Money And Investing  -

Hobby Income

13 03 06 19 19

-------- Your hobby could be more than a cash sink

(PF Advice inspired this article by posting a similar one, and is hosting this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance).

Hobbies are primarily for enjoyment. That doesn’t mean they have to be a cash sink. Income generated from a hobby could be reutilized in the hobby itself, making it more enjoyable. They may even be a way to get a few more bucks to balance a budget.

Think about ways you can make a hobby pay for itself or even pay a bit more than what you spend on it. Some ideas:

• Buy in bulk, sell extras. I collected stamps for a while (still have them, just don’t actively do it right now). I used to buy large lots of stamps loosely related among them. I picked through the lot for those items I was missing or wanted. The rest went into eBay or other stamp trading sites.
• Build (or grow) more than you need, sell the rest. I have participated in hobby gardeners and hobby ornamental fish grower sales. The proceeds usually go towards the hobby club to finance their yearly activities. Although it doesn’t give them money for their own pockets, it avoids them having to come up with money for their activities. Some hobbies require specialized tools or parts that can be sold to other hobbyists, to defray the cost of building the tools or parts you need.
• Fix / Restore / Refurbish, and sell. Some people like cars and mechanical repairs. Buying antique cars, repairing them, and selling them could be a way of generating enough cash for buying that price automobile that they want in their collection. Same thing with antiques – restoring them may increase the value and help you buy the ones that you really want.
• Teach. You have so much knowledge. Why not teach at a community college extension school about your hobby. Do you like to bake? Teach people how to make birthday cakes. Do you like to paint watercolor or photography? Teach people how to paint or take prize winning snapshots.
• Blog about it. Provide information to the world, and you may even be able to earn a bit of advertisement income to purchase your hobby materials.