Hobbies are great but no matter what you try these days, there seems to be a considerable cost involved. From cycling to photography, and even watching sports, it seems that if you want to get into a hobby, you need to dip into your savings. Thankfully, as you may have guessed from the title, there are ways around this.
Watching Sports For Free
Ah the armchair sports fan – there’s nothing quite like being one, right? We give expert and completely biased analysis of games from the comfort of our own home. But watching sports can be an expensive thing to do. There are so many networks and subscribing to all could set you back a small fortune. That said, there are cheaper and fully legal options. Yes, we’re talking about networks that are free-to-air or that come with your standard TV package. The likes of Eurosport, FreeSports, and many others have plenty of sporting action 24 hours a day. And no, it’s not all badminton and table tennis.
Now, if you like to spice things up and you fancy a flutter on your favorite sports, but want to keep a tight hold on the purse strings, there are options out there. In fact, if you look in the right places, you can even find yourself some freebies. For example, comparison site oddschecker has a comprehensive list of sites that offer free bets to new customers. Free sports and free bets? Now that’s a budget saver if ever there was one.
Cycling On A Budget
Wow. Who would have thought that going for a ride on a bike could suddenly become so expensive? Cheap bikes are rare these days and not really built to last. Plus, safety equipment such as helmets can become pretty pricey. So how do you get into cycling without paying the earth or buying cheap stuff? Well, the obvious choice is to buy secondhand. Most bike stores have a used bike section where you can buy reliable secondhand bikes that you know are not stolen.
We have another suggestion though that we reckon is a bit better. We’re talking bike rentals. Of course, if your city has a bike rental scheme then you’re in luck. All you need is a helmet and a water bottle and you’re good to go. But even if it doesn’t, you may be in luck. Your local bike store may have a bike rental service where you leave a deposit and some ID and you can take a bike for the day or a weekend. It’s a great option for anyone who is just getting into cycling and is worried about investing too much into a hobby that they may not keep up.
Photography – Discovering The Power Of Your Smartphone
Now, this is one hell of an expensive hobby. A standard DSLR camera can cost quite a penny and then you’ll need the various lenses, tripods, bags, and filters for getting the perfect shot. But there is a cheaper way to get into photography and pretty much anyone can do it with minimal investment.
Everyone has a smartphone these days and the vast majority of them have great cameras, but we’re not just going to tell you to take pics with your phone. What we’re actually suggesting is that you look for one of the many smartphone photography courses available online. It’s amazing what you can do with your smartphone camera if you have the right settings and position yourself correctly.
Trust us, this is a much cheaper way to take quality photographs and the results are pretty amazing. Yes, the courses will cost a little but it’s far cheaper than investing in high-quality equipment and then realising it’s just not for you.
So there you have it, three costly hobbies that you can now do for a fraction of the cost. If none of these hobbies interest you and you’re more interested in spending time with friends then why not check out our post on budget-friendly things to do with friends. As we like to say, you don’t have to spend a fortune to have fun.