Power Kite Forum

Too Many Hobbies, Not enough dough....

tsdr8 - 20-1-2010 at 09:48 AM

I have too many hobbies at this stage in my life. The thing is I cant afford all or any of them if I want to expand in one or another area. Has anyone had this issue and what did you do?

Maven454 - 20-1-2010 at 10:00 AM

Get fewer hobbies? I don't really have that issue as I'm generally a one hobby at a time kind of person.

BeamerBob - 20-1-2010 at 10:10 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by tsdr8
I have too many hobbies at this stage in my life. The thing is I cant afford all or any of them if I want to expand in one or another area. Has anyone had this issue and what did you do?


In 20 years, you'll have the money and more toys than you have time to play with. We don't have enough weekends in the year to do all the activities we've accumulated the gear for. Don't carry a balance on your credit card and do things a little at a time. Buying used saves dough to help things along too. Keeping your gear on the leading edge of the market is expensive.

indigo_wolf - 20-1-2010 at 10:11 AM

A life of crime helps, but eventually incarceration cuts down on hobby time.... well some of them. :saint:

What hobbies are burning a hole in your wallet?

ATB,
Sam

jeech - 20-1-2010 at 10:13 AM

I sort of have this issue; I just enjoy doing too many things! I just progress slowly in everything and have a special savings account specifically for that progression. I don't buy new hobby stuff until the savings exceed the new expenses. Takes a little longer to get what you want, but it also helps you avoid impulse buys and makes you really think about what you are buying and whether it is absolutely necessary or its really worth it.

furbowski - 20-1-2010 at 10:15 AM

Kiting is the only hobby I spend money on... Sailing I do occasionally as work, and I'm building a climbing wall out of driftwood and donated hardware, so the opportunities to get into stuff without spending much money are out there I find.

agree with BB, I only buy used...

jeech - 20-1-2010 at 10:29 AM

I also agree with BB and furbowski. Buy used, and find hobbies that are free/cheap. Quite a few of my hobbies just had an expense associated up front and afterwards have little to no expenses.

lives2fly - 20-1-2010 at 10:44 AM

I have exactly this problem!! And even when you think you have all the gear there is always something that needs replacing or updating! - and all the travel to those perfect spots!

I currently do Landboarding, Kitesurfing, buggying, snowboarding, cross country skiing, rock climbing, mountaineering, Sea kayaking, surfing and mountain biking and I like to tour with all of it so I have loads of camping gear too!

Only advice I can give is get a job, work hard, save hard, feed your passion. I live a really simple life when I'm not doing my sports - I dont go out much or have many luxuries. At the same time I'm doing what I want with my life and spending my money on what's important to me.

tsdr8 - 20-1-2010 at 10:45 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by indigo_wolf
A life of crime helps, but eventually incarceration cuts down on hobby time.... well some of them. :saint:

What hobbies are burning a hole in your wallet?

ATB,
Sam


Hobbies that I am into are working on cars- car audio- moto cross-kiting and gaming all have a pretty pprice tag associated with them. I think alot of my problem is impulse buying. I find my self as a gadget guy so when I see somthing really cool I think I need to have it. Granted we will be doing a bathroom remodel this spring but were are using our refund for that (thank you us gov.) we just bought a house this last year so we get the 10% back and then we had our awsome little boy in may so we get a cut for that. so expecting large refund.

I think once my quad (4 wheeler) is paid off this year, and things settle down I will be really good but It seem one thing after another. Fridge just went out today, that will get fixed tomarrow dont know what the bill will be but it wontbe super cheap I can already feel that.

Erics - 20-1-2010 at 10:53 AM

As said get 2nd hand and you do not always need the very latest. It is the amount of use and enjoyment that you get with what you have that counts. I know I do not have the money for what i would like but do not dwell on that but get out with what I do have and Get more out of than some who buy the latest and only get out once in a while. It is attitude that counts.

cheezycheese - 20-1-2010 at 10:58 AM

Dude I can sympathize, I'm in the middle of paying of my 15m syn and my tranny went on my Volvo (4wd) I can only imagine the surprise I'm in for...
But I always find a way...

furbowski - 20-1-2010 at 11:01 AM

Yeah I see some hobbies as really gadget / gear driven while others are more about skills, not so much about the gear. Unfortunately kiting is a real mix of the two. Something like car audio / gaming seems to be a lot more about the gear than about skill? But I can climb on 10-year old gear (well looked after, newish rope tho )

I must confess tho I'm a bit of a treehugger / enviro nut so I avoid hobbies that burn lots of gas.... I used to drive quads a lot while working summers in BC and I loved being able to throw a pile of mud around with my machine so I'm not unsympathetic to the gearhead buzz.

But kiting is a hobby that gives me acceleration / adrenaline without the gas, and I love that aspect of it! Buying used cuts the costs by half, and I don't need to keep the tank full...

tsdr8 - 20-1-2010 at 11:09 AM

I get the same adrenalin from kiting as I do from quading, or hell even puting in a new set of coaxial speakers. I think my alot of it is I have such a diversity of friends that do so many diffrent things and I love hanging out with them (not saying i am into this stuff to be in the in-crowed) but I find it easieer to relate to my friends if I get into what they are. at least dab into the thing that they are into. But I always find my self falling in love with that.
Also growing up I was an only child and never really got to experiance alot of things it wasnt until I was old enough to work I found new hobbies.

Drewculous - 20-1-2010 at 11:14 AM

hmmm.... Car audio, kiting, drumming, gardening, want to start distilling, video games, working out (more recently), cooking, i'm a certified love machine (lmao!)... i'm sure there's more... but thats all i got right now :smilegrin:

and a new slackline... :singing:

furbowski - 20-1-2010 at 11:24 AM

same same yet different, eh?

I'm hard of hearing, hence a loner more than anything, so I don't care so much about the social aspect... 2-3 good friends and I'm set. And a day with beautiful wind and the beach to myself is special.

Having said that I've had a couple of really good days kiting when I've organized informal kite intro days for the folks at work and elsewhere, got 6 folks started one day!

For me I reckon it's all about happiness in the end, and it's a mix of skill / social / adrenaline / addiction / something unique to you / and for each of us the mix is different. But it has to be sustainable and work OK with the reality of work and family needs. Yep lots of tension sometimes!

But clean winds and tight lines... sweeeeeet! :thumbup:

ripsessionkites - 20-1-2010 at 11:29 AM

He who dies with the most toys, WINS!!!

Drewculous - 20-1-2010 at 11:33 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by ripsessionkites
He who dies with the most toys, WINS!!!


i'm down! i've got a good start anyway :spin:

BeamerBob - 20-1-2010 at 11:36 AM

I've gotten into and/or am passionate about kiting, buggying, kiteboarding, camping, snow skiing, water skiing (slalom/barefoot/wakeboard), road biking, mtn, biking, inline skating, disc golf, sea kayaking, rappelling, tennis, racquetball, volleyball, hiking. I'll stop there. All of it takes at least some gear. Some of it takes little or no money once you have the gear. We have actually avoided getting into other hobbies because we wouldn't have the time to justify the purchase/storage of the gear considering all the other things we already do.

rocfighter - 20-1-2010 at 12:01 PM

Try kids in collage and grand kids!! Lots of money but worth it.
Every thing else is cheaper!!

furbowski - 20-1-2010 at 12:06 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ripsessionkites
He who dies with the most toys, WINS!!!


If I had more money I'd be up for that.....:wee:

(reminder to self... Must.... Not.... Post.... While..... Quitting..... Smoking.....)

indigo_wolf - 20-1-2010 at 12:33 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tsdr8
Hobbies that I am into are working on cars- car audio- moto cross-kiting and gaming all have a pretty pprice tag associated with them.


Car audio can be a dangerous one. A million years ago, I was into that. Honda Accord EX, Boston Accoutic satellites, Alpine Sub-Woofers, a/d/s amp with two channels bridged for the sub-woofers, Clarion 720 EQ under the passenger seat with the controls mounted on a goose neck stock with a QR and sitting in a custom milled aluminum receiver. Speakers grills and sub woofer bay all custom painted and color-matched the interior of the car. Everything was stealthed so the modifications were next to impossible to see from the exterior of the car unless the audio was on.

Not particularly a bass heavy thumper car, but accoustically accurate and the surround sound could expand the sound field to several times the size of the interior of the car sound. Driving along the damn in Grapevine, TX in the wee hours it sounded like the music was coming from the banks of the lake.

About the only thing I would have changed was swapping out the Alpine sub-woofers with a pair of Morel push-pull units.

Misspent youth working as a contractor for IBM where the overtime checks could exceed normal pay with fair frequency.

All of it vaporized in the wee hours when a DUI driver took me and my friend off the highway at 65 mph (before air bags). Endoed and rolled the car to land on the driver side of the car, perpendicular to and facing the highway. First impact decompressed the passenger compartment enough to blow the moonroof out like an air gun. EQ controls found 50 feet from the car.

Insurance paid off the car, but the recoup on the stereo equipment was what paid for the down payment on the next car.

First words out of my mouth when we had both climbed out of the moonroof and were waiting for police and emergency services.... "Hmmmm.... I guess I am going to have to cancel that oil change appointment."

It just doesn't take long to lose anything, no matter how much you time/money/sweat you have invested in it.

You'll like this:
http://www.bluemoonkites.com/forum/blog.php?p=577

ATB,
Sam

Maven454 - 20-1-2010 at 12:38 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by indigo_wolf
You'll like this:
http://www.bluemoonkites.com/forum/blog.php?p=577


I'm horribly guilty of that one.

Though some of that I do with games (both video and other), which isn't as bad. It's not, "this one will make my skills perfect" it's, "this one will finally get everything right".

ragden - 20-1-2010 at 12:49 PM

Good read. :)

Drewculous - 20-1-2010 at 04:12 PM

dude indigo, that sux... bad!

I feel ya, i take my hobbies to the extreme as well... car audio is no exception.... actually in the process of running 2 18" woofers (16 cubic foot box in an ext cab '01 chevy truck) on about 4.5kw and another 1kw on front stage components... i have the flip out screen in the dash, and im putting sound deadener on all the sheet metal... dual alternators, and adding a couple high output batteries... hooj woofer ballz

Maven... my game set up is a 65" tv, 7.1 sound and a 500w woofer... i take that seriously too... (good read on the GAS concept... i kinda fall into that from time to time with the kites... then i look at the price tag and it goes away lol)

Then you pile on an ever expanding (albeit slowly as of late) kite quiver and drum kit, and a garden that is growing yearly...ugh... i'm a man of hobbies... its fun... expensive but fun... In the end, if i see a hobby, make a minimal investment, try it, love it.... its over

I hear ya tho Ryno... i still think you should get the axle-back :thumbup:

::i'm really not trying to brag, just giving you a glimpse of how nutty i am about some things::sorry if it came accros as such::

cheezycheese - 20-1-2010 at 09:46 PM

My real problem is I don't know how to do anything in moderation.
I bought my first powerkite in may and have already invested
over 2k. If kites were drugs, that would be the equivalent of smoking
my first jay in may and banging heroin by October and now I have
a kite or two a month habit.... :dunno:

BeamerBob - 20-1-2010 at 10:10 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by cheezycheese
My real problem is I don't know how to do anything in moderation.
I bought my first powerkite in may and have already invested
over 2k. If kites were drugs, that would be the equivalent of smoking
my first jay in may and banging heroin by October and now I have
a kite or two a month habit.... :dunno:


And you have a "dealer" don't you? And you need a fix from time to time? And we seem to have an addiction to kites. I tell people all the time that this stuff is like a drug but you don't come down.

indigo_wolf - 20-1-2010 at 10:17 PM

And sometimes a "dealer" or two finds their way onto your speed dial. :sniff: :rolleyes:

ATB,
Sam

cheezycheese - 21-1-2010 at 12:29 AM

Hi my name is Cheezy and i have a problem... ( :dunno: funny thing is although i type this in jest, i think i might be right) but hey, it could be worse...

Kamikuza - 21-1-2010 at 12:33 AM

Feyd ... I'm his #@%$#! :lol:

mgatc - 21-1-2010 at 07:45 AM

He who dies with the most toys..........................is still dead.

Work hard - play harder - sleep less!:lol:

SamN - 21-1-2010 at 08:19 AM

I have been power kiting for 3 years now. Started with an Ozone Fury then bought a Slingshot Rev 13m took lessons at Real on the Outer banks. Last summer, bought a big FS 19 for lite wind. I thing Im gonna get a FS 12m soon. Talking about dollars.... then I also fish so had to have the autopilot, and a rod for every occasion(now I make them). I have slowed down on the RC stuff. Love to ride the horses in the backyard...which somehow lead to beekeeping...not to mention the property I live on is very historic so Metal detecting has been fun(and productive) in the woods. I just bought another dog and a smaller skiff for fishing the flats...and when the fishin's, slow drop the anchor and Kiteboard.
I really need to get some more work...
I wish it would warm up...what happened to Global Warming...(now Climate Change???)BS
I cant forget the wife and kids there a hobby on there own.

kitepool - 22-1-2010 at 07:34 PM

whoops!
Is what I think when I am reminded of my newest Hobby,
the speedboat.
I don't know how far I'll take it
cause by the looks of things ,...
a real insane fast one
that has some proper living quarters is like a MILLION Dollars
I think the outboard17 footer will have to do for a spell.
the tune up and SS propeller should get it up to 50 mph (by GPS)
every mph counts when its time to make it to the kite-spot (tice's shoal)

Hardrock - 25-1-2010 at 07:29 PM

Ahhh, you sound like me. The boat thing can get you good. Its been a life long hobby for me. Years ago I bought a new Baja. Cuddy, 454 Bravo 3, Silent choice and it still aint paid for.
Gas hawg for sure. Its now mostly used to get to a private sandbar where the kitting, fishing and spending the night is good. Running out 50gal. a day is in the past. But I still have the need to drop that 502 in her.

As with it, my hobbys are seasonal. 09 was a wake up call. So I bought a new welder and started advertising, looks like that will be a hobby now unless spring brings in some work for it.