[I_Like_Plants]

I was talking about Frugality with a guy yesterday, and introduced him to a concept that seemed to shock him - one way of being frugal is, if you have a hobby, have one that makes money!

For instance, you LOVE to build birdhouses. It's your release, your recreation, face it, building birdhouses is a blast. So you'd do it anyway. But, your birdhouses cost you say $5 to make, and you're getting $20 each when you sell them. That's a hobby that makes money.

Or, as the guy in the TV commercial says, do you like to paint? Or draw and doodle.... lol. Well, if your skill is anything beyond dogshit, art is generally self-sustaining, and often profitable. It sometimes becomes a 2nd career. I myself CAN draw, paint, and yes even doodle, quite well but was pushed at it as a kid so I don't look at it as recreation.

Flint knapping. There's something I've been curious about, the dust and chips factor has kind of scared me away, but if you're any good, knappers seem to have fun making their points then selling or trading them.

There's a lady at the farmer's market who makes wire/bead/crystal jewelry, and it seems to be a money making hobby.

I was contrasting this with something like say, Golf, where you have to pay to play. Surfing, ditto. Windsurfing, ditto. Bike racing, that's a real money hole.

As a few of you know, I was trying to learn violin - I like the instrument but it makes my hands hurt, and them fiddles is spendy. Not to mention lessons, with violin bad habits have really bad consequences so you can't just teach yourself generally, unless you start out when you're really young and flexible.

So, and I tried this before and was told I have definate "talent", I'm going to have another go at learning the clarinet. Small, easy to carry, one of the best ergonomics of any instrument, and will enable me to learn to play the sax later, if I get good and I can afford a sax. I'm not paying another damn dime to music teachers but will scour YouTube, forums, etc for playing advice. And I plan to get out there on the street with the hat out ASAP too. (It's a thing I have about street music, for most people this is the only way they'll ever see live music. Especially kids who are at that young impressionable age but are certainly not hanging out at bars where some jazz and blues gets played.)

So, what hobbies do people here do that bring in a few extra dollars too?

[SevenTen]

My hobby used to be computers. Then I started doing it for a living. Now I hate them. So be careful.

[lawnchair]

I have absolutely no mercenary spirit, but I suspect I have made money on my hobby of bike repair. A fair number of garage sale near-steals repaired and sold for money. I also have kept a pump, patch kit, and variety of tubes at my office and fixed several bikes that way.

Gardening can go either way. If you are buying plants from a greenhouse except tomatoes and peppers, it's probably cheaper to buy at the grocery. But, I love gardening, and certain plants, started from seed, are much cheaper (cucumbers, squashes, melons) than market produce. If I cared to, I could grow enough to sell. I have arguably made money gardening the last couple years since I inherited a free rototiller and have done other people's gardens for cash.

[threadbear]

Of all posts posted on this forum, this has to be one of the best, in terms of practicle advice. We're brought up to think of work as a punishment, something to grit our teeth and get through. In reality, the people who have done best are ones who have fun doing what they're doing.

The Rockefellers, for example, considered making money and screwing people over fun, so they just took that hobby and ran with it!

Seriously though, parents have to be really careful about the downer messages they give their kids about work and career.

[Prince]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('SevenTen', 'M')y hobby used to be computers. Then I started doing it for a living. Now I hate them. So be careful.

[Falconoffury]

I enjoy building and repairing computer hardware. Solving software problems is incredibly boring.

[Narz]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('threadbear', 'S')eriously though, parents have to be really careful about the downer messages they give their kids about work and career.

[dukey]

my hobby 3d programming and computer graphics
turned into a job for me

in the rest of my time i try to work on my dads farm

[mmasters]

Hm, well I really like research, analysis, design, strategy.

For me it's dealing with all the politicians, authoritarians, control freaks and such in the work place that really ruin the fun of it. But I suppose all you can really do is find your own kind and form a clique to defend against the others.

[cynicalheretic]

I like to watch TV and wank off. Can someone point me to a career

[emersonbiggins]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cynicalheretic', 'I') like to watch TV and wank off. Can someone point me to a career

[The_Toecutter]

I could probably make money with renewable energy. I've built a wind turbine, and I rather enjoyed the process. I also like to work on my EV, at least when I have the money to do so. But converting cars which were formerly run on gasoline to electric is a bit difficult to make enough money to live on if you're doing custom one offs. Maybe at $5/gallon.

Smoking ganja is also fun and there's lots of moneymaking opportunities pertaining to that, but they're also high risk propositions which entail the possibility of imprisonment and/or death. Most people who would consider it really wouldn't be able to handle it, and I don't blame them one bit.

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') like to watch TV and wank off. Can someone point me to a career

[dukey]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') like to watch TV and wank off. Can someone point me to a career

[I_Like_Plants]

Wank off in a visually interesting way and get a webcam...........

Seriously - Make just about any little geegaw and go around the bars and sell it, I saw a lady selling hideous crosses made with what looked like plastic beads, for $5 or $10 or so, she'd come in, go around, sell one or two, and on to the next watering hole. So, not really annoying anyone, a few people will consider her product "tasteful" or "useful" and buy, then she's outta there. Of course you have to enjoy making your geegaws or it becomes work, rather than a hobby.

[The_Toecutter]

As an engineer, I already have lots of ideas, but they could get me in big trouble if caught. Being able to do something technical, and think of products that aren't available on the market that people would want, is a very good recipe for making money if you play your cards right.

I'd call them sophisticated and/or illegal geegaws, but geegaws just the same.

[frankthetank]

I found a 40ish looking crack whore blonde who's selling herself on craigslist for 200/hr. If she can do it?

[threadbear]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cynicalheretic', 'I') like to watch TV and wank off. Can someone point me to a career

[I_Like_Plants]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'I') found a 40ish looking crack whore blonde who's selling herself on craigslist for 200/hr. If she can do it?

[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'I') found a 40ish looking crack whore blonde who's selling herself on craigslist for 200/hr. If she can do it?

[Tyler_JC]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukey', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'I') like to watch TV and wank off. Can someone point me to a career