Budgeting for Hobbies

[myrdale]

In addition to my interest in personal finance, I am also an amateur beekeeper. Over the last three or four years I have grown to a total of (5) hives. Originally I was doing this just for the pleasure of raising bees. Collecting honey wasn't a concern. Honestly I hadn't really seen a surplus anyway because they were putting most of the effort into making wax for frames.

Within the past couple of weeks I've run into a problem I haven't experienced before. I am now honey bound. Basically the hive bodies are so full of honey the queen doesn't have anywhere to lay.

I've ordered new frames which arrived today. That may help some, but they are not drawn out yet.

I tried extracting honey manually, but that was a sticky mess. So I've ordered a honey extractor. $1,300 and 6 weeks delivery. That single purchase basically doubled my investment in this hobby. There are cheaper alternatives, and I may have over purchased, but it is solid machine and should last a life time. Also there is definitely the potential here to create an income stream from honey sales, and I won't blow out my shoulder turning a crank.

After making the purchase I've been thinking about is there a maximum amount one should spend on hobbies? 5% 10% 50%? So long as all of your other bills are paid, and investments are maxed, is there a maximum for discretionary spending?

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

If you are satisfied with your saving, and all your obligations are taken care of, why not spend on your hobby? Besides the sale of honey and wax, I imagine there are other beekeepers who, like you, do not like the mess of hand extraction. Perhaps you could sell the service of doing honey extraction for others.

I don't know what it takes to recover your hobby "investment," but maybe within a few years you will break even. And then a hobby becomes a money maker, if you want it to.

[kork13]

myrdale, I don't recall where you live... But feel free to offload some honey with me!! Lol
I have a friend up in Alaska that raises a hive of 5 or 6 hive boxes. She also uses a mechanical honey extractor, and I assure you that your investment is worthwhile, especially if (as Joan suggests) you have a thriving beekeeping community around you, wherein you can offer it up for their use. Selling the honey & excess wax is obviously another income stream.

As I refer to, my best suggestion is for you to connect with other beekeepers in your area. A community like that will be invaluable for advice, connections, and so on.

~~~~~

As for the actual question regarding hobby budgeting.... I'm generally of the opinion that as long as you're saving sufficiently to meet your short & long term needs/goals, covering all of your required expenses, the rest is ALL discretionary.... Which means it's at your discretion to use as you see fit. Note that those discretionary uses might change month to month -- this month, you buy a $1300 honey extractor. Last month, you spent $1000 building a huge garden & landscaping the house. Next month, maybe you buy a new patio set. What you end up with is a hive of happy bees & a vantage point from which to watch them, all thanks to your very flexible budget of discretionary funds each month.

[myrdale]

kork13, NW Georgia.

And to tell yall the truth, I have been playing around with that idea of providing an extraction service. I've been involved with a local bee club for a couple of years now. Also I am on a bee forum. I have a related thread going there on the matter at the moment.

[rennigade]

James Hetfield is big time into raising bees. Just a little fyi.

As far as hobbies, what's the point of saving/investing/accumulating money if you never spend it. As long as you're bills are paid I think one should spend whatever they want on hobbies. Yes, some hobbies are more expensive than others. So what makes you happy.

[ua_guy]

I tend to agree. Like anything good, unless it's causing a problem and you're able to moderate when you need to, should there even be a set limit?

[disneysteve]

I'm generally of the opinion that as long as you're saving sufficiently to meet your short & long term needs/goals, covering all of your required expenses, the rest is ALL discretionary.... Which means it's at your discretion to use as you see fit. Note that those discretionary uses might change month to month -- this month, you buy a $1300 honey extractor. Last month, you spent $1000 building a huge garden & landscaping the house. Next month, maybe you buy a new patio set. What you end up with is a hive of happy bees & a vantage point from which to watch them, all thanks to your very flexible budget of discretionary funds each month.

This is how we work, too. Savings first. Necessities second. Everything else third. And what falls into "everything else" varies week to week. It might be vacation or a car repair or a nice dinner out or some new clothes or a Broadway show or having the house power washed or whatever else comes along.

We don't do a dollar by dollar budget. As long as savings are taken care of and the bills are paid, I really don't care where the rest goes.

[Fishindude77]

Nearing retirement I spent quite a bit of time preparing a budget to determine our annual "burn rate".
Shared it with the dude that manages my IRA to give him an idea of our needs. He said, your the first guy I ever ran into that budgets $10k annually for hunting.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Whatever you want as long as you feel okay with it. Budget set? Then why not. I still feel tremendous guilt over what we spend on traveling, But more and more I've realized it really is personal. How you personally want to spend your money. If you want to blow $1300 on a honey extractor great. Someone else might want a nice car or a show (I spent $1000 on tickets to O so I get it). again there is a lot of guilt.

Wish I could eat some of your honey. Bet it's delicious. I have friend who make wine. Is it cheap? nope, most expensive hobby when you consider that buying a bottle can be like $10-20 for a nice bottle...but it's a hobby.

[bjl584]

I don't have a separate line item in my budget for hobbies.
My budget is pretty loose.
I know what amount I save, I know what amount goes to bills, the rest goes to whatever without much scrutiny

[scfr]

Beyond making sure all other financial obligations are met, I think there are a couple questions to ask before making a significant hobby-related purchase like that:

- Do you have a significant other? If so, are the on board with the purchase? And do they have an equal opportunity to pursue their hobbies?
- How long have you been involved with the hobby? In your case, you've been doing it for several years and it's growing, so it's clearly not just a passing fancy. You already know the work involved and enjoy it.
- Are you making the most cost-effective choice, and is there a way to at least partially offset the cost? It sounds like you've thought about how to possibly offset some of the cost by selling honey (suggestion: I'll bet it would make good gifts!)