, reading, socialising with friends and family, running and outdoor pursuits that include cycling, kayaking, walking and swimming. Yep I think I’ve covered it! I’m busy.

But lots of us, including me and Paul, experience a drop in income when we retire. So, in order to avoid the debt trap, we have to cut our cloth. That doesn’t mean that we can’t lead a rich life. But we might have to adapt what we do to cut the amount that we spend on a particular hobby.

Be Selective About What You Choose To Do

I think that the most important message that I can give in this section of the post is making sure that your hobbies are a good match with your personality and interests. Think carefully about what you do. Don’t be forced by others in doing something that you really don’t want to do.

Some activities are more expensive than others. So you might think that I’m going to rule out ‘posh activities’ such as boating, golf and skiing altogether. Well no. I’ll talk about how you may be able to participate in these at a fraction of their usual cost later on.

Being selective may well mean limiting the number of more expensive hobbies. This could mean putting a cap on the number of paid for classes or subscriptions. It could also be that you’ll need to think about how to cut the ongoing costs of some of the activities that you do. I recall someone telling us about his wife’s near daily card making supplies from online shopping channels.

A helpful way of looking at this might be thinking about the cost per hour of a particular hobby. You might need to purchase something upfront but then it gives you access to hours and hours of free fun. My friends’ stand up paddle boards fall into this category. A piece of expensive kit used often may equate to a cost of just a few pennies an hour in the long term

Try Before You Buy

Something spending money on a taster course can be a really good strategy. You’ll find out if you really do like an activity before making any further outlay. I’ve done this on a number of occasion. I found out that wet feltmaking wasn’t really my bag. Nor was paddleboarding. I haven’t got the balance you see.

However I did find out that motorhoming was really my thing by hiring a van for a week to explore the Scottish Highlands.

Choose Cheap or Free Activities

There’s so much to do that’s free or really cheap. In fact most of my hobbies aside the motorhome fall into this category. Even though we pay a yearly rental on our two plots I count my allotment as coming into this category. We only pay just over a pound a week. While they are some costs: seeds, compost, fertiliser our costs are more than compensated for by what we grow. Now we’ve got all the kit, at the very least we break even.

Be Mindful of What You’ve Already Got

Staying with the cheap theme, consider the resources that you’ve already got or can source for free. Can you use existing tools and equipment or repurpose items from everyday life as hobby supplies. For instance I use my existing tech, the phone on my camera and my laptop for blogging and collect shards of pottery from my allotment to use in mosaics. Are there art materials, fabric or found objects from nature lurking in hidey holes around your home that can be repurposed creatively or sports equipment in the back of wardrobes or the garage that needs a new lease of life.

Access More Expensive Hobbies Cheaply

My old man is a dab hand at this. Paul pends some of his leisure time messing about on boats and playing golf. He swaps repairs and maintenance for a place on his friend’s little fishing cruiser. His only costs are car parking fees at the marina and a can of diesel. Sometimes we even get a fish supper out of it. There’s no expensive golf club fees either. He and his mates get weekday deals at clubs where a round and a meal cost about forty quid. That’s not too bad once a month.

Sometimes a membership that is seemingly expensive can represent good value. So back to golf. If this is your absolute passion and you want to play two or three times weekly then joining a club may be a no-brainer. And another friend’s membership of the local yacht club gives him access to posh boats to race without the expensive costs of ownership.

Gym membership is another perfect example when it includes free classes, fancy spa facilities and access to exercise equipment or courts for racket sports. Of course you have to make regular use of the facilities to make them cost efficient but you’ve supposedly got all that extra time in retirement. Maybe there’s no excuse!

Don’t Shop as a Hobby

With the more limited income associated with retirement shopping as a regular regular activity might be a slippery slope back to needing to go back into employment. Sure it’s lovely to find a charity shop bargain, pick up a steal in a sale or spend a day browsing in chi-chi stores with friends. But it’s probably best to avoid this viewing this as a major leisure interest.

Secondhand Kit

Once you discover a pastime that you like you can save plenty of money on the kit that you need to pursue it by buying secondhand. After all there are plenty of people out there who try something a few times, buy all the equipment and then decide that the hobby isn’t up for them. Or maybe someone will sell kit that they’ve used as a beginner and want to upgrade. Often you’ll be able to pick up something in pristine condition for a fraction of the brand new price.

Side Hustle Your Hobby

Keep costs down of a much loved activity by selling your work or expertise. You may not make a fortune or indeed a profit. But finding a market for your talent could help keep the costs down.