This question could come up in any social situation where someone is trying to figure you out. Have you figured yourself out? No judging if you’re still working on that. Most of us are. Check out our list of cheap hobbies, which is not so much a list as a series of speed dates with hobby ideas. Dive in and find something fun!
Fun Cheap Hobbies
Online Courses
Magic Tricks
If you have willing participants at home, why not learn how to do magic tricks with cards or a magic kit.
Dancing
Or if you have a willing partner, why not learn how to dance? Go with a dance style that makes you want to get up and move. You can take a local class or learn what you can from YouTube videos or other online tutorials.
Music
If dance isn’t your thing, but you love music, discover new music on YouTube or Spotify and practice mindful listening to get the full experience of it.
Origami
Looking for something quieter? Learn origami using origami paper and free YouTube videos.
Trying New Things
You can also make a list of things you want to do, new foods you want to try, or places you want to visit (or all three), and make a plan to tackle each item one by one in the most budget-friendly way possible.
Thrifting
If you love clothes shopping, check out your local thrift stores and create a whole new look with pieces you find. If you work from home, you could create an at-home work outfit that makes you feel creative, energetic, and productive.
Learning New Skills
You’re never too old to learn a new skill. And with YouTube tutorials and Udemy courses (catch them on sale), you can learn something new every day. Focus on something you’re likely to enjoy working on for a week or more and that doesn’t cost a lot to practice.
Teaching Others
And once you’ve learned this new skill and added your own personal flair to it, you can teach others. Choose a skill you’ve mastered and that you enjoy and teach others either in person or with a video (series) of your own making.
Genealogy
Another fun hobby is filling out your family tree using genealogy tools like Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org (which is free). Find out where your ancestors come from and learn more about them.
Cheap Hobbies for Men
While plenty of hobbies appeal to men the world over, I’m not presenting any of the following as exclusively male hobbies — any more than the “hobbies for women” are only for women. In both cases, these are hobbies found to have particular appeal for either men or women. But most (if not all) could just as easily be on the other list.
Rock Collecting
Take rock collecting, for starters. Anyone can enjoy collecting rocks and building their knowledge about the different classes and subtypes of rocks, gems, and minerals. So, if you’re a rockhound who loves to find their new additions while exploring the outdoors, why not make it easier with a rock mining kit.
Stone Carving
And if you’d like to carve items out of stone or make gifts of polished stones with words etched into them, pick up a stone carving kit like this one, and enjoy creating artful keepsakes for yourself and the people in your life.
Lock-Picking
If you love the idea of being able to pick any lock, consider a lock-picking kit. Some kits — like this one — even include a stopwatch to time yourself, as well as a user’s guide (helpful for newbies).
Organizing
Another great hobby idea is reorganizing and optimizing the garage, particularly for guys who spend a lot of time in there. Think about the possibilities, find ideas in home improvement magazines and DIY books and tackle it one wall or square foot at a time.
Basketball
If you love playing basketball — and you happen to already have a hoop (or a good substitute for one) — get yourself a new ball and spend some time each day practicing.
Darts
Or if you’re more into indoor target-oriented sports, consider buying a dartboard and practicing with friends or family members (even kids aged 6 years and up).
Woodworking
And if you love the idea of making your own furniture or making good use of the random scraps of wood at your disposal, (or other things with wood), consider taking up carpentry or woodworking. Depending on where you start with this, you can start your toolbox with a woodworking chisel set or a whittling kit.
Investing
If you’re keen on learning how to invest your money, make it your hobby to learn all you can from books, websites, courses, and/or investment tools. You can also set up a consultation with a financial advisor or pick the brain of someone you know who’s enjoyed success with their investment practices.
Rubiks Cube
Maybe you just want a fun way to kill time and a different way to use your brain. Pick up a Rubiks cube and learn how to play it. Or download an app for Sudoku, crossword puzzles, or solitaire, depending on your preferences.
Dog Walking
And if you love animals but aren’t sure you want to commit to one, check out your local animal shelter and ask if they need volunteers to take dogs for walks. Maybe you’ll end up adopting one and training it for service as a therapy dog or for search and rescue. Or maybe you’ll realize you’re more of a cat person. Either way, you and the dogs will appreciate the exercise and fresh air.
Cheap Hobbies for Couples
If you’re looking for hobbies to take on as a couple to make your together time more creative or enjoyable, I’m glad you’re here! If you both love saving money by doing things yourself, why not make a list of DIY projects that interest you both, and tackle them one by one.
Documentaries
Or if you both enjoy watching programs together, why not make that time more educational by watching online documentaries.
Walking and Running
If you’d both rather be active, start walking or running together. It’s free if you’ve already got the shoes for it. And if you don’t, you can easily pick up a few affordable pairs.
Landscaping
Otherwise, if you’d rather do something outdoors other than exercise, native plant landscaping is a great project for couples. Look up native plants for your area and add more of them to your property to attract and feed bees and butterflies. Add a birdbath and some feeders for the birds to create a nature-friendly preserve.
Puzzles
Maybe you’re looking for hobbies you can both enjoy indoors (especially when the weather makes that more appealing). If you both enjoy assembling jigsaw puzzles, grab some with pictures you’ll look forward to seeing completed.
Board Games
You might both enjoy playing chess together — or checkers, backgammon, Scrabble, or another board game of your choosing. Find a game board with pieces for chess, checkers, and backgammon, and you can alternate for variety’s sake. And throw in some Jenga when the mood strikes.
Card Games
Card games are also a good option, and all you need is a deck of cards (or two) to play. If you love UNO, that takes a specific card deck (worth it). But if you prefer games like poker, blackjack, or Kings in the Corner, a regular deck of cards will do fine. If you want a card game with a romantic twist, try a date night card game like Talk, Flirt, or Dare. Or use conversation cards to get better acquainted — or re-acquainted — with each other.
Beer Making
You could also brew your own beer together using a homebrew kit. Or bake artisan breads to enjoy and to share with neighbors, friends, and family.
Cheap Hobbies for Women
Yoga
Try yoga, if you haven’t already. If you already have a yoga mat, all you need are some online tutorials or a yoga app to guide you.
Adult Coloring
Or maybe you want to create something that will still be there when your hobby time is up. If you enjoy coloring, pick up an adult coloring book and a set of color pens.
Journaling
A journaling habit could make all the difference in your mental health and achievements this year. Good thing journals are so affordable. And you’re bound to find at least one that makes you itch to click on the “Buy Now” button — like maybe this one (tell me I’m not alone).
Dance Lessons
If you’re looking for a more active hobby, try taking dance lessons or learning some new dance moves from YouTube videos or online courses. Or practice singing to prepare for your next outing to a karaoke bar.
Tarot Cards
Maybe you’re looking for a hobby that can further your spiritual growth. Learning how to read tarot cards strengthens your connection to your inner wisdom. And the more adept you become, the more others will look to you for guidance.
Coding
If you’re thinking of more practical pursuits, though, and you love working with computers, upgrade your skillset by learning how to code. You can find free tutorials online for HTML5 and CSS, as well as JavaScript and other languages.
Web Design
And when Udemy has a sale (which they often do), you can snag some high-quality courses on web design and app development.
Cheese Making
If you want to make something edible that you can enjoy at home and share with others, why not learn how to make cheese.
Quilting
Or if you’d rather create something less perishable and more heirloom-quality, you can take up quilting; pick up some essential quilting tools and find some fabric squares that go with the pattern you choose. You can do this solo or join a local quilting group.
Knitting and Crocheting
If you prefer to work with yarn, you can take up knitting or crocheting. Maybe your local hospital would appreciate knit or crocheted baby hats or amigurumi toys. Or you could make soft hats, shawls, or lapghans for residents at your local nursing home. It’s easy to find affordable tools and yarn online, in a craft store, and at your local Walmart.
Skincare
It’s easy to neglect your skin when you’re always on the go, but if you make skincare and cosmetics your hobby, not only will you always look good, but you can also help others protect their skin and look fantastic. Good quality skincare and cosmetics don’t have to be expensive. You can even learn how to make your own natural skincare products and author a booklet to share your recipes. 60 Hobbies For Women That Are Actually Fun And Healthy 50 Of The Best Hobbies Of All Time For Men
Cheap Hobbies to Do Outside
Container Gardening
The first cheap outdoor hobby should come to mind pretty easily, and container gardening makes it portable. Self-watering planters make it easier, too.
Nature Hiking
If you don’t have space for a garden but want to spend more time in nature, check out your area for places you can go for a nature hike or for regular walks (with or without a dog). Just make sure you’ve got some good walking shoes before you hit the trail.
Acts of Kindness
You can even make a hobby out of random (or regular) acts of kindness for homebound neighbors, relatives, and friends. Maybe someone needs you to make a grocery run or to pick up prescriptions. Someone else might need someone to take their stir-crazy dogs out for walks.
Kite Flying
If you have a park or beach nearby and want to take advantage of the wind, build yourself a kite and fly it. Or if you just want a reason to get outside and you’re looking for a motivating app, try Pokemon Go. Or if you’re a runner, give Zombies, Run! a try.
Camping
Camping is another fun outdoor activity you could turn into a regular hobby. The more you learn about how to camp on a budget, the more money you can save — and the more often you can do it. If you don’t already have a tent, check out this affordable one.
Stargazing
While you’re camping — or just sitting outside at home — you can enjoy stargazing with a set of binoculars or a telescope. Learn about the constellations, so you can identify them and point them out to anyone curious enough to ask.
Birdwatching
Those binoculars would also come in handy should you take up birdwatching. Don’t forget to bring along a reliable field guide to help you identify the birds you’re watching.
Geocaching
If you want to do more exploring, download a geocaching mobile app and turn every location into a treasure hunt. Challenge yourself to find as many of the cleverly-hidden containers as you can.
Beachcombing
If you live near the ocean, beachcombing can be a relaxing and satisfying hobby. If you don’t already have some water shoes, pick up a pair, along with a mesh bag for collecting your treasures.
Cheap Hobbies to do Inside the Home
Home Improvement
If you’re looking for some hobbies you can do inside your home — whether by yourself or with a willing partner — start by making a list of home improvement projects. Then look at the most affordable way to get started on one of them.
Musical Instrument
You can also learn how to play a musical instrument — like a ukelele, a tin whistle, a harmonica, or something else that takes your fancy.
Scrapbooking
Another popular indoor hobby is scrapbooking. If you have boxes and envelopes full of photos you’d love to get into albums, this is a fun and creative way to make treasures for yourself and your family. A scrapbooking kit can help you get started.
Drawing
A simple sketchbook and some pencils (both of which come with this kit) are all you need to get started on drawing. And if you don’t have books on drawing to guide you step-by-step, YouTube has plenty of video tutorials. Plus, it’s easy to find printed guidebooks at your local library.
Candle Making
Learn how to make candles — using this kit for beginners — and create gifts your friends and family will enjoy using.
Jewelry Making
Or learn from YouTube videos how to make jewelry with a kit like this one to add to your own collection and to make custom pieces for others.
Herb Gardening
Start your own indoor herb garden with this kitchen grow kit. Imagine cutting up fresh herbs to go with dinner — or just taking a moment to breathe in the scent of those herbs for a pick-me-up.
Embroidery and Cross-Stitch
Don’t discount embroidery or cross-stitch as hobbies. Both can be relaxing and both can result in works of art that your friends and family will treasure. Start small and work your way up to more ambitious projects.
Balloon Modeling
If you’re looking for a hobby that the young people in your family will appreciate — the more skilled you become — try balloon modeling. The next time little ones come over, surprise them by making balloon animals for them to play with. This kit will get you started. What are the best cheap hobbies for you? Now that you’ve read about the best cheap hobbies, which ones stand out for you? Which ones do you already have that maybe you’ve neglected for a while? Pick one and make time for it this week. Make it a priority. Life is about more than just surviving, after all. Having something to look forward to makes you feel more awake and energetic. It makes your life feel more purposeful. You’re not just going through the motions when you have a hobby you love. You deserve that. Find something that makes you feel more like yourself — something that feels both oddly familiar and exciting. Or if you need more calm in your life, choose your hobby accordingly.
