Here’s How Much My 7 Hobbies Cost Me Each Year

I am a BIG hobby person, and I tend to go all in on a craft or physical activity until I become sick of it, then take a long break from it, and then come back.

Right now, I’m getting back into stained glass, which is one of my more expensive hobbies, along with cycling. 

I decided to compile a list of my favorite hobbies, including how much I roughly spend per year doing them. These numbers are not exact, and keep in mind, I jump from hobby to hobby often. So, if I were consistently doing each hobby every week, these numbers would be a lot more. 

Let’s gooo! Here are my 7 hobbies and how much they cost me per year. 

1. Stained Glass

A couple of years ago, my husband and I took a stained glass class together, and it was so much fun! I highly recommend going to a stained glass studio near you. If you don’t have a studio near you, I know of people who taught themselves how to do this craft via YouTube, so you can still do it. Keep in mind, equipment can get expensive fast, which is why I recommend a studio, especially if you’re just starting.

The classes were $160 each and included all of the equipment and a teacher for a weekend. I think we spent about 4-6 hours there with the teacher each day. 

We were so obsessed that we did what all craft-obsessed, impulsive people like to do: buy everything you need to do it at home. This cost us around $600, which included:

• Glass cutter: $30
• Running pliers + breaking pliers: $20
• Grinder: $300
• Soldering iron: $80
• Safety gear (gloves, glasses, mask): $30
• Stained glass sheets: $10 to $20 per small piece
• Copper foil and solder: $5ish per project
• Flux, patina, cleaning supplies: $5ish per project

The picture below is the first thing I ever made! I’m actually really proud of it. 

2. Cycling

Figuring out how much my bike and cycling costs me per year was pretty tricky. I go through waves of riding my bike like crazy, and then go months without it. Thankfully, cycling doesn’t cost me an arm and a leg in maintenance because my husband does most of my maintenance for me. However, I did buy a new one a couple of years ago for around $2,500 (originally $5,000).

Remember when everyone was buying a bike during COVID? Well, most bike shops ended up buying a ton of bikes during that time to make up for their inventory, and they ended up with way too many bikes once they finally got here, so I eventually got to buy overstock. 

I do buy new bike clothes once a year, and have to get some small parts replaced now and then, so I’d put my estimate around $300 for bike stuff every year. This is one of my favorite physical hobbies, especially since I live in a mountainous, desert area with tons of cool trails.  

3. Crochet

Crochet was my original hobby that started it all. I love how accessible this hobby is and how you can get started on projects for a fairly low cost. I started out buying my tools and yarn from Michaels and focused on making small projects, like amigurumi and other fun toys. 

Eventually, I got into making blankets, clothes, and bigger projects that cost way more to make since I needed multiple skeins of yarn.

Annually, I think that I spend around $200 on yarn, but that number goes up or down depending on how often I’m crocheting and how big or small the projects are that I am making. 

4. Cross-stitch

Cross-stitch is my current obsession and has been for the past couple of years. I love the simplicity of this hobby and how fun and clean projects turn out at the end. Cross-stitch can be a fairly inexpensive hobby since you only need basic tools like fabric, floss, needles, and patterns. You can find patterns for free online. I buy all of my patterns and tools at a local cross-stitch shop.

When I first started in this hobby, I probably spent well over $500 in the first year. I was making a ton of patterns, finishing them into pillows and frames, and hoarding all kinds of fabric. 

5. Reading

I’m one of those people who read about 100 books a year, but rarely buy books. I WISH I could be someone who bought books, but I have a thing where I don’t like having a lot of stuff in my home, so instead, I check out all of my books at the local library or on Libby. However, there are times when I just feel like supporting the local bookstore, and I’ll spend $200 on a bunch of random books, only to never read them and store them in my closet. It’s an awful habit of mine that makes no sense.

My favorite book genres include sci-fi, fantasy, and historical fiction! 

6. Workout Classes

Working out is a hobby of mine, especially since I have ClassPass and try out all different types of gyms all the time. If you’ve never heard of ClassPass, it’s essentially a credit-based membership where you use your credits at different gyms in your city. I’m on a membership that costs about $68 a month, which gives me access to about 8-10 classes a month.

I’ve tried all different types of classes, including bootcamps, F45, CrossFit, mat pilates, barre, yoga, Cadillac/Reformer machines, row clubs, and more. I love the variety of workout classes ClassPass offers. If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it as it lets you try out different gyms and see what you like the best! 

7. Stationery 

Stationery has become my new obsession, and yes, I count it as a hobby because I use my stationery to journal and send letters to friends and family. I get all of my stationery from a local Daiso since we don’t have a local stationery store anymore. I love buying notepads, book tabs, letters, envelopes, and of course, stickers!

This hobby costs me around $200 a year, since I usually buy stuff in small quantities throughout the year. 

Hobbies I’ve done in the past

• Pottery
• Embroidery
• Knitting
• Watercolor painting
• Baking
• Gardening
• Candle making
• Jewelry making
• Sewing
• Macrame

Hobbies I want to try or get more into 

• Fused glass (I’ve done a couple of classes, but want to make it more of an ongoing thing)
• Birdwatching (I’ve done it a few times, but I want to make it a weekly occurrence)
• Cozy gaming (I just finished The Oregon Trail on Switch, and it was so chill)