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StitcherTikTok is all about hobbies right now and hobbies are great but if you’re not careful you could end up with thousands of dollars wasted and nothing to show for it but a hobby graveyard. So today we’re talking about all the hobbies social media is ruining and how you can avoid being financially ruined by them.
Hobbies are pushed as self care but can actually intensify stress.
Sponsors:
- Competitive rock balancing. The absolute SPORT of spending hours stacking rocks into delicate, gravity-defying sculptures. It’s not too different looking at you trying to manage your money without the right tools to keep it all from imploding. So we created our mobile optimized spending planner spreadsheet. You can see your whole financial picture at glance, and use the tabs for each month’s budget – see what’s left to spend in different categories and get bonuses like an opportunity cost calculator or cost per use calculator. Get yours at frugalfriendspodcast.com/budget.
Check out some relevant episodes
Defining Hobby Graveyard
A hobby graveyard is a term often used humorously or self-deprecatingly to describe a collection of abandoned hobbies or unfinished projects someone once got excited about but never completed (or stuck with).
This concept includes half-used crochet yarn, barely touched paints, a dead sourdough starter, a rarely played guitar, unread books, unused workout gear, and nearly empty journals—each one being a reminder of a phase you were sure would stick until it didn’t.
How Social Media is Taking Hobbies Away From Us
Hobbies used to be something fun we did in our free time, but Jen says social media’s focus on self-branding encourages people to treat hobbies as part of their identity rather than a low-pressure activity. Plus, with TikTok’s fast-changing trends, by the time you buy the materials, the trend might already be over.
Jill points out that hobbies now feel more performative than personal. Instead of being about joy and creativity, they’re often valued for how good they look on social media. This also fuels perfectionism, which can cause insecurity and discourage beginners.
How to Keep Your Hobby Fun and Yours
Jen and Jill opens the reality that while hobbies are enjoyable, they can also be a source of micro-stress. So, Jill suggests setting a monthly budget for each hobby to help limit spending and avoid overspending. She also recommends starting with what you already have, rather than buying everything new so you’re less likely to feel regret if things don’t work out after a few months. Jen, on the other hand, thinks it’s a good idea to pause before you purchase, and suggests borrowing, swapping, or thrifting.
Both agree to keep it off-camera, at least at first is the key to truly enjoying your hobby for what it is without the pressure of performance or presentation.
What’s been your hobby these days?
Jen’s is running! Jill’s is cooking and cleaning. For enjoyment, it’s listening to a book (while cleaning and cooking).
Bill of The Week
Thank you Emily for sharing your bill about spending $50 on books with a gift card earned by answering a questionnaire!
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews of our book Buy What You Love Without Going Broke and we especially loved this one from:
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I love the Frugal Friends podcast and have been a faithful listener of theirs for years. This book did not disappoint! I love their take on money, landing in "the radical middle" instead of extreme deprivation or intense over-spending.
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