Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Let's come up with ideas to fun & cheap sports/physical activities.

I will start out:
Disc golf, also called Frisbee golf. You throw a frisbee from a starting point into a basket. A course have often 18 "holes" as in ball golf. Different discs are used for different type of throws, like in ball golf, there are putters, mid-range and drivers. A newbie set with 3 discs costs only ~18€. Pro discs cost 15 - 30€ per disc. Check here if there are any courses nearby you. Most courses are completely free to play on.

Your turn!

Boxing.

Footbag

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=7179

Social dancing.
It is exercise, is is networking, it is plain olde fun!

Running is cheap if you don't burn up too many expensive pairs of shoes or get into racing.

Cycling is cheap if you get one reasonably priced bike and stick with it.

Weightlifting at home is cheap. Basic gear is cheap on Craigslist.

Bouldering is cheap if you don't have to travel far to the crag. Climbing is more but still not bad. A gym membership doing either can be expensive though.

Paddling a canoe or kayak is cheap if you buy a cheap boat and don't have to travel too far.

Same for xc skiing.

There aren't many sports that aren't cheap. Golf is the most expensive of the more popular sports. Hockey is up there as well but can be played for cheap at outdoor rinks. Most other things just require a ball, a park/yard/parking lot and some people to play with.

Walking in all of its various forms: meditation, transportation, hiking, etc. Easy to do at most ages, during all seasons, and using many styles of footwear (I dislike tying shoes and the confining feel of wearing anything but sandals or maybe UGGs, if the quality wasn’t so poor.).

theanimal wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:39 pm

There aren't many sports that aren't cheap. Golf is the most expensive of the more popular sports.

Golf certainly isn't cheap, but I'd put it below downhill skiing. You can play nine holes in the afternoon at decent courses for around $20. A walkup lift ticket at most of the better ski resorts now costs close to $200 otoh. Cost of outfitting oneself is cheaper for golf too, mostly due to cheaper clothing.

Sailing and anything having to do with horses kick the crap out of both. Horses are expensive.

unemployable wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 9:21 pm

Golf certainly isn't cheap, but I'd put it below downhill skiing. You can play nine holes in the afternoon at decent courses for around $20. A walkup lift ticket at most of the better ski resorts now costs close to $200 otoh. Cost of outfitting oneself is cheaper for golf too, mostly due to cheaper clothing.

Sailing and anything having to do with horses kick the crap out of both. Horses are expensive.

Yes that's true for just a day but if you get a season pass you can do it more inexpensively. I think when @akratic was ski bumming for a winter he paid ~$600 or so for a season pass. I don't think it was a 5 star resort or anything but it was skiing nonetheless. If you become skilled you can go into the backcountry and ski for free (sans ticket).

Ski equipment is far cheaper than golf clubs and balls. If you are out west, almost all mountain towns have ski swaps where you can pick up decent skis, boots and gear for under $200 total, maybe even 100 if you are patient.

Colorado has two pass programs, Epic and Ikon. The cheapest options this year are $720-750 [edited] if you buy them early. If you wait too long your best bet is usually some kind of annual pass at a specific resort, which will run four figures. Basic price discrimination, from Econ 102.

theanimal wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 10:20 pm

Ski equipment is far cheaper than golf clubs and balls. If you are out west, almost all mountain towns have ski swaps where you can pick up decent skis, boots and gear for under $200 total, maybe even 100 if you are patient.

You're preaching to the choir, you know. Hang around apartment complexes here at the end of April when the ski bums move out and they'll leave out their gear for free. But you have to compare used to used. You can buy a decent set of used clubs for a few hundred, and I have a set that were top-of-the-line 25 years ago I'd be happy to give away to the right person. At my "home" course in Alabama I find more balls than I lose, and most of those are Pro V1's.

Also, most people have to drive farther to ski than to play golf.

theanimal wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:39 pm

There aren't many sports that aren't cheap.

True, but few of them are fun. Running (and other endurance sports), for example, I find boring when I run the same places over and over again, which I have to do if I don't spend money and time on transport.

I need a more action and little bit thinking. Orienteering is a possible way to make running more fun.

wrestling, especially in the backyard.

Most sports are exactly as expensive as you want them to be.

Parkour, maybe?

unemployable wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 07, 2019 9:21 pm

Sailing and anything having to do with horses kick the crap out of both. Horses are expensive.

There is an apt saying "I used to have time and money. Now I have a horse"

Good thing I have have a farm, because I have 4 of them... Not cheap at all, but fun! For cheap sports we go swimming in a lake and hiking.

dumpster diving

I know (barely) a guy who jumps from helicopters with his skis on. I have never skied or been in a helicopter. Google indicates that it costs 1-2K a day depending on season.

I then googled most expensive sports:

(1) Equestrianism
(2) Modern Pentatholon
(3) Sky Diving
(4) Cycling (competitive) not the MMM going to Whole Foods to pick up wine for new girlfriend type of deal
(5) Formula 1

The only that peeks my attention is Formula 1 because I like to drive fast and fight with people when they cut me off. But I'm guessing there's no amateur Formula 1 unless go carts or something.

I like to bowl. Which is relatively cheap.

Basketball! There are tons of public hoops and free games to play basically anywhere. You can get a ball for $10.

Tangent -- I live in suburbia now, and I'd guess over half the front yards in my neighborhood have a gorgeous basketball hoop with a glass backboard and an in-ground, sturdy pole. Some of them look brand new and must have cost thousands of dollars. I would have killed to have one of those growing up. My hoop had this janky composite backboard that was full of cracks and dead spots.

But it's extremely rare to see a kid outside actually using one of these NBA quality hoops. I don't know if the kids have just grown up and left, or if they are all inside playing Fortnite, but it's crazy to me.

Cheese rolling.

You take a sturdy round cheese and roll it down a steep hill. Then you race to catch it.
It's fun and cheap until someone breaks an ankle.