26Jan/1113
What is a cheap/free hobby that will keep me out of trouble and take up my free time?
I need to quit smoking, and quit drinking out of boredom. I am looking for some cheap/free hobbies to keep me occupied. I used to knit, and I do also read. I am looking for something new, and something that will cost very little money - I have next to no disposable income right now. Any ideas welcome!
January 26th, 2011 - 06:37
I love jigsaw puzzles and they’re cheap!
January 26th, 2011 - 07:19
There is rock collecting, leaf collecting, bird watching,etc.
January 26th, 2011 - 08:03
Well you can do anything you want if you want something cheap i would go with bike riding or something you like to do the most.
January 26th, 2011 - 08:17
Well, just looking from far away to you, I would say you are a very nice intelligent person, and what you need to feel better is that someone can enjoy all the capacities you can offer.
Look for a social group that helps others, maybe homeless or children, children in hospital, you can care for them, read them stories, make them smile and happy, or you can join a group for knitting together, make new designs and find new horizons in your life. If there is no group, – start a new one, organizing will give you a different moment in your everyday-routine. Surely you have much more ideas, as you know yourself much better than I can guess.
Let us know what´s your decision. Wishing you successful changes to a no more boring time !
January 26th, 2011 - 09:10
Make herbal candles. It should not be to expensive if you grow your own herbs. Or make herbal incense and herbal healing oils. You can take the extra money when you stop smoking and drinking and buy your supplies.
January 26th, 2011 - 09:47
an addiction no matter what is,smoking ,drinking,nail biting,whatever, is only a habit and the way to break any habit is to change what you usually do each day and do something else until it becomes a habit…. I use to smoke and drink out of habit ,just like you . It is important to find something you really love to take that space in your life.
I love colors and nature ,i am a an artist watercolor, acrylic,,not famous or anything but my kids love it and my husband and friends.Socknitting is the best hobby for me too. it is fun and portable you can knit anywhere. Socknitters.com is a group of addicted knit wits like me, and Crazytoesandheels.com,is another group that I love .and check out truthortradition.com too. Wetcanvas.com is too cool too. You are so blessed to have time to be bored, I don’t have a car,or a job and I am always home and never ever bored,just thankful for every minute of the day I have to create something for someone else and give it away. gotta run! kn Karrol,
January 26th, 2011 - 10:23
I love drawing cartoons. I`ve always been a huge animation fan and now spend some time drawing cartoons. Many say they cant draw ect ect but every one can do cartoons(not animated ones ). I started off with just a few lines for different facial expressions and built up from there. I started with a pencil and black pen and experimented with noses and eyes and expressions. Yosemity sam is a fave cos I found him easy to maniplute and change. from there I`ve built up a good collection of my own charecters and have given them their own personalities and stuff I think its great.
January 26th, 2011 - 10:47
If you already have a digital camera, photography! Digital photography is cheap–if you are set up with the supplies. Borrow a photography book from your library.
Also, if you used to knit–have you thought of crochet? That uses similar supplies, plus you can find all the free patterns you want online.
January 26th, 2011 - 11:13
Take a bag with you and go for a walk in the woods or park. Look for pinecones of all sizes (not the sticky ones) Acorns are good too and bring them home and stick them in the freezer for 48 hrs to kill any bugs that may be in them.I’ve never had a problem . You can make pinecone wreathes with a wire form available at at Michaels or Walmart and use a hot glue gun to attach to the form,When my daughter was little, we decorated individual pinecones for Christmas decorations. We used green markers to colour some and glued coloured beads on them and they looked like little Christmas trees . Attach red ribbon and it’s a tree decoration Thanksgiving is coming up and you can make little turkeys using red pipe cleaners. see link below & have fun!
January 26th, 2011 - 12:02
Try coin collecting. It doesn’t have to cost you a lot. You can go to the bank and pick of a box of coin (whichever denomination you like) for exactly face value. A box of pennies is $25, a box of nickels is $100, a box of dimes is $250 and boxes of quarters or half dollars are $500. You don’t have to buy the whole box. The bank can pull out whatever amount you like.
Once you get a box, you can go through and pull out the better coins (there are books to help with this or websites). You can pick up a coin album and try to fill all the holes (get one for each year) or just search for interesting ones.
The coins that you don’t want can be returned to the bank and put straight back into your account (though it’s often better to return the coins to a different bank (not just a different branch but a different bank) so that you don’t search the same coins over and over). Everything you find will have been obtained at face value. You’d be surprised what people have found. Check out these links to see:
http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1902&whichpage=1
http://www.coincommunity.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=11494&whichpage=1
http://www.foundinrolls.com/
Also check your change for interesting finds.
Some things to search for: wheat pennies, silver dimes, silver quarters, old coins, error coins, coins with the “S” mintmark – it could be a proof coin etc. There’s always the chance that you could find a real treasure!
It’s also helpful to buy a red book. It can help you price your coins and will answer many of the questions you may have.
OR IF THAT’S NOT FOR YOU…
http://www.spacefem.com/quizzes/hobby/
January 26th, 2011 - 12:39
There are all sorts of fibre crafts, this is my current favourite: http://members.shaw.ca/evethejust/tablet.html
Also gardening, grow some veggies or something. Or go and volunteer for something. There’s always room for volunteers.
January 26th, 2011 - 13:27
I agree with the crochet answer. Stick with a yarn based hobby. Yarn is cheap if you buy it at a dollar store..or on sale. Even needles can be cheap. It’s really two sticks and string….seriously….you can use dowels sharpened in a pencil sharpener….and one plastic crochet hook is a pittance.
Try knitting again or weaving…you can make your own loom with a cereal box. At least these are hobbies where you can justify any expense by using what you make as gifts.
You can go on-line and find out how to do any of these things. Many sites (such asDIY Network) even have video instructions. There are also many knitting groups out there these days…..I think the added support of others would help you learn the new skill.
Another option, as long as you are going healthy, is excercise. It is a totally win/win situation. You can do it without any equipment. You can get advise/help on-line. You can find a friend to join you and get the support that you probably need.
January 26th, 2011 - 13:49
All the answers are good suggestions, but you need to pick something that you enjoy.
It sounds as if doing something with your hands will help you with the quitting, especially the smoking. I found that I used the cigarette as a thing to do with my hands.
However, whatever it is has to be what you enjoy. All those suggestions were what the answerer enjoyed.
If its arts and crafts is your preference, a suggestion would be collages with found objects. There is no end to what you could do. All you need is glue. You don’t need to use a flat surface to glue onto either. The surface can be a found object also.
Magazines make could sources for collages too. People are always throwing them out or donating them to second hand stores where you can buy them for very little.
Another thing to think about is; do you want to make things that are useful and/or that other people will praise, or do you wish to have the experience of doing it and not so concerned about the outcome.