Can You Have Too Many Hobbies?

There seems to be no limit to the number of hobbies you can take up in retirement. The only real constraints are hours in the day and dollars in the bank. The universe of potential hobbies includes anything you currently are, or could be, passionate about. It could be sports, crafts, fishing, gardening, coin collecting, chess, antiquing, origami, or all of them. But you have to draw the line somewhere. Even if you don’t run out of time and money, you may run out of space to store all the tools equipment you will need. But how to choose?

There are of course the hobbies you dabbled in during your working career. You never realized your full potential thanks to your distracting and time-consuming job. Now is your chance to achieve the mastery that eluded you to date. The main problem is that at this point in your life, you no longer have the patience, physical ability or mental acuity to actually master much of anything.

Then there are the hobbies you have never tried but heard so much about from annoying friends and enthusiasts. Pickleball anyone? How about Bird Watching? There is nothing wrong with these potential hobbies per se, but they have a flavor-of-the-month feel about them. You want a hobby with some staying power in case you live long enough to get good at it.

And how, you may be asking, will you master your new hobby? That’s where You Tube comes in. There is no topic that is not covered in simple step-by-step videos. All you need to do is just subscribe and like. Admittedly, most videos are posted by narcissists with questionable credentials, but at least they are free. And even if you don’t master your new hobby you can probably figure out how to rebuild a lawn tractor transmission.

Another note of caution. What seems like a harmless and inexpensive pastime can turn into a major financial sinkhole. Take Golf for instance. Sure, you can play on a shoestring budget at the local muni, but why not treat yourself to a round at the closest PGA tournament venue? And while you’re at it, you’ll need new clubs, training aides, lessons and therapy for the misguided belief that you can significantly lower your handicap.

Then there is gardening. In theory, all you need to start a garden is a patch of dirt. Something is bound to grow there, even if it is only weeds. Weeds are generally easy to take care of and the results can be satisfying. Maybe less so for the neighbors. Growing vegetables, on the other hand, can be trickier. You’ll be competing with local wildlife for whatever the plants may produce in the way of food.

Hiking would seem like a fairly economical pastime. All you really need is a decent pair of shoes and a sense of direction. But it is easy to go over board here as well. You may innocently go to your local outdoor store to pick up a good pair of wools socks and wind up with an entire hiking ensemble including very expensive pants, shirts, vests, jackets, lanterns and emergency locator devices. You’ll be ready for anything as you wander around the local park and rec trail.

How about bread baking? Seems innocent enough with ingredients as basic as flour, salt, yeast and water. But you quickly realize that you absolutely must have a stand mixer, a bunch of specialty pans, and an imported french bead oven with atomizer. This can actually lead to the requirement for a complete kitchen renovation and while you are at it a new house.

If all else fails ask your friends, retired or otherwise, for advice on choosing a hobby. They will offer all sorts of well meaning advice, but mostly they are projecting about their own miserable retirement. They are worried that they, like you, will waste their golden years hanging out at Dunkin’ Donuts and taking solitary walks around the neighborhood.