Having a hobby that we enjoy brings pleasure and enriches life. When we are bored, hobbies make us do something fun and of course, we like doing them. When we are stressed, hobbies can take us away from that stress. Jagoans, what's your hobby? Your hobby may be expensive.
There's nothing wrong with having an expensive hobby. Just because your hobby is expensive doesn’t mean you should stop doing it. Of course, to be able to continue to pursue this hobby, the costs required are not small. So, you need to plan your finances carefully.
Expensive Hobby, What Is It?
Is my hobby expensive? You may be wondering. Actually, there is no minimum price limit to classify whether a hobby is an expensive one or not.
For example, for those who are already wealthy enough, collecting antiques is an expensive hobby. Meanwhile, for those who have just started working, traveling to neighboring countries is an expensive hobby.
So, to make it easy, an expensive hobby is one that requires you to save for a few months or uses up a large portion of your funds for entertainment or fun.
4 Ways to Afford an Expensive Hobby
1. Separate funds for the hobby
So that funds other needs don’t get mixed up with funds for the hobby, it’s best to separate them. If you put them all together in one place, you may use the hobby funds for impulsive shopping. It may be hard to admit, but we often use the money we have to buy things that are unnecessary or unimportant.
For example, some people choose to spend money to buy items that are heavily discounted, when in fact, they know what they truly want is a vacation abroad. However, in the end, the money is still used for shopping.
To avoid similar situations, you can create a budget for the expensive hobby and of course practice financial discipline. An easy and practical way to budget is with the Jago Pocket.
Because you need to save for some time for the hobby, you can create a Saving Pocket and immediately transfer money to it every month as soon as you receive your salary. This way, you ensure that the money is safe from improper use. You can name the Saving Pocket My Hobby, My Passion or whatever name you like, to make it easy to distinguish it from other Pockets.
2. Find out if it's possible to earn extra money from the hobby
If you've been pursuing your hobby for a while, you may be able to earn some extra income. If you can do what you love and earn money from it, why not?
Of course, this is just an extra income, which can be used to slightly cover the cost of your hobby. Because usually, hobbies are different from professions. From your profession you have money to fund a hobby.
For example, if your hobby is photography, you can take part in various photography competitions or rent your services occasionally when friends or family hold an event.
3. Join a club or organization
Hobbies that have a lot of enthusiasts usually have clubs or organizations. You can become a member. Apart from expanding your network and being able to spend time together pursuing the same hobby, joining a club or organization provides another benefit.
If your hobby requires equipment, your fellow club or organization members can sell you the equipment you need at a lower price. They know they are selling the equipment to the right people, who will treat the equipment with care.
4. See if there are expenses that can be reduced
Some expenses are priority and some are non-priority. If it is impossible to reduce priority expenses, you can look at non-priority expenses such as entertainment and self-reward.
If for you your hobby is more important than entertainment and self-reward, then surely you will be willing to reduce spending for these needs.
Most importantly, Jagoans, an expensive hobby shouldn’t give you trouble, such as being in debt. You can still enjoy your hobby by doing all the ways above. And, you can use the Jago application to help you manage your finances.
The Jago application can be downloaded here for those who don't have it yet.
