We’re going to take a break today from talking about money. Instead we’ll chat about things that money affords us that make life a bit better — our hobbies!
I got the idea from a list of hobbies of successful people. I was expecting more “sailing” and “polo” sort of answers from them so the fact that they like cartoons and novels was surprising. Who knew? Successful people are just like the rest of us!!! 🙂
Anyway, I thought I’d list some of my hobbies and you could do the same in the comments below. It will help us to get to know each other a bit better as well as have a bit of fun.
I’ll start by saying that my definition of “hobby” is a bit broad (as you’ll see below) and is not defined by something I do regularly (it might be an “occasional” hobby).
So with that said, here are a few of my hobbies:
- Chess — This is my go-to game and I generally play a couple games each day on my phone. I’m not very good and prefer blitz chess (games are over in 10 minutes or less) to a full two-hour slugfest at a board. That said, when I get to be like 85 or something perhaps I’ll transition to the board at the retirement home.
- Reading — Much of my reading these days is money blogs (I subscribe to 200 or so just to keep aware of what’s being said). I do have the following on my “reading for fun” list: Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.
(recommended by several friends as a great book), Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers
(not out yet but I like Tim Ferriss’ stuff), and The Bogleheads’ Guide to Retirement Planning
(anyone read this? What did you think of it?)
- Working out — Not sure if this is a hobby or not, but given the time and money I spend on it I’m going to include it. You all are up-to-speed on my physical fitness progress so I won’t cover that again. I will say that 2016 was about getting a solid fitness base and 2017 will be going the last little bit to get me at least 95% of where I want to be physically.
- Video games — I’m a sucker for a good super hero (Batman) or similar (Assassin’s Creed) video game. And now that I’m retired, I have time to play them. 😉 I also like FIFA as I remain a soccer fan and like running my own team.
- Growing roses — I grew roses in Michigan for 10 years, 2 years in Oklahoma, and have now started in Colorado. I just got mine planted this year when a hail storm hit and almost killed them. This will be my first winter here and we’ll see if I can do as well nursing them through those months as I did previously.
- Traveling — This isn’t a full-blown hobby but something I do want to keep on the radar. We postponed our trip to Yellowstone this year so I could attend my college reunion (plus my son had just accepted two jobs and couldn’t ask off), but the national park is still on our list. We’ve also talked about heading to Destin, FL in late spring (anyone have any tips for where to stay/not stay and what to do there?) and the Wisconsin Dells in the summer (our kids have been but we haven’t). We’ll also be seeing family a lot — my parents will be here for Christmas and we’ll travel to see them at Easter. I may head to my college’s homecoming next fall as I had a great time this year and many people are coming back. Finally, I’d love to get another cruise on the agenda. We’ve been on three and loved them.
Ok, so that’s it for me. Now’s your turn! What are your hobbies?
photo credit: karpidis Start of closing ceremony via photopin (license)
Hobbies are a funny thing, if you do them long enough, they don’t seem like hobbies anymore, but habits. I’ll say my first two fall into that bucket:
– working out – I’m usually at the gym three days a week before work
– reading – I’m usually reading at least :20-:30 before before bed each night
Then we get into some more “traditional” hobbies:
– Taekwondo – two nights a week with my son
– Acoustic guitar – not as much as I’d like since I started my blog, but I try to get a good hour in a week at least
And of course, the most difficult to categorize is blogging. Is it a hobby? Is it a habit yet? Or is it a side-hustle? Maybe all three!
Ha! Maybe blogging is an addiction! 🙂
1. Like you physical fitness. Walking most days, yoga, usually 3 classes a week, and Pilates, usually 1 class each week.
2. Travel. Which is necessary to keep up with family, and also we enjoy going away together and seeing/doing new things.
3. Crafting. Knitting and crocheting for charity. I’m part of a group that meets each week.
4. Cooking/baking. We don’t love eating out but like to eat well, so time spent in the kitchen is important.
That’s a very well-rounded list!
Cooking is something I’m trying to turn into a hobby. I certainly have the grill skills needed — now if I can just move them inside the house! 🙂
I have a few, but one of my favorites is Personal Finance. That’s why I read this site (H/T JD Roth). Sure, there is a certain amount of it that you have to do in order to manage your life, but I go beyond that – and I like it. I have 21 years worth of Quicken data! Can’t say that the old data is actionable, but every once in while I find myself looking something up just for the heck of it. If I want to cheer myself up – I can look at how my IRA balance has grown over the years!
Ha! You and I are almost the same person! I have 22 years of Quicken data and like to play around with it as well.
Don’t tell anyone, but I have a couple of posts coming up in the new year that resulted from me running some random reports on Quicken. 😉
Destin is nice, but it is slightly overrated – it’s a nice beach and definitely worth a visit, but don’t set expectations too high – it’s just another beach town, albeit with pretty white sand.
A lot of folks rent houses there, but if you’re just traveling with two, I’d look to book a hotel in Fort Walton Beach next door – we’ve stayed at the Holiday Inn (you could get an IHG credit card now and stay for free by your trip…) and the Sheraton Four Points, both in Fort Walton Beach, and they’re both good properties.
Obviously time your trip to miss spring breakers. A dolphin boat tour is kinda required, but after the first couple of dolphins we were ready to be done.
VPS is the closest airport, but if you happen to fly into Pensacola, or are just looking for a nice excursion, the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola is awesome for anyone interested in history (there’s one of my hobbies) and/or planes. If you do fly into VPS, the Air Force Armament Museum (very close, and on the way to Destin) is worth a visit, though it’s definitely second fiddle to NNAM.
Thanks, Paul, that is very helpful! Appreciate it!
The big one for me and my wife is hiking and traveling. I love outdoor natural wonders.
The second is obviously personal finance. Beyond blogs I have subscriptions to every major financial magazine. I really enjoy reading about new macro economic changes as well as new strategies to maximize your situation.
The final one is spending time with my two kids. Yes I know it’s a bit of a cop out. That being said it manifests itself in terms of getting them involved in hobbies I can no longer due on my own due to their presence. These include video games, board games, and various sports.
I’m planning on doing more hiking next year now that I’m retired (I was just looking into hiking boots last night). We do live in Colorado after all — there’s no excuse not to enjoy the outdoors!
I subscribe to Money and Kiplinger’s magazines and enjoy “reading” them (only one of five articles is halfway decent IMO and I’ll likely let the subscriptions lapse), but prefer blogs. I like real people managing their own money much better than a writer who knows next to nothing about the subject. You probably read more technical publications where the writers have a bit more know-how.
My kids and I used to play video games together a lot. One fun one was Ultimate Alliance (1 & 2). It was a super hero game where you each could be a different hero. You played at the same time and worked together to get through the game, beat the bad guys, etc. My wife even played sometimes (though she spent most of the game asking “Where’s my guy” (he was usually off to the side punching a wall)) so all four of us could play. It was a blast and forged memories we still talk about today. Little Big Planet was the same way.
We also went through the sports phases — my son played basketball and soccer and I coached both. We also refereed soccer for many years.
We now play board games quite often. My parents are coming for Christmas and I’m sure the dice will be flying!
All this to say — don’t discount those great, simple times with your kids. They really do add up and become fond memories.
I LOVE that you included video games as one of your hobbies. I am a sucker for Assassins Creed games as well, along with games like Last of Us, but it’s hard to find a couple hours of free time! Sometimes you just want to get lost in something mindless and fun like a video game!
Now that I have three kids under 4, I am struggling to find time to dedicate to my favorite hobbies: home improvement and woodworking.
I have a ton of projects that are about 90% complete, where the only things left to do are the fine detail work, which can take the most time and concentration. Some projects are 3 years old and my wife reminds me of it regularly.
Since this is the first year since we’ve been together (over 10 years) that we won’t be going anywhere for Christmas, I look forward to finishing some of those old projects!
Ha! I’m such an AC geek that I’ll probably go to the movie tonight — and I NEVER go to movies on opening day.
My daughter LOVED The Last of Us and is hoping the next one comes out sometime within her lifetime.
Even though I consider personal finance a hobby but as a more of means to get to a place I want to be to enjoy my hobbies. I consider my hobbies to be an extension of my need for artistic creative outlet. They include most recently stained glass with the old traditional foiled glass (Tiffany )method, glass fusing with a kiln, metal working with a forge like a black smith and my oldest one is woodworking where the wood lathe being the one I like the best. Most of my work is my own that I keep and in some instances I give out as gifts. If I get too much I might start selling.
I do love to cook but time restrictions hamper this in a busy life. I have creatively been able to cook multiple meals ahead of time to have quick defrost able lunches and dinners so we are not grabbing a prepared box meal. I will grill 5 lbs of chicken out on the grill with 3 to 4 different marinades at one time and package up for lunches and dinners.
Maybe someday when I retire I may consider “working out” as a hobby but for right now it is the healthy thing to do and work in my opinion.
What a cool hobby – stained glass! It sounds awesome and is something you can do for the rest of your life.
I agree with Jon, after a while Hobbies are more a habit or a lifestyle. for me being outdoors is huge and out there I :
1) garden-edible and ornamental (a study I once read about indicates there is a feel good bacteria in soil-it works well to destress me-weeding is excellent meditation)
2) ride horses-I have two on our property so their care and feeding takes time and is great exercise.
3) read-I read daily usually about 1-2 hours a day
4) cooking-we both enjoy our food the DH has health issues so I have been studying how to make great tasting meals that are super low fat but filled with flavor and texture. its been both easier and harder than I anticipated.
5) fiber arts-spinning (another form of meditation), weaving, kniting, crochet… family members typically receive a knit or crochet gift at christmas.
while not active, I’ll add bird watching to the list-by feeding the birds we have a sort of wildlife refuge, and we enjoy watching the various thrushes, woodpeckers, finches, hummingbirds etc. come to feed.
My mom is a big bird feeder/watcher. I must admit that it can be addicting to just sit there and watch them flutter about here and there.
Nice food for thought.
My hobbies are:
1. Reading: Just finished Titan. My advise is to write down every word you come across and don’t know and look up the definition and write it down. At the end of the book review your list- your vocabulary will improve dramatically. Also it’s a great book with lots of interesting life lessons there as a business person and investor.
2. Investing- I love reading about companies and thinking of new investment ideas.
3. Playing with my daughter and reading to her- pure fun.
4. Exercise- besides regular maintenance exercise I typically do a few ‘adventures’- hiking up or cycling up a mountain several times a year. Plus something new and novel like roller blading, ice skating, climbing, gymnastics or another fun activity just to change it up.
5. Travel- hitting new places for work and fun, learning about new cultures and a few words in a new language is very fun too. It helps connect the dots on history, geography, anthropology and different ways to approach putting together a society.
6. Coaching other people- I do this through motivational coaching but this extends to the physical as well as the mental and mindfulness / spiritual side of things.
7. Music- I used to write more original music and this has been a bit ‘dry’ in recent years but it’s possible to prime the pump and keep going with this.
8. Continuous learning- this can be new medical terminology, more details into a period of history, or analysis of a new technology or an in depth look at a prominent character. The world is filled with items to choose from.
That seems like a well rounded, or perhaps a blunderbuss approach to hobbies, right?
-Mike
I see your second career as a motivational speaker/trainer/advisor. You’d be GREAT at it!
For Destin, FL trip, look at staying around highway 30A area about 10-15 miles east of Destin proper. Beautiful area that is a little less hustle and bustle of Destin proper.
Thanks. This is very helpful.
I know I am probably late to the party and you’ve already done or planned your entire trip…. but I agree with this – Rosemary Beach on 30A has been our go to the last few years…. It is perfect.
You’re not too late. We decided not to go but have it on our list for the future.
We’re off to the Caribbean next as that’s where the family opted to vacation.
Thanks for the comment though — I’ll pass it on to our tour director (my wife). 🙂
1. Read any sci-fi / fantasy I can get my hands on.
2. Violin. 30 minutes a day on non work days.
3. Every now and again I play anything Final Fantasy. Between work / blog / children there really isn’t much time for everything else. I cleared 450 hours of OT this last year and hate anytime not then spent on family.
Have you played the latest FF? If so, how is it?
Essentially it’s “Grand Theft Auto: Final Fantasy” but I love it.
1) Churning credit cards and bank account bonuses. For some reason, I just LOVE this. I usually spend the points and miles guilt free on things I want.
2) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is my “physical” hobby.
3) Supercell Games – Clash of Clans and Clash Royale will always hold a place in my heart.
Ha! I used to churn cards as well, but got tired of all the paperwork. Perhaps I’ll pick it up again in retirement.
1.) Reading, mostly blogs and non-fiction. I’m a useless human being when I read novels, because I never want to put them down (“It’s 2am, I should really go to bed … but just one more chapter!”).
2.) Watching clean stand-up and sketch comedy. My 10-year-old son and I are making our way through episodes of the Red Green Show on YouTube. He’s at the perfect age to appreciate Red Green’s goofiness and slapstick humor.
3.) Day hiking. I love to walk in the woods, and where we live we have an abundance of wooded trails within a 25-mile radius of home. Along with hiking, I enjoy learning to ID plants, trees, wildflowers, mushrooms, animal tracks, bird songs, insect calls. I also do a limited amount of wild food foraging and nature photography.
Someday soon, I’d like to learn how to sew and quilt.
My son and I did Red Green several years ago. Funny stuff! He recently watched them all again on his own.
1. ) Basketball – I am blessed to have a job with a company that is employee owned and we work really hard to provide benefits that help to enhance the lives of our owner partners. The benefit I enjoy the most is that we have a basketball court on campus for partners to play at. I normally play pick up 2-3 times a week before work and during my lunch break on Fridays. It helps me stay in shape (especially during the holidays – Christmas cookies are the easiest thing in the world to just take one, but do that 13 times in one day….), let’s the competitive juices flow in a positive manner and has been the best internal networking tool that I have had for my career. I have met influential people from different departments across the company and built relationships with them naturally through playing basketball.
2.) Reading – I try and spend some time reading everyday for an hour or two. This typically consists of the bible or some something spiritual in nature, some light reading about sports (I’m a bit of a basketball junkie), and then whatever book I am reading at the time. I generally read about history, personal finance, real estate investing (I don’t the capital to take the plunge, but I am very intrigued), the intersection of faith and culture, sports, and fantasy/ sci fi.
3.) Fantasy Football – I have been in at least three leagues now for the least 9 years. I have one league with my buddies from college that is in year 11. Great way to keep in touch with those guys. I do it for the relationships as much as anything.
4. ) Hiking/backpacking/camping – I love being outside and enjoying nature. It is one of the more restful and life giving things that I think one can do. Such a richness in time enjoyed with others in nature away from all the “noise” of modern life.
5.) Financial coaching – I have become a bit of a PF guru among my debt laden, cash strapped late 20s/early 30s friends. I have helped a couple dozen people with their budgets (More just advising them how much they need one) and how much car/ house they can afford and things of that nature. I have wondered if I wouldn’t enjoy being a professional financial advisor, but I like keeping work and personal life separate and don’t want Thanksgiving dinner to taste different when someone loses 20% some year.
I used to play basketball at lunch with co-workers. A couple people got hurt so badly that we just all stopped going. Yikes!
Oh Man! We have had the occasional sprained ankle and what not, but nothing too serious.
– Writing, mainly for my blog.
– Reading, mainly other blogs but at least a book per month. this month I’m reading Hyperion, next month it will be Tools of Titans 🙂
– Watching, not television but youtube videos or mind challenging TV series. I follow a lot of YT channels like Vsauce, CGP Grey, Kurzgesagt, WaitButWhy, PBs spacetime, Crashcourse, Veritasium and obviously the Vlogbrothers.
– Studying, I actually call studying everything that brings me to know the world I’m in better. Like science, philosophy, astronomy, big history, education, self improvement,…
– Sports, mainly outdoor like Hiking, Running, Cycling and playing Squash.
– Creating, I try to follow James Altucher’s advices about “writing down 10 ideas per day”.
Hobbies for me include reading and playing the piano.
As for Destin, my suggestion is to look a bit east of Destin. We go there often and always stay in the Miramar Beach / Sandestin / Santa Rosa Beach area where it isn’t quite so crowded. We’ve rented houses on Airbnb or VRBO and stayed in hotels but most of the hotels are not directly on the beach.
I listen to audio books while driving to pet sitting jobs – usually 1-2 books per week. My other main hobby is friend time – we board game, cook dinner for each other, have movie nights in my media room via Redbox or Netflix (or the DVDs we already own), and we have even taken turns keeping each other company while we organize bedrooms or hang up laundry.
We should play chess one day, online? I used to play A LOT, but not anymore. Now I play Clash Royal on my phone lol. Like chess, but way more addicting and fun. I highly recommend it.
My favorite hobby is tennis. Have fun, exercise, live longer,… hopefully. Not bad!
Sam
I’m sure you’d kill me at chess and positive you’d do so at tennis.
Maybe darts? 😉
My primary hobbies include travelling, reading, and writing. I also really enjoy playing basketball and I’d like to add working out to the list – but the honest truth is that I haven’t been good about doing this consistently for some time. Despite the fact that it always makes me feel better and I think even makes me more effective in other parts of my life. In 2017 – I’ve got to make some progress in this area!
Flying…which has become an income producer…