Cheap and profitable hobbies

Discussion in Home & Garden started by Gelsemium • Mar 22, 2014.

  1. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    How do you spend your free time, spending money or making money? I think we are entitled to our rest, but at the same time we can be smart and do something cheap that benefit us, like for example growing a garden, that keeps us entertained and also produces food for us to eat.

    What do you do in your free times?
     
  2. Eagle910

    Eagle910Active Member

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    There are very few hobbies that will earn money. I use to pick up cans on the local track after my daily jog. I earned a little money from that, but not much.
     
  3. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    I sell my artwork on eBay and that brings in some income that pays some bills. I consider it a hobby still because I don't completely make a living from it. There are many people on eBay and Etsy who have art and crafting hobbies and make money from them. Some people make custom doll clothes and sell them on Etsy. Any hobby that involves creating something can be profitable,
     
  4. LindaKay

    LindaKayActive Member

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    Selling things on eBay, Etsy, etc. can make you money! There are some online things that you can do that can make a bit of money as well.

    Plus, you can always try couponing and gardening. You might not actually make money from these two things, but you will save money, which isn't far from the same thing.
     
  5. mistymi

    mistymiActive Member

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    If you're just doing something as a hobby it would seem difficult to monetize. There is streaming and other video game related content but it's probably not a hobby anymore for people who earn a good amount. Unfortunately all my hobbies can't benefit me in any way.
     
  6. prettycolors

    prettycolorsActive Member

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    Last year I started making flash games as an hobby after I learned a bit of programming and took some online drawing courses. The courses were free while Flash did cost me good money, but anyway. After each game was done I placed them in the Mochiads network where they got ads and free distribution. I didn't make a lot of money but the few dollars I did came from my hobby :)
     
  7. nwitt

    nwittActive Member

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    I do like to write. I have a full time marketing job, but I write part-time to make money. I write website content and blog posts for companies and individuals. This allows me to fill up my free time and do something I enjoy while also bringing in more income, which makes it possible to do other things in my free time.
     
  8. clairebeautiful

    clairebeautifulActive Member

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    I don't necessarily have hobbies that "earn" me money, but I currently am making use of my role as a "stay at home mom" to save money, which is essentially the same thing.

    About 5 years ago I set out to tackle and lower our grocery budget. I've reduced it by about 25% (even though my family has grown) and am able to maintain a very low level for how much food and stuff we actually buy. I consider it a hobby. Part of it is deal-seeking, part is sale-shopping, and part is couponing. I recently added mail-in-rebates to my routine this year, which has been an adventure to say the least.

    Another hobby is gardening. Again, I don't sell my produce, but I do end up saving a lot of money in the spring and summer on stuff I'd pay a lot for at a farmer's market. My ultimate goal (as soon as we have more space) is to expand my garden and learn preservation methods (like canning and freezing) so I can stock pile seasonal and fresh fruits and veggies to last us into the winter.

    We'll see.

    Finally, and my husband is completely against this, but I plan to fight for it, is that I want to raise a few chickens for eggs. It is becoming so popular around where I live, but people still sell the eggs for $3 a dozen, which is really high to me. I either want my own eggs, or I'll just buy them when they are $0.99 at the store.
     
  9. lizzief79

    lizzief79Active Member

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    I love writing. So, when I had to give up my career in education, I turned my writing hobby into my new career. I am now a professional freelance writer. I also love crafts so I turned my hobby of making jewelry into a small business too. However, this is actually quite an expensive hobby to begin with as you have to buy tools, wire, beads, stones, etc. I know a lot of people who earn part tie from graphic design and website development if your hobbies lead themselves to these. I like the gardening suggestion on here too.
     
  10. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    Writing is a great hobby and can be really well paid because there are quite a few sites online that are looking for writers and even translators. Staying at home is another good choice, it's just do the maths, how much would we pay to have our kids at school and we would save that staying at home with them.
     
  11. Oakster

    OaksterActive Member

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    I'd love to get involved in this, even just as a hobby, but it seems like a huge pain to get started, I wouldn't know how to start getting viewers or what software would be the best.
    Have you ever tried getting into this?
     
  12. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

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    I don't think that I can consider any of my hobbies profitable enough where I can earn money from them. I usually spend my free time making money or doing other stuff offline. I know that if you are good at writing then you can make some extra money from it by writing articles online for clients, but I'm just not good at that.
     
  13. mistymi

    mistymiActive Member

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    I've streamed some games before but I don't know anything about getting paid and how much you can earn. Open source broadcaster is good streaming software though.

    Programming is a useful hobby I'd like to learn. I've thought about writing and selling games before but it seems like too much work. Cool that you were able make some money.
     
  14. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    I wish I could do some money with my hobbies, like playing tennis for example, but I would need to take it to another level and it would stop to be a hobby to be almost a full time occupation and I am too far from that level. I think that web designing could be the way to go! ;)
     
  15. malida

    malidaNew Member

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    I usually make some beading crafts when I have free times, it's cheap and fun. I have bought lots of cheap beads and made some bracelets and neckalces, I recnetly plan to make curtain with beads. it would be a big project for me.

    The best part of it is that i can send my work as gifts to my friends nd family except enjoying the working process.
     
    #15May 14, 2014
    Last edited: May 14, 2014
  16. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

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    I do graphic design as work and as a hobby, and it definitely has paid off for me since playing around with digital design as a hobby helps me refine my skills for when actual work comes along. I'm able to learn new tricks while I'm in between projects and spending time doing personal work instead of paid ones, and I then use those new found tricks for clients' projects.
     
  17. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    I wouldn't consider this as a profitable hobby but in my free time, I do 3-D modeling. Most of the models I make are posted online so for anyone interested to use in any of their projects. There's a possibility someone might like my work one day and decide to have me create something for them. However whilst I wait for that, I don't consider any time spent creating 3D models as wasted because there's at least the satisfaction of having made something when you render the image.
     
  18. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    Yeah, that's a good example Denis, you'r doing something you love and by showing it who knows if one day someone gets interested in your services. You could also advertise for those on FB for example.
     
  19. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I like to garden indoor plants and outdoors. I have sold a few plants but it is not to make money. My other hobby is reading. I don't really have much free time to develop other hobbies.
     
  20. Gelsemium

    GelsemiumWell-Known Member

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    Interesting, how do you garden indoor plants? Just in a pot or a vase right?

    Other thing that can be handy is having some tools to know how to do stuff ourselves. Just yesterday I was customizing the tricycle of my younger kid, his knees were hitting the handlebar and I made a hole and moved the seat back, neat! :)