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Frugal Hobbies: My Favorites

frugal-hobbies

Frugal Living-Hobbies

 

Frugal Hobbies: Freedom Through Passive Income Style

I talked on a previous post about how frugal living and building passive income streams are closely related to each other.  While there are plenty of ways to live frugally, especially with regard to transportation, housing and food (which I will talk about on later posts), hobbies are one of those things that you can either spend almost nothing or an enormous amount.  While I understand the point of view where people say that they just want to enjoy life and they only live once, I truly believe that there are ways to be happy and have fun without spending ridiculous amounts of money.  Here are some of my hobbies that make me happy and are cheap or free:

Hiking: the ultimate in free hobbies

I live in Busan, South Korea, which has plenty of mountains.  In fact, less than a 10 minute walk from my house, I have 2 separate mountains from which to choose from, with a myriad of paths and trails on both of them.  There is an expat hiking club as well and I occasionally go hiking with them as well.

Bike riding: A high initial investment 

While you can buy a piece of junk used bike somewhere like Craigslist, it’s not my style.  Nobody likes riding the bike with the clunky chain and squeaky brakes.  A couple of years ago, I spent around $400 on an Entry Level Hybrid Bike
(including all the accessories like a helmet and chain) and since then, have ridden more than 3000 km, seen the beautiful countryside around Busan, gotten plenty of exercise and saved lots of time and energy by using my bike to do errands in the city.  Was the $400 worth it?  Definitely.  And the cost/kilometer keeps going down and down, which is satisfying to a frugalista like me.

Podcasts: expand the mind without opening the wallet! 

I download lots of podcasts from Itunes for free and listen to them when exercising/cleaning the house or cooking.  Some of my favorites are: the Rachel Maddow show, The Suitcase Entrepreneur, Empire Flippers, The Jillian Michaels Podcast, and The Smart Passive Income Podcast.

Homebrewing: so satisfying 

I like to drink delicious beer, and it’s even more delicious if you make it yourself, minus all the chemicals that the big companies put in their beer to increase the shelf-life.  I spent about $100 to get my Homebrew Starter Kit, but then after that, it’s cheaper to brew it yourself than to buy it from the store.  Plus, almost nothing else impresses your friends so much as offering them a brew that you made yourself.  And yes, even though homebrew is not trendy in South Korea like in the USA, it’s still possible to Homebrew in South Korea.

Readers: what are your frugal hobbies?

If you’re an English teacher and want to learn more about frugal living and the cost per use model that I use to make a decision about a big purchase such as a stand-up paddleboard or bicycle, check out this book on Amazon:The Wealthy English Teacher: Teach, Travel, and Secure Your Financial Future

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