Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Hobbies Get More Expensive As You Go

People Break Down Which Hobbies Get More Expensive As You Go
Anton Maksimov 5642.su on Unsplash

Everyone needs hobbies. And side hustles and interests beyond work and family.

But hobbies can get pricey.

Just ask any parent with a kid who had a million activities.

We all want to experience as much as possible.

And we should.

But all that fun and experience adds up.

Nothing is free, especially a side hustle.


Redditor DeepFriedAnxiety218 wanted to chat about the activities that cost a pretty penny the more you get into them. They asked:

"What hobby gets more expensive as you go?"

I tried fencing for a bit. You don't want to know a weekly payment plan.

Too Late

driving fast and furious GIFGiphy

"Cars. After you've bought a classic car, it's too late."

GuyWithVolga

"Not just classic cars, all cars."

Rronde

Snapshot...

"Photography. A camera body is one thing, but then you start piling on lenses and lights. Oh boy..."

dontgoforthe1

"And monthly subscriptions to software editing too. That adds up."

"Though I'll throw out depending on where you are, look to see if you've got state parks. Texas has some wonderful dark sky parks and an annual membership you can get that get you in the park for free and gets discounts on camp sites. And at least precovid they would host dark park viewing nights for people to come out with cameras and telescopes."

misoranomegami

Wild

"Horses. Oh good lord. Buying the horse is the cheap part."

MorbidMunchkin

"Man, I live in an area now with a lot of horses, and was always a horse girl growing up (took lessons, dragged my dad to the races all the time), and my inner child is SO MAD at me that I don't have a horse. I literally pass a wild horse adoption place every single day. But they are just so damn expensive and adult me can't justify it."

ribbons_undone

Pricey Sounds

"Definitely music the amount I've spent on instruments is wild."

Defnoturneighbor

"Yep. I just now did my best to estimate how much I've spent in the last 22 years (ever since I started playing guitar or anything else), just on guitars (not including too many accessories, like capos, cables or what ever), I estimated $6,250."

"I've never had a very good, high income, so always having to save for the next thing, which now I've got my mind set on a Fender Jaguar in the future (custom or special order; I do not want the current Kurt Cobain model or the p-90 ones). I also spent $500 on drums and cymbals some years back."

"I actually never use them, so wanting to sell, but no idea what price to ask and what they're worth, or HOW I would ship them (older, possibly 1992 to 1993 era Tama rockstar kit, refurbished, and cheap $300 box of Zildjian cymbals; my uncle sold me the drums and only asked for $100, but I gave him $200)."

RhoadsOfRock

Addictive

Hissy Fit Reaction GIF by Hyper RPGGiphy

"You perhaps wouldn't believe it, but modern board games can add up so quickly, and the fact that most modern games come out via crowdfunding, FOMO can really kick in. Addictive and expensive hobby."

dabruuzer

Cars are fun. Cars are expensive. And that's before gas.

In a Bowl

fun fishing GIFGiphy

"Fishkeeping. One day you get your kid's a betta and stick it in a bowl, the next day you find out that's not proper husbandry and correct it, and then one day you wake up with 7 aquariums in your house. It all happens so fast."

Fair_Warning19

$15

"Washi tape collecting during the pandemic was fun. At first, it was all about finding deals- how many tapes could I get for a dollar, three dollars... what does this set of twelve tapes go for? One day I scoured the internet to find the most expensive washi tape. How expensive could this get? A whopping $15 for a single roll was what I found. And it was a nice roll. Less than the price of a movie ticket. Not bad."

-Firestar-

Plastics

"My brother and I got back into building plastic model kits (primarily sci-fi subjects). Getting all the right paints, glues and accessories to have good results can really put a black hole in your wallet."

TonyDP2128

"All of my Mr Color and Hataka Orange paints 'disappeared' during my last move. I'm not destitute, but it's been six months and I've still not been able to replace the ones I use most often let alone all. Then there's buying my son all of his crap as well... yeah. And you really need a spare bedroom to use and it goes on and on."

daviepancakes

Listen

"High end audio."

turnstiles

"I'm just starting to go down that slippery slope. Good thing I stopped collecting watches and cameras. No time to take pictures and develop film all day, and no need for more watches, but there's always time to sit down and listen to a record."

Rob_V

"You can put together a great audio setup without spending a stupidly large sum. Beyond a certain price range you’re just another sucker spending money for prestige."

BrianOllocks

How Much?

Awesome The Lego Movie GIF by TrolliGiphy

"Lego."

sorryforbeingac*nt

"I was going to buy a Lego kit until I had a heart attack looking at the price! It’s insane!"

Crashgirl4243

Good luck on the fun for all of us.

Want to "know" more?

Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Never miss another big, odd, funny or heartbreaking moment again.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of Stephen Miller discussing Robert De Niro
Fox News

Stephen Miller Claims Robert De Niro Has Only Made 'Flops' For Past 30 Years—And Here Come The Receipts

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller had people rolling their eyes after he lashed out at actor Robert De Niro and claimed the legendary performer—the recipient of two Academy Awards and scores of other prizes over a more than 50-year career—has only made "flops" for the past 30 years.

On Sunday, De Niro, a vocal critic of the Trump administration, called Miller "a Nazi," adding that Miller is "Jewish and he should be ashamed of himself.”

Keep ReadingShow less
A man holding a transparent umbrella on a boardwalk in a city
Person with umbrella overlooks city skyline by water
Photo by John Licas on Unsplash

People Share Purchases Under $20 That Made Their Lives Way Easier

Sometimes, in an effort to improve our lives in some capacity requires us to make a significant dent in our bank account.

Even though it might be yogurt for dinner for a few weeks after, we still feel good about our expensive purchases when we see the difference a high-powered washing machine makes, or feel the cool air from our upgraded air conditioner.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @matterneuroscience's Instagram video
@matterneuroscience/Instagram

Man Goes Viral After 3D-Printing A 6-Pound Phone Case To Combat Screen Addiction

Many Millennials will remember back in the nineties as the last of the "latchkey kids" who were prominently babysat by their televisions, and the commercials that rolled out, made popular on Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network, promoting kids to go play outside instead of watching TV all day.

Now in 2025, videos on Instagram and TikTok encouraging people to "pause their scroll" and to "put down their phones" are becoming more common and popular, because people are realizing how detrimental our increasing screen time is to our emotional, physical, and psychological health.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from ​@karaandlife's TikTok video
@karaandlife/TikTok

Woman Sparks Heated Debate After Encouraging People To Smile At Walmart Greeters

There's an old saying that goes, "It costs nothing to be kind."

Smiling at a stranger, saying hi back to a young and socialable child, holding a door for someone, and maybe even exchanging a pleasantry or two at the checkout line costs nothing more than a few words passing our lips and showing a little kindness.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from @talashatara's TikTok video
@talashatara/TikTok

Woman Shocks The Internet By Showing Off Her Husband's Incredible 'Glow-Up'—And Wow

Everyone loves a good success story, and don't even get us started on glow-up videos!

But one trend that's been really popular lately is the "husband glow-up" trend. In these before-and-after trending videos, two videos will be spliced together. The first half of the video features either a photo or video of the person's husband, which then cuts to the second video, showing the husband's glow-up with Sabrina Carpenter's "When Did You Get Hot?" playing in the background.

Keep ReadingShow less