Dirt Cheap Hobbies: Reading

Nothing can take you away better than the written word.  A good book can capture your imagination and transport you to a different time, a different place, or a different universe.  As you read more, you'll also become more literate, more articulate, and more able of learn by reading.  Reading is both a powerful escape from the real world and a powerful tool in the real world.  Plus, reading is a very cheap hobby.

If you are on a tight budget, you can find plenty to read for free or almost free.  You can go to the library and check out books at no cost.  Used book stores and thrift shops have thousands of titles at just a dollar or two apiece.  Finally, if you can read this online, you can find lots of books available online for free or very low prices.If you have a little money to spend, Amazon's Kindle Unlimited Program will allow you to read an unlimited number of books each month for free.

Many people are publishing their own books now using tools from Amazon, Smashwords, and other electronic bookstores.  If you look at just one group of independent authors, take Twitter's #WolfPack Authors group for example, you'll find everything from animal tales in a forest to detective fiction to erotica to romance to zombies.  They cover all the genres.  You can find almost anything you care to read at bargain basement prices.

There's a whole universe of great writing out there.  All you have to do is open the pages of a book.

How To Make Money From Your Hobbies

If you are like millions of people, you work hard to support your hobbies. Here are a few ways to make your hobbies work for you. There are thousands of ways to earn extra money from hobbies.

1) Write About Your Hobby - Most hobbies are subjects for books, magazines, websites, and blogs. In addition, hobbies are fair game for articles on websites like Associated Content. Long, long, ago in a galaxy not so far away, I was a Dungeons & Dragons devotee. O.K., I was a geek. I sold my first magazine article to Dragon Magazine. I was happy to get a little extra money and to be published. When I took up amateur astronomy, I was able to subsidize the cost of much of my equipment by writing equipment reviews and other articles. One computer gaming afficianado that I know was able to earn money by writing for a massive multi-player online roleplaying game.

2) Provide a Service Related To Your Hobby - Several artist friends who shared the fantasy roleplaying game hobby made money by developing character sketches and painting the miniature figurines that many players used in the games. Some model railroading enthusiasts provide similar services like making parts of model railroad dioramas like trees, houses, or even electrical components. The extra money earned from these activities provided fun money for more hobby purchases.


3) Sell Equipment Related To Your Hobby - If your hobby requires specialized equipment, you may be a business license away from a lucrative side business. When I played paintball, I knew a few players who made the leap into selling paintball gear. Many a baseball card or comic book collector has made the leap into running an ebay business or a brick-n-mortar store dedicated to their hobby. If you have a compelling vision, you can move from making extra money into an extraordinary opportunity.

4) Get A Full or Part-Time Job Related To Your Hobby - If business ownership is not for you, you could always seek out a job-related to your hobby. Your expertise could come in handy in a sportings goods section, a bait shop, a hobby shop, or at a paintball field. Paintball enthusiasts often make extra money by working at field concession stands, maintaining rental equipment, or running games as a referee. Boaters can earn extra money by working at boating supply stores or marinas. Scuba divers can become divemasters and work on a dive boat.

5) Organize Events Related To Your Hobby - If you can bring people together for events-related to your hobby, you might be able to launch a money-making venture putting together conventions, tournaments, expositions, group outings, tours, or classes related. In cubicles all across the land, thousands of people are dreaming of a new life as a hunting or fishing guide. The dream starts with the single step of earning extra money from organizing an event.

The list of money-making activities related to hobbies is endless. The only boundaries are set by your imagination, capital, and business acumen. Of course, one danger in hobby-related business ventures is that your hobby passion can override your business sense. But, if you can generate revenue from a hobby, you will have a extra money and a way to become more involved in your pastime. Your family will also see your hobby as an extra income source rather than a financial drain. You may even find yourself encouraged to spend extra time on your money-making hobbies.

(This article is a republication of an article that I originally published on the Yahoo Creators Network / Associated Content).

Savings - Set up a Rainy Day Fund

If you think things are bad now, they could get worse.  That is why it's important to have some money tucked away for a rainy day.  The obvious question:  how is someone who is flat broke going to stash some cash?

Photo By Jericho [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

How To Free Up Credit

It's a fair question.  The answer is too start small. If you have credit card debt, set aside some of your credit cards for emergency use only.  It's important to have a card that will only be used if the car breaks down or for a medical emergency or for unforeseen vet bills.  Just set the card aside in a drawer and refuse to use it.  As you pay down your balance, you're emergency credit will build up.

How to Save Your Change

Of course, available credit isn't the same as cash.  It's better to have some cash stashed.  You can start by tossing all your coin change into a change pot or piggy bank.  Pretty soon, you'll have $20 or $30 saved up for little emergencies.  You can also put a few dollars in an envelope every pay period. Pretty soon, you'll have a little stash.

How to Save Money

But, you really need money in a savings account.  Open a savings account with your local credit union.  Take your cash envelope down and deposit it from time to time.   Get in the habit of transferring some money to savings each pay period.

Don't think you can save any money?  Look at the stupid things you spend money on.  For example, you could stop smoking and stash the money you save. Here is a calculator on how much you would save by giving up cigarettes:  Smokefree.gov.  You can also give up some small luxuries like Starbucks.  If you want to save, you have to make some sacrifices.  There are tons of ideas for saving money at FeedthePig.org.

Totino's Pizza Mini Review

If you are flat broke, you need to have Totino's pizza in the house.  If you are merely broke, you could splurge for Totino's pizza rolls.  These two items are really cheap ways to stretch a paycheck.  Plus, they taste pretty good.

If you buy some of these foods early in pay period, you'll at least have something to eat later in a pay period.  Obviously, man cannot live on Totino's pizza rolls.  If you eat them all the time, you'll get sick of them.  Plus, if you are what you eat, you might turn into a pizza roll.  However, it is always good to build up a food stash.  You'll need an emergency supply.

Totino's Pizzas only take 11 or 12 minutes to bake in the oven at 450 degrees and they usually hit the spot. I usually eat about 10 pizza rolls for a small meal.  These are great for lunch.

Dollar Tree Dental Hygiene

Dollar Tree is the best place to buy tooth brushes, tooth paste, and dental floss.  They have well-respected brand name products like Reach tooth brushes and Colgate tooth paste.  They also have Pluckers floss tooth picks and dental floss.  I've also gotten good deals on mouth wash.  We picked up this Colgate toothpaste as part of our last Dollar Tree Haul!

Colgate Toothpaste from Dollar Tree

If you are on a tight budget, you need to take care of your teeth and avoid cavities.  If you brush, floss, and get your teeth cleaned at a dentist on a regular basis, you may avoid more expensive dental work.

Big Savings From Our Dollar Tree Haul

We're kicking off the new year by talking about our most recent Dollar Tree haul.  There are three ways to save money when buying merchandise.  First, you can save money at conventional stores by shopping sales and using coupons.  Second, you can save money by buying in bulk and paying a lower unit price per item.  Third, you can buy minimal quantities that you'll actually use at predictable prices that fit into a tight budget.  Dollar Tree fulfills this third path to saving money splendidly.

A $55 Dollar Tree Haul

On our most recent Dollar Tree run, we spent an astonishing $55.  But, we bought necessities and snacks that will save us even more money over the course of a pay period.  For example. on the way home, we munched on a $1 batch of European cookies.  Consequently, we were able to breeze right by Starbucks, McDonalds, and gas station convenience stores where we might have bought a snack.  Having that $1 roll of cookies allowed us to avoid $4 to $12 in fast food snacks.

McDonalds vs. Starbucks

Starbucks addiction is one thing that helps keep people broke.  When a cup of coffee can reach $5, your money can be frittered away in a hurry.  It's called the latte factor by financial planners.  Starbucks convenience food items can also add up.  Fortunately, there are ways to break away from Starbucks before it breaks your budget. 

When it comes to coffee, size matters.  Here is a McDonalds Small and a Starbucks Grande

If you like Starbucks. you owe it to yourself to try McDonalds.  The iced hazelnut coffee at McDonalds is awesome.  Their Mocha and Iced Mocha are very good.  But, their Mocha Frappe is out of this world.  Plus, with all day breakfast available it's easy to get something tasty with your coffee.   Plus, McDonalds prices are affordable.  You can get McDonalds for half the price of Starbucks.  That keeps money in your pocket.  Plus, you don't have to keep track of tall, grande, venti, and trente.  McDonalds speaks English with Small, Medium, and Large.

Of course, if you want to save even more money, you can simply make your coffee at home for pennies on the dollar!