What are some cheap things that make you happy?

[amastewa93]

Mine:

- Cards or written notes
- Green bean casserole (reminds me of Thanksgiving and home)
- Going to the park
- Taco trucks
- Playing cards/doing puzzles

[james.hendrickson]

For me, its used Legos for my kids.

[ua_guy]

Going for a hike
Going for a drive
Washing the car
Trying a new recipe
Genealogy research online
Writing

[amastewa93]

For me, its used Legos for my kids.

Ha! I love that!

[amastewa93]

Going for a hike
Going for a drive
Washing the car
Trying a new recipe
Genealogy research online
Writing

Writing is another good one. I write short stories fairly often.

[bjl584]

Drinking coffee in the morning at camp.
going to the gym
working in my garage
yard work

[ua_guy]

Drinking coffee in the morning at camp.
going to the gym
working in my garage
yard work

Working/tinkering in the garage is a good one for me as well.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

reading a book. Especially from the library or i bought kindle unlimited to just read whatever crap is free and hits my fancy

[amarowsky]

Going for a walk/hike. Really hard to beat that price for all you gain (Exercise & Endorphins, Fresh Air, Vitamin D*, Hopefully quality time with those your walking with, a better connection with nature/outdoors, chance to observe nature & society around you, and it serves as one of the best platforms to listen to music, podcast, or an audio book).

I also really love growing plants. If you want it to be, it can be Vanishingly affordable, an in some cases quite profitable. Not even just growing cash crops like cannabis, but just maintain less grass on your property and using that land & energy instead for growing produce.

Great Freakenomics story about this guy "Jim K" turned his (and eventually a few other) private lawns into complete gardens. I always remember this story (from 2017) because it was surprising how much this guy was able to revenue! It was enough inspiration for me to use about 1,000 sq foot of my backyard and x-fer it from Lawn --> Garden. Here's the link ----> https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how...session-lawns/

His Revenue's = 1st year = $24k , 2nd year = $27k, 3rd year = $35k, from skimming other articles it seems his 2017 --> 2020 Current, has been quite good as well. If you want to find his specific portion from the above link to freakenomics (it's a big notes page) Find on part [CTRL+F] --> search "Jim Kovaleski, or $27,000" and it'll bounce you down to his section. Or listen to the whole episode, it's a great way to motivate you to make some of your own food to give, sell, or hopefully EAT!

[Snicks]

Cooking something tasty. I like to try to impress myself.
Playing music on my guitar.
Board games
My morning cup of coffee

[amarowsky]

Cooking something tasty. I like to try to impress myself.
Playing music on my guitar.
Board games
My morning cup of coffee

Actually agree to all three of these + ua_guy 's mention to garage tinkering. Love screwing around in the garage. I built a workshop there last fall, and it's kinda a hobby to use it until it gets cluttered and messsy as HELL. Then part of the fun is cleaning up and re-organizing it so it's ready and calling me to get my hands dirty with crafty/tinkerish.

My ULTIMATE WOODSTOCK HOBBY GOAL = to make an instrument (ideally a guitar) out of at least *some wood I have harvested myself, ran through my tools, and put together. Ultimate marriage of 3 to 4 of my hobbies (Music, Woodworking, Nature, Gardening/Arboring )

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Actually agree to all three of these + ua_guy 's mention to garage tinkering. Love screwing around in the garage. I built a workshop there last fall, and it's kinda a hobby to use it until it gets cluttered and messsy as HELL. Then part of the fun is cleaning up and re-organizing it so it's ready and calling me to get my hands dirty with crafty/tinkerish.

My ULTIMATE WOODSTOCK HOBBY GOAL = to make an instrument (ideally a guitar) out of at least *some wood I have harvested myself, ran through my tools, and put together. Ultimate marriage of 3 to 4 of my hobbies (Music, Woodworking, Nature, Gardening/Arboring )

OMG i wish i could park in my garage. I haven't seen the inside of it since March.

[GoodLiving]

-hiking or walking and like @amarowsky said it's a great time to listen to podcasts, audiobook or music. I also enjoy walking/hiking/biking to a destination so I enjoy geocaching or running errands this way. I'm happy to be in a more walkable community.
-while I probably sit in front of the computer too much, I enjoy what's out there to learn about and read. With covid, I've enjoyed the streaming music concerts and other events that I wouldn't normally have the chance to do.
-I really miss the dancing that I would do around 2x a month. There was an entrance fee but it was less than $10 and I enjoyed it. Looking forward to doing it again eventually.
-time with family, connecting, talking and walking - my adult child is returning to the state and I look forward to more time with them.
-trying a new recipe

I know that much of my life I was chasing after my goals and raising my child now that my life is slowing down a bit...I have the time to look explore new hobbies and things to do. I guess I'm now in the second half of life.

[scfr]

Right now I'm listening to an audiobook downloaded to my phone from my library account that is light-hearted and festive.

DH is getting a kick out of watching YouTube videos and learning about the features of his new phone. He enjoys learning DIY tasks via YouTube in general.

Since the pandemic began, my family has been doing Zoom game nights that we take turns hosting (and inventing or modifying games that can be played over Zoom).
Also since the pandemic began, I've found illustrated books can be very peaceful ... graphic novels or even picture books designed for kids! I get them from the library (curbside pickup).
And I've been attending virtual events (virtual author chats, virtual tours, virtual Economist presentations).

Unless the weather sucks, DH & I both enjoy our daily walks with the dog. It's often the highlight of my day. The dog likes them too!