I wish it stopped at $500 😢 hobbies are expensive
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I bought a used school bus for $3600 on eBay to turn into a motorhome ("skoolie"). Best $50,000 I ever spent.
This post is meaningless without pics of your build
vrchat is a free game..... that I have spent over $1,500 on... 😭
I bought 8 + 2 slimevr trackers for ~$450 which are really good but they only track rotation and not position which means it's annoying to get them to match my body. They are releasing a new calibration method as well as focusing on the dongle instead of connecting to WiFi, but i still want something better.

There are alternative tracking methods, the most popular method is via lighthouse tracking which requires base stations to physically see the trackers. I bought used index controllers and 2 base stations on Facebook marketplace for $350. However they occlude very often in my setup, get confused by mirrors, and honestly I didn't find the controllers that good 🤷♀️

I then ordered fluxpose trackers for $750 which track position and rotation fully wirelessly with no occlusion. Not to mention how small they are and they have HAPTICS??? they're so small I actually plan on just using skin safe tape instead of straps. Absolutely amazing innovation by the development team. I unfortunately missed the Kickstarter and had to order day 1 which means I'm not gonna get them till 2027. Understandable for such a small team behind it but man it sucks having to wait.
One of the best things is all of the beta testers just going ham testing random shit like a bicycle in VR

I also got a Quest Pro which sells for $1,000 new. But I traded my steamdeck for it... before the prices of steamdecks doubled 😭
anyways here's a gif of me running into my wall as Hatsune Miku

also might as well shout out !VRChat@sh.itjust.works which I made (and haven't posted to in forever...)
Me: I'm gonna take horseback riding lessons! Maybe I'll get my own horse in like five years!
Me two years later: pays at least $350/month on the horse I was given for $0
Also me: I'll never financially recover. Yee haw! 🤠
I got into making and designing small tabletop model steam engines because they are cool. So I needed to buy a small lathe, a mill, a metal cutting bandsaw, and all the tooling each machine needed. So much tooling....That's the part that will break you financially.
And then you discover you need to design and make a jig or fixture to make a special tool to make another special jig and fixture to make a tool to make that one tiny part for that engine. None of which you will probably ever use again. You end up making tools to make tools to make tools. You can spend 6 months to a year designing and building tools just to get to make that one little part.
I've got thousands of dollars and thousands of hours into making engines that I just give away over the years. But I can't stop this hobby. And I have added 3D printing to my list of hobbies as well.
At least it got me away from collecting fine antique shotguns and importing hunting dogs.
NGL making tools to make tools to make tools scratches a persistent itch in my brain. That all sounds very satisfying.
It is very satisfying. That's why I was a toolmaker for a dozen years or so until I got so cranky and pissed off angry I had to find a new career before I DID skin some idiot alive and nail their hide to the wall.
But I do enjoy the process of making a good and accurate tool. The problem is, I tend to be a perfectionist. And when I realize I'm on the third iteration of a tool that really isn't that important, it can be hard to pick up the old thread again. But I do enjoy it.
This sounds more like skills than hobbies. You might not get paid for it but you totally could. What you are making is valuable to someone
I've realized my hobby is optimizing my space to do my hobbies. If I ever get my workspace just like I want it for projects, I won't know what to do with myself. The workshop is the project.
I never need another plant, but I'll always get one on a bad day. Plus, I love learning how to care for different kinds of plants.
I tell myself that they will pay for themselves because I can eat them. After a few more years if I can work out what grows well that mat actually become true...
Found some cheap beetroot seeds yesterday, pack of 4 different colours of beetroot and I have 1800 seeds for £1.50, so that will almost certainly pay for its self as long as at least like 5 of them grow to a decent size.
Most of the wasted cost is in stuff I buy that fails. But if you measure it on a per plant basis my most successful has been rosemary. One of my oldest plants and propagated so much from a single plant. "Do not propagate" sticker on it when I bought it was taken as a challenge. I now have about 12 of them. Mostly use it with sage and dehydrate them to mix with salt, goes great on roast potatoes.
I know you are joking but I wanted to add that a hobby isn't a hobby if you earn money (that is a job) because the real reason you do it, is because of brain stimulation or even meditation, I think going out with friends is also a hobby (less structured), and alcohol is never a net plus but we do not think we need to earn money when we go out it is the happiness it brings we pay for.
More justifying it because I spend less money now on seeds than I would have on the food produced from it later. Food quality is also quite an important one and makes the effective value of the produce far higher too. Its not making money directly, but saving money.
Although the best value would then would be my foraging. Got a bag of plums in the freezer that I picked recently and plan to make a fruit mead with.
Yes i read your comment as such so it wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed in general at any one who feel ashamed for spending money on a hobby.
I think everyone needs one and it is great when you really found that one hobby that makes you happy. Sounds like you found yours and i am happy for you!
Gardening is really nice especially the feeling you get when you eat your own grown food. I tried growing mushrooms for the first time, it was the tastiest mushrooms I have eaten, and it was definitely mostly because I had cared for them for a month haha
I can recommended it if you like mushrooms, grey oyster mushroom is really easy, forgiving and grows fast.
I can tell this is not about Warhammer because it starts impossibly low and ends impossibly low.
I teach guitar lessons. They're only £15 per hour. But the guitar will cost you £150. And the amp will cost you £100. And being in a band will cost you £10 per rehearsal for the rest of your life. Wanna tour? Bad news, bud. It'll cost ya.
EDIT: Also, the feral cats that hung out in my yard were free, but the vet bills are about to absolutely destroy me
I've been watching YouTube videos on diy yacht building. That's not going to be something I can afford
What new hobby? Oh, that? Yeah, I'm kinda over that. Anybody want to buy a $500 thing, barely used once?
Fine, I'll take $75?
Fine, $20!?
It's worth €2000, most of it is never used. I'll list it for €1000, only pickup possible due to vast size and weight. Only serious offers please. (I'll take any offer over €750)
Average offer: €50 including shipping.
Fuck it, I'll just store it with the collection of other old hobby stuff.
No need for someone else, I'm going to talk myself out of it.
You won't even miss that $1800. It's well worth the investment.
When you break it down by hours of enjoyment and accomplishment, that $3k is really nothing.
I'm just gonna trade in these old guitars, clean up the place a bit, put the money away for something else later. I'm a sensible adult today.
Comes back with a Charvel Pro-Mod DK 24 🤡 I'd've been a sucker not to buy it!
The trick is to be poor. Cos then u don't even have any money to start any hobby to begin with.
Yep. I tried getting into paintball back in 2000, bought a gun of of a friend but never had the opportunity to even shoot it. Kept it through HS, college, and the first 5+ years of work before a friend said he was trying to get back into it. I told myself I wouldn't buy any new gear until we had a few good games. We did a couple 1 v 1 and 2 v 2 and i finally decided to bite the bullet. New mask (custom paint job), new gun (azodin blitz), mechanical hopper, some other accessories, etc etc.
Played once, he got bored with it again, started dating a new girl and disappeared.
Hobby
That's a weird way to spell guitars.
What is worse is spending a bunch of money on a new hobby only to get bored with it.
So far I have only spent £200 on 40k because I'm such a slow painter that I'm still on the starter set 7 months later. Procrastinating saves a lot of money.
40K, not even once.
If you’re into dumb shit then it is a lot of fun, though, and a great creative outlet. Expensive as fuck, though.
Not saying dumb shit in an insulting way, my favorite genre of anything is dumb shit.
I don't like this "meme". Hobbies are supposed to be fun, it's fine to spend money on things you think are fun as long as that spending doesn't interfere with survival. Just don't spend all your money on something "someone" (ads, influencers,...) told you might be fun.
Mate. I bought a 300 euros synthesizer. "Because I though it might be fun."
4 years later:

Worst part is, my real hobby is collecting hobbies. I have a synth wall (which I do use), a home cinema with a high end beamer which I use daily, an extensive collection of Magic The Gathering cards (which I never use anymore), a professional full frame micro photography set (never use anymore), a 3D printer and a laser cutter (which I use sometimes), a fully equipped wood working shed and because it's so tiny I made a fold out work bench to work outside (use sometimes), I got my own set of tools at he metal workshop where I'm learning metal working including welding (of which most I never use and some use every time), I got a fully soldering kit to learn arduino and electronics in general (but I lack the motivation to start doing it), I have many technic Lego sets which are just taking up space, I got a vast collection of complicated board games which I never play because no one has the time or motivation to learn all the rules then to play for 10-20 hours, I have everything for gardening as I got rid of all the tiles in my tiny garden so I could grow my own veggies which turned up in the stomachs of snails and lice so I gave that up, I bought an e-reader and got 20.000 e-books but I never read, I got a vast collection of tea which I rarely drink, I got a well equipped kitchen because I don't like cooking so I got stuff to make it simpler but I rarely use any of it, I got a large collection of spices in a self made rack which looks amazing but I usually cook the same recipes so I only use a few spices a lot, I collect cheap brand clothing like Aldi and Lidl because I think they are fun but I never wear them, I have a vast collection of festival and rave clothes but I never go to parties or festivals anymore, now I'm welding garden benches and table for my own garden but I never sit outside.
I love making things perfect for a hobby, I just rarely do the hobby. But saving up some money? Nope. Sigh. Jesus would be jealous at the massive holes in my hands.
Welcome to ADHD life.. collecting hobbies is a good way of wording this aspect of it 🤣🤣
I'm in this video and I don't like it.
my real hobby is collecting hobbies
You just described a friend of mine.
- Astro photography
- Guitar
- Piano
- GPU for LLM
- Old Nintendo 3DS
Saving money? What's that?
I’m learning metal working including welding
I learned metal working and got myself a welding machine and riveter as part of my skoolie project (converting a used school bus into a motorhome). It's a great skillset to have, in case I ever build a second skoolie -- which would require me getting Alzheimer's first.
Nice strandbeest, you could start a collection of those and race them.
Literally just did this tonight. My gf wanted a button maker, so we bought a 40$ one on Amazon. Opened it up. Looked at it, packed it back up and did a return to buy a 70$ model.
don't call me out... i spent around $150 to not have to spend $200 on a new controller... AND i can reuse it for other stuff! leave me alone!!!
Golf was $100 a round then it turned 4k into new clubs. I wish $500 is where it stopped
Buy once cry once, then cry again when the landlord asks where the rent money is
The dice goblin cannot be satiated. Just a few more....
Gotta love the shiny click clack rocks. Such an easy rabbit hole to fall into.
I was successfully able to limit myself to just a single color, so I could satiate my dice goblining with just red dice.
Until I saw some teal ones which were sick af. Now I only have red sets and teal sets. And haven't played in 3 years 🫤
My favorite system only uses d10s, and they should be color coded. 9 colors are assigned, and you always have to have a random, and frequently you will need to roll two of the same color, but you also have to keep track of which color was for which effect... And as I introduce more players, I usually end up giving them a set to play with... I'm sure I'm well over $2k on this over the entire life of the hobby.
What system is that? That's a lot of d10s.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortal:_The_Invisible_War
https://rpggeek.com/rpg/1774/immortal-the-invisible-war-1st-edition
It's a hot mess out of the box, but the core mechanics make good bones, and they integrate the rules into the lore in a way that makes metagaming hard (Or in character, anyways, for example at high perception, you can actually see stats)
😂 try eMTB...
Alternatively if it's a hobby you do at home, realize that nearest big library has all those niche equipments lying somewhere and you can borrow it for a month + 3 extension months twice a year.

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