Suggest me a cheap hobby please

I'm going to start trying to Draw. Video games, movies, and TV shows are just too easy to do lately.

Hiking.

Gardening. A couple dollars worth of seeds. Dirt. You can reuse plastic cups rather than buy pots on the super cheap.

Inexpensive shooting. A Walmart BB gun can be gotten for not a whole lot. 6000 BBs for a tenner. Use packaging boxes folded up inside each other for a good backstop. Print out targets online. Reuse your bbs the box traps (yes… they’re fine for this purpose). Blast empty cans. Pellets and higher end guns are more accurate in a rifled barrel but it’s a start and cheap. Many people started out with a Daisy Red Ryder or Crosman 760. Stay away from CO2 guns to eliminate the need to buy more to keep shooting.

Food is a necessity. Looking online for free recipes and making new things combines a necessity with the “hobby” aspect of cooking.

Walking/hiking trails. The outdoors are free.

Playing sports in county/city parks. Basketball. Tennis/pickleball. Look for used equipment for pennies on the dollar. Opening for meeting people or being social. Public parks are free.

Volunteer activities… like habitat for humanity. Learn some skills… build things. Meet folks.

My hobbies rn are

-chess

-piano (you may be able to rent from music store)

-reading (literally havnt finished a book in a decade)

-lifting

Disc golf. If there is course nearby, it’s pretty much free except the price of discs. You can play with a single driver and not need anything else. So $10-15 to start and play.

Edit: I have also used disc golf as exercise by jogging to each of my throws. One of the courses near me makes turns that into a 2 mile run up and down hills.

Music. If you want to get started with a very low outlay, get something like a starter harmonica or tin whistle. (Under 20, and then get a beginner book). If you can save up some, a ukulele or used guitar is a good next level.

A ruck sack, hat, and a good pair of shoes will take you on amazing trails.

Learn to make DIY alcohol stoves.

Learn how to navigate with a compas and map.

Study bushcraft skills.

Learn to cook. Pick up a cookbook and start from the first page.

Learn computer and web design languages for free at www.w3schools.com.

Dungeons and Dragons can be cheap!

Crochet! Not sure where in the world you are but where I live you can get a needle and wool for £2 and start from there. Alternatively you can use some old clothes and buy some needle and thread and do embroidery or just learn to mend clothes.

Also join local volunteer groups. Especially those that focus on climate change/litter picking and stuff that benefits the community. It's great for ur CV too.

Rotate a cow in your mind. It's free and the cops can't stop you.

It’s wild how easy it is to rack up screen time when you’re just trying to fill the hours. Been there, done that. So, on the hobby suggestion - ever thought about diving into the world of podcasts or audiobooks? There’s a ton out there on literally every topic under the sun, and it’s a great way to switch up from screen time to something a bit more laid back. Plus, you can totally get into it while knocking out some of those house chores you mentioned.
And hey, since you’re into sharing ideas and maybe looking for some new ones to spark your interest, you might dig this app my buddies and I have been hammering away at - Lightup. It’s all about connecting people through what they share and think about. We’ve got this cool feature that matches you with others based on the vibes of your posts, and another that helps you find peeps interested in the same stuff as you.
We’re hustling to gather as much feedback as we can this month before we hit the big leagues in the App Store. If you’re curious, you can check it out here: https://www.lightup.social/download/032201. Would love to get your take on it!

Buy an acoustic guitar for $100 and it will give you a hobby for life.

Sea glass hunting at the beach!

Magnet fishing looks fun. Like 15 bucks for a magnet on Amazon

Modeling or polymer clay you can bake—jewelry beads, game pieces, mini sculptures, Barretts, pins

Beading

Leather work

Sewing clothes, bags, pillowcases

Jewelry making—lots of cheap beads and findings.

Thrifting

Climbing, hiking, running, swimming, dance

Local libraries have a whole bunch of kits and equipment you can check out to explore a new hobby. It’s totally free and all you need is a library card. Mine has a bunch of kits for bird watching, weaving fabric, baking bread, sewing and some other stuff I don’t remember. I did the birdwatching with the kit and it was unexpectedly badass and fun! Just throwing that out there :-)

Geocaching

You can start doing origami roght now with a simple piece of paper and a online tutorial!

Linux on an old, cheap (or free) PC.

Origami or papercraft?

You can make most online hobbies cheap/free if you look in the right places, but it's tough if you're spending a lot of screen time already

Forms of art/creative: music production, digital/physical drawing or painting, origami

Outdoor stuff: hiking, photography (even stuff with a phone can be really fun if you try to capture unique perspectives of the world), birdwatching, stargazing, gardening

Exercise: gym, biking, running, sports, martial arts, etc.

Collectables: finding rare/unique items such as coins, shoes, etc.

Volunteering: animal shelters, makerspaces, food banks

Misc (too lazy to categorize): cooking, visiting farmers markets, trying new foods/shops

There are limitless things you can do with your time but it's getting that initial burst of motivation that's tough. Some of these are harder as a minor—especially those that involve you exploring the world haha

Crochet or knitting is relatively cheap, plus you get something tangible.

If you have any artistic ability, a sketch pad and pencil is not expensive. Really, even if you are like me and not really artistic, it can be fun, plus get you outside to find things to draw.

Dumpster diving

learn to draw with charcoal

Walking, bird watching, nature journaling, foraging

Find a book genre and read free books from your library. Sometimes there's an app your library has where you can get free books. Learn how your favorite author writes and try to write your own stories. This will take a lot of time and it's inexpensive. You can also look online about how to write.

pickleball, chess, music, art, sailing, WRITING (like short stories/screenplays/novels)

wood burning is fairly cheap

Geocache

Dude! You have got to get out of the house and start limiting your screen time! I'm surprised your parents aren't on you about that. They should be giving you some direction. Get out into nature, have experiences, talk to people, sit on a park bench, make some friends doing a sport perhaps but GET OUT OF THE DAMN HOUSE! Get a little booklet and a pen that you can keep with you. Write down ideas that might occur to you for things you might like to try that don't cost any money. Read autobiographies of people you admire, anything. You're lonely, no wonder, offer to help a neighbour or volunteer with an organization that helps pets or people. Go for it!

Bird watching!

Metal detector!

Coloring books, and I use gel pens. It's the best color.

Lego!

Singing.

ultimate Frisbee is a pretty cheap sport

Reading. Playing old games meant to be replayed a lot if they are on sale.

Rubik cube

Jigsaw puzzles are nice. You can probably borrow them to try out. Heck, my mom is always trying to give away her stash.

Needle work (crochet, knit, cross-stitch, etc.) can be as simple or complicated as you want it to be. Watch rummage sales and thrift shores for supplies. I see the cutest little stuffed critters in the crochet discussions. Bonus: cheap, personal gifts! Our favorite dish cloths are the ones my MIL knits while she's watching Wheel of Fortune, LOL.

Sewing is a bit more to set up, but you can upcycle thrift shop finds, design your own clothes, etc. Again, watch the rummage sales and thrift shops, or just put the word out that you're looking for a hand-me-down machine.

You could learn to play an instrument

I realize an instrument may be expensive LOL

You can also draw

Read

Learn a craft! Crochet, knitting, book-binding, leather working, etc. If you get good at it you could even make a little money eventually

Get some second hand rollerblades. It keeps you fit, and you get to explore. Just listen to some music and turn your brain off!

I’m a rollerblader, I’m trying to turn everyone! It’s so worth it!

Hiking, helping, or fossil hunting! I sometimes combine the two depending on location. I live in the Midwest (Michigan, specifically) where the glaciers deposited a TON of sediment when they melted, so anywhere that is scraped up in the form of a beach or gravel is always a goldmine for them.

I've been doing it for almost 10 years and I become a giddy child every time I find one lol. It's fun for me though, and it gets me out of the apartment for exercise/fresh air. Every once in a while, a friend or coworker will join in (and sometimes bring their kid(s)) and we'll make a game out of it while we catch up with life. Afterwards, you can sort through them, post onto fossil forums for identification if you're not sure what they are, and sometimes sell them to collectors if you find good specimens.

I also love road trips. They can be pricey depending on where you go, but a personal bucketlist thing for me is to spend a week in Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas to look for amber and other precious gems. Whilst different from fossils (obviously), I think it would be amazing to find some amber with an actual critter frozen in time inside of it.

I'm 31 and am almost finished with an associates degree in Environmental Science. I only have a high school diploma otherwise under my belt, so I'm no professional in Paleontology or Geology by any means. It's just a fascinating pastime for me.

I also never lost the childish instincts and joy of looking for snakes, frogs, toads, salamanders, or turtles, and trying to safely/gently catch them for a brief moment before releasing again. I grew up on a farm not far from where I live and know all the native various species of reptiles and amphibians, so I do know how to quickly identify and handle anything that might be questionable to others (including rattlesnakes) after nearly 2 decades of having to relocate every kind to protect the livestock and the local wildlife. I highly recommend getting a handbook or at least some posters from your local DNR office to study if that's something that you're interested in but don't have a lot of familiarity with yet.

Hacky sacks are cheap and you can get pretty good and they are fun to do with a group too.

Embroidery or cross stitch is fun and can be low cost. You can get a complete kit from a craft store for less than $15.

Making sourdough bread. I buy one $28 bag of flour every 3-4 months and I bake TONS. All you need is water, flour, and salt. You don’t need an expensive Dutch oven (although they’re nice) and you can just bake them on a cookie sheet.

Drawing

Cheapest hobby is walking around the place you live or are in at the time and looking around while walking and finding out and naming all the different plants, insects, animals you can see on that walk.

See what weeds are beautiful and make sure you are in an area that doesn’t use pesticide or herbicide while inspecting or touching weeds and plants.

Finding what plants or weeds grow in the sidewalks. Invasive species of weeds and insects and animals.

It’s very cheap and keeps your mind forever busy, especially if you have trouble focusing on things.

Along with propagating any weed you enjoy seeing, and that’s freely on the sidewalk or in the parks grass. Make sure it’s not a native species or a protected plant species while looking for flower heads. I.E. Don’t be picking the tulip head varieties on walks. Those usually are protected in parks and can land you a hefty fine.

This is especially fun if you live in a place with lots of free and easy access to hiking routes.

I daydream while walking for a long time, so sometimes I’m not thinking to do my little hobby while I’m hiking. lol

Next is knowledge. Just getting yourself hooked to a new subject and learning it for a few hours. And I don’t mean just on your screen all the time. Go to a library or bookstore nearby and pick up a book about native weeds or native insects. It’s really fascinating once you have it in your hands. If you have a good memory you’ll be able to remember some really cool facts about such subjects too.

There’s a man on YouTube called Crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt and he gets really into the scientific names and even deciphering each species of plants while hiking and filming with everything botany and he’s fun and entertaining while watching his videos. https://youtube.com/@CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt?si=4NEoGXWykFPxJ_eh

Have a good one OP.

Volunteering! Find someplace that resonates with you.

photography

I get all my art supplies from dollarama and I don't think anyone can tell, super cheap and time consuming 

Playing guitar. It's an initial outlay, but it's free from thereon and it's so enjoyable

TTRPG's. Can be pretty close to free. They're probably most fun if you have a friend group to play with in person, but you can find groups online too.

Crochet.🩷 Yarn is pretty cheap and a standard hook. Watch some yt vids and off you go!

Sketching.... charcoal.

origami? writing poetry, jokes, a book, lyrics? learning an instrument (can be expensive, but it's a one time thing, your parents might agree to pay 300 bucks for a piano or 100 for a guitar)?

also, there's "screen time" and "screen time". if by "screen time" you mean watching useless shit on tiktok and instagram, then yes, that's a serious waste of time.
now if you were to learn programming, you would spend a lot of time on a screen for sure, but you will be learning something fascinating that can be a career later... if you make your own app/game/something, you could even sell it at some point, etc. that's very productive and smart. you like video games, so search "unity 3d tutorial" on youtube and have a look at how to make video games by yourself, it will give you an idea of how it's done and might be a new hobby to try - plus, programming is free, if you already have a computer and internet.

Learn skills, it could be surprisingly interesting and it will be usefull . I recently learn sewing for example.

Cooking if you want to save money simultaneously.

Naturalist hobbies like foraging, birdwatching, or astronomy can be started for nothing. Follow Alexis Nelson (blackforager) and Linda Black Elk and see what you can find in your neighborhood. You can do these things right on an urban street if that's where you are--Linda Black Elk found edible plants on the Las Vegas Strip in December! If you're birdwatching or looking at stars, you'll probably want to get some binoculars before too long, but you can get a good starter pair for less than $100. You don't even need a field guide to start, just get on the internet to learn where to start.

I would recommend going to the library and reading books, go through multiple genres until you land on one that you like and go from there

Writing or drawing

Astronomy. As a teenager. I had a friend who studied the stars and drew stuff like the big dipper. Etc. Her parents gave her a cool telescope so she could see the stars better. She loved it. It's. a cheap hobby, just watch the stars at night and draw what you see. She was stoked if she saw a fallen star in a streak across the heavens.

Mycology. Join a local mushroom group. They usually hold camping trips and forays for free. Good to meet people and get out and do stuff and learn something for little to no cost. Great for involving friends and family.

If you are up for an easier instrument try a ukulele. I got my first one for under 100$ including the tuner. I ended up spending hours and hours everywhere watching YouTube videos. It was fun and quickly rewarding.

I've since purchased a quality ukulele and it's a huge part of my every day life. It's definitely a hobby. I play more than I read, or even play games now.

It's also great around a campfire, others also enjoy it. It's easy to bring anywhere because it's so small

You could be a Miner.

Journaling, learning a new skill on YouTube and then doing it, gardening, making paper Mache, making collage images from cut up magazines, get a job like pet sitting, babysitting, delivering a local newspaper route, volunteering at an animal shelter, food shelf or soup kitchen, riding a bike, walking or running, tombstone rubbing art, using the nightsky app to learn while star gazing, call a friend or relative on the phone, write a five year plan or goal list, make a vision board of images and ideas that spark your interest for yourself in the future, write poetry like haiku, take close up pictures of very small things, edit photos and create art or memes, draw cartoons, lift weights, pushups, pull ups, read fiction or nonfiction books from the library, make videos, learn to cook/prep your meals in advance. There’s surprisingly a lot that comes to mind! Please come back to Reddit and let us know what you tried and how it went.

Try coding. There are lots of free python academies on line. Start playing and put your computer to a different use!

Cubing’s pretty cheap, you can get an rs3m 2020 for 9 dollars at speedcubeshop. It’s a great cube to get things started

Drawing. You can spend forever at it for very little money. Pen and paper. I also second the coding suggestions.

Step into the spoon, carving world

Chess

Reading... Use the library

Foraging.

Knitting

Baking

Crochet

Reading

My hobbies are affordable: waiting on sales and deals on video games, tech, studio equipment at home, starting an affordable podcast studio at home for those who're curious and enjoying eating food at work.

Learn a new language.

Duolingo can be used for free.

Not only will it help fill time, but it can benefit you to. Multi-lingual people often get paid more. And switching between language is a great workout for your brain. It'll help delay dementia and related issues by years and when it does strike it'll be less severe. Multi-lingual people recover from strokes better than monolinguals.

And you'll be able to consume more books, YouTube videos websites etc...

- Reading (library card)
- Disc Golf (one disc)
- Geocaching (just need your phone)
- Sketching
- Pico-8 (playing games and/or making them)
- Hiking
- Chess

Juggle, juggling balls are pretty inexpensive. You’ll probably pick it up quickly. Learn how to play guitar, I got my 11yo nephew a keyboard and he’s learning how to make music.

Cleaning headstones and clearing debris from grave sites.

Carving/whittling. Knives are cheap, cut resistant gloves are cheap. Sticks are pretty much free. Give it a slice. If you like it move on to better knives/carving methods and higher quality material. Start w potatos/carrots, gives you a feel for angles and cuts and you can cook and eat your learning process. Move on to soap/soft woods.

Exercise

If you are fifteen or older get a job somewhere. It will help you meet new people and be a negative expense.

working out, journaling, and playing games are too expensive?

Hobby ≠ cheap.

Sketching - you probably already have what you need, a pencil and some paper.

I'm not sure how young you are but maybe a part time job if you are old enough. It will earn you money and take up some of your time as well. 12 hours a day of screen time a day makes it sound like you are not in school, so I wonder what are you doing to be productive?

Drawing is my go-to. Everybody has some paper and some manner of pen or pencil. I like pencil personally. I could sketch for hours.

Crocheting or knitting

How about learn how to play piano? Gradening?

Walking. Pop in some headphones and take a nice little stroll.

Same boat…

Birdwatching is free.

Learning grammar is free.

Roll joints

Disc golf

Weight lifting. Like 20 bucks a month can get you a gym membership and give you all the fun you want and you can get jacked in the process!

Reading.

What are you passionate about? What moves you or pisses you off in the world? Volunteer or get involved with a cause.

Chess

Fishing. You can spend as much as you want, but you can get started for dirt cheap. Lotsa fun and relaxing. Nature is nature's anti-depressant.

Drawing, painting with acrylic paints from Walmart (.58 cent), writing poems, crochet with acrylic yarn.

Fucking with strangers is 100 percent free

Pokemon GO. It provides exercise, community, and fun.

Wood burning

Whittling!

Seriously, check your librarian for stuff they can lend you!

Geocaching. Can be completely free or if you pay for the premium side of things still very cheap and a ton of fun. Keeps you active. Let's you see some really neat out of the way spots and occasionally makes you flex your brain.

You just need a rubiks cube and you can start cubing straight away(trust me its not hard) you are just a yt vid away from learning it.

Crochet is great and super zen. You can ask around for yarn or get the cheap stuff from Walmart.

Just be careful not to get sucked in to the expensive yarns. I never knew how soft yak was…

Have you considered volunteering?

How about trying out origami?

Carve wood sticks

I just got into reading and I’m loving it They give me the same feelings as I would watching a movie

Go fishing, buy a plain paper notebook and doodle, or start writing poetry(which I'm gonna start doing again soon myself), learn to paint, piddle with your computer and learn computer stuffs(have a tech friend though in case you dork your computer), play video games

I started making a large paper mache shark. She's like 4.5 feet long...ish. and I've used drywall compound on top to make it smooth. First time doing it, so she's a little lumpy. Shark's been in a few fights I guess. Keeps me occupied at night while the TV plays. And now! I haven't finished the shark but I need my husband's help. So I've started making a dorky looking bird I'm going to mount on a plaque. Like a trophy. Cause why not.

Deck of cards is like $5 or less. You can learn lots of card magic on YouTube.

Journaling

Learn how to play chess on chess.com, and attend your local club if you enjoy it. It’s great for developing your Brain in terms of concentration and problem solving. Give it a chance and you will see the beauty in the game. Also it never matters how good or bad you are- there is always someone on your level to play against!

Writing novels. It takes hours and hours. If you want to up the difficulty, write something you either have to do a lot of research for or worldbuilding (like science fiction or fantasy.)

Read!

Reading, hiking, coding, mathematics, meditation, writing, sports, yoga, singing, playing an instrument, dancing, sleight of hand, whittling, paper cutting, rhetoric, logic, learn a language, leadership training, improv, stand up, become a naturalist, study architecture, history, philosophy, educate yourself on how to budget and build wealth, learn how your government works and how it affects you… the list goes on and on.

Gooning

Write song lyrics! 🎵 You can create the next hit and make a bundle!

Try a bunch of different things, start with what you have. You might find a hidden talent. Or something you just love even if you're not great at it. Who cares?? The point is that it's fun and engaging for you!

Calisthenics. Cooking. Engaging in social stuff around you.

Fountain pens

Depending on your location bodysurfing or snorkeling

Magnet fishing, if you catch fishing lures you could even make some money.

Boxing, fishing, learning a new language

READING

pickleball

Diamond painting

Pickleball for exercise, fun and meeting new people.

Zentangling at home.

Crochet. $10 to start.

Gardening. Seeds re cheap and dirt is free. Also plant people are very generous and will often share plants with you for free.

Flipping. Visit yard sales and thrift stores and post what you find on eBay. You can start with a small investment of maybe $20 and then build from there.

Reading. Books are free from the library. Also, visit the library and ask what other thing s they offer. Often they have a 3d printer and you can learn to make the files to print with.

Learn a skill like coding or programming.

YouTube is a wonderful tool to learn how to do something for free.

Whatever you decide, you can seek out groups to help you along the way of you want.

Exercise

Bird watching..get birdhouses and birdfeeders.

Reading