Transitions: Budgeting for Hobbies
What is the Money Date? A weekly time to check in. 3 things we review and update: 1. Spending 2. Earning 3. Savings
A professor once told me his trick to happiness: treat your hobby like a career, but more important.
Hobbies are one of the most enriching parts of our lives. But they also require time and money.
Let’s talk about how we can have both.
All work and no play is no fun. It’s time to start looking at hobbies as you would at your career. That means budgeting time and finances to accommodate that.
Budget your Time
You probably have a hard enough time keeping up with your day-to-day, but finding time for hobbies is just as important as getting your errands done.
The first step is to prioritize your hobbies so you know what’s really important. Dedicate a specific amount of time to one and put all your mental energy into it. Revisit every few months to see if you stay engaged and interested. The goal is to dedicate your attention to one main hobby at a time.
Budget time every day. 15 minutes at least. You have you do list. Work on it. That was harder for me.
Give yourself a hobby vacation. Take a day or more to just devote to your favorite activity
Budget your Finances
Budgeting for a hobby is all about forward thinking. The good news? You’ve already done most of the work above by budgeting your time. Now all you have to do is make sure you have the money.
Don’t overspend. Some hobbies are more expensive upfront. Some are more over time. Why not think about spending more later as you get into the actual activity?
Use a to-do list to plan expenses. It’s a perfect foundation for planning. Create a calendar of when based on your to-do list you will plan to spend money.
Maybe you’re lucky and it’s both. If your hobbies define you as much as my professor once implied, then they’re worth fighting for the time to appreciate them.
