What Skills/Hobbies Should I Get Into?

pathguy · Post by **pathguy** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:13 am

Next year I'll be doing rotations through a bunch of different hospitals, so I'll be working 40 hours a week. I'll have some studying to do at night, but not very intense. So, I would like to take advantage of my free time at night to learn some new skills or start a new hobby.
I will be moving between 3 different places throughout the year, so I can't really start anything big that I would have to transport.
I already plan to do some reading, and probably learn a lot about investing, but other than that I don't really have any ideas.
Give me some ideas, bonus points if the hobby can earn some income (even if it's a small amount).

chilly · Post by **chilly** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 3:51 am

Pick pocketing!

m741 · Post by **m741** » Thu Dec 01, 2011 4:17 am

Musical instruments, learning a language, exploring your city (if you live in one), getting healthier, attending meetups, gardening (if you own your own place), writing a novel, keeping a blog, learn how to program, design a web page, watch the top 100 movies on IMBD, woodworking, volunteering.
Wiki page on this.

TheWanderingScholar · Post by **TheWanderingScholar** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 5:28 am

Learn to do creative writing, and the like. Even if it is flash fiction and short stories, it helps to let your mind go wild and have fun.
Writing is low maintenance since all you need is pencil and paper if your going low tech or a computer with keyboard on the more high tech side.
Just my two cents.

elai · Post by **elai** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 10:21 am

Bicycle maintenance? Or car maintenance if you have one. Health and fitness, try to go for creating all the meals and snacks you eat, tracking how much you eat, nutrients and such.

tac · Post by **tac** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:39 pm

There is already a big thread on hobbies, you might want to check there?
I would personally take a look at what I'm currently spending money on and see if I can make a "hobby" out of solving it. i.e., if you currently eat out a lot, maybe your new hobby should be learning to cook. etc.

chenda · Post by **chenda** » Fri Dec 02, 2011 9:50 pm

Learn to draw...then maybe move on the painting. If you get competent, you could earn a small side income.

George the original one · Sat Dec 03, 2011 5:16 am

Learn about paramutual betting (horse or dog race betting) and discover the similarities to stock market/commodities trading.
Two good reads on the subject:
http://www.amazon.com/Commonsense-Betti ... 121&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Commonsense-Handi ... pd_sim_b_1

HSpencer · Post by **HSpencer** » Sat Dec 10, 2011 5:05 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlIUrAFv ... re=related
Skills can be learned from You Tube.

jennypenny · Post by **jennypenny** » Sat Dec 10, 2011 2:56 pm

Learn how to cook. You eat every day. It's a large part of your budget. If you learn how to cook better meals with cheaper ingredients, you'll save money and enjoy your food so much more. Once you've built up a repertoire you'll know how to turn any loss leaders or cheap local ingredients into a fabulous meal.
I don't mean learn haute cuisine. Learn simple soups, stews, and omelettes from french country cooking. Learn to cook asian cuisine (Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Korean--depends on your taste and available ingredients). Learn authentic Italian cooking (no pasta!). Get a book like "Joy of Cooking" and learn how to properly roast meats. Learn how to bake bread.
Food is like sex. All sex is good but great sex is great, yes? Food is the same. If you work on improving your skills it will be at least *very good* most of the time. And it will cost less.

George the original one · Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:58 pm

> Food is like sex. All sex is good but great sex is

> great, yes? Food is the same. If you work on improving

> your skills it will be at least *very good* most of

> the time.
Widening your cooking repetoire also means choosing the appropriate technique for the time alloted. "Quickies" become more meaningful and effective as result. One may also seek opportunities to be an exibitionist chef, just for the thrill.

Spartan_Warrior · Post by **Spartan_Warrior** » Sun Dec 11, 2011 7:27 pm

I see I was beaten to it, but I agree on cooking. I need to work on becoming a better cook myself so it was my first thought. If you think of a skill/hobby as an "investment" for your time, cooking (and learning nutrition in general) seems like one with very little risk (e.g. it will never be NOT useful to know) and potentially high return in money saved, nutritional benefit, and overall enjoyment. And I'm sure if you became truly proficient there are income opportunities.

edsahara · Post by **edsahara** » Tue Dec 13, 2011 4:13 pm

I'm learning to cook right now too and am learning more about nutrition and diet. I'm trying to incorporate more grains and vegetables in my diet. This is a hobby that will pay off with excellent long-term health benefits.

FrugalZen · Post by **FrugalZen** » Wed Dec 14, 2011 10:02 am

Cooking is IT.
But I'll also go along with the Writing part.
If you get a little serious into it spend a little for a ream of acid free paper and have Kinko's three hole punch it (if you don't have a hole punch of your own natch!)
Get a good pen thats comfortable to your hand and a permanent ink.
Then what you do write you can save and pass down to your grandkids.
Nothing beats a Journal that lets you know how your Grandparents or Great Grandparents lived...$2 for a full grown pig anyone..sigh!

George the other one · Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:38 pm

I'm going to second the programming idea.

The startup costs for a (hobby) programming company is minimal. Here is what it is costing me (note: I would have the $20 Internet connection anyways for browsing the web):
$200 for a home-built computer

Ubuntu Liunux (Free)

Netbeans (Free)

Java JDK and JRE (Free)

Postgresql (Free)

Glassfish (Free)

Router ($20)

Modem ($40)

Internet Connection ($20 per month)

Domain Names (Optional, $2 to $10 per year per domain)
http://www.oakenware.com/home