Hobbies, by definition, are something we do for enjoyment. They aren’t activities that we absolutely have to do. That means that in a purely financial sense, spending any money on hobbies — especially when you have other financial concerns like paying for food and shelter — is wrong. The reality of the situation, though, is very different. We all enjoy our hobbies (or we wouldn’t pursue them). It can help keep us motivated to pursue our other goals. If we never do anything fun, we may end up falling into a rut and feeling miserable. That’s no way to live. In that sense, we need that enjoyment almost as much as we need food if we’re going to live life to the fullest.

But How Much is Too Much?

The problem creeps in when you think about how much different hobbies cost. Photography can be a lot of fun, but you can wind up buying some very expensive equipment. Stamp-collecting can require purchasing stamps that may be worth more than the paper they’re printed on. Skydiving can cost more than $200 for a single jump. But if you enjoy your hobby, those hefty price tags can mean that your money is well spent: you may be getting a lot more out of spending that money than you would be buying a bigger house or saving it up for a rainy day.

There’s no denying that we all need a safety cushion. We each need to have a secure financial basis and spending more than a small portion of your budget on hobbies when you’re not in a great place financially rarely makes sense. Entirely cutting out enjoyable hobbies — especially those that are relatively inexpensive — should…

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