Why Is Every Hobby Expensive Now?

I’m not even kidding, inflation has literally stolen all cost-effective hobbies, as well. Now every other kid’s
predominant hobby is “scrolling” or “Youtube” or “Instagram”. I highly doubt there are any exciting hobbies left that aren’t dominated by rich-kids. Why does everything suddenly have a price tag now? 

Scrolling and binge-watching series has become everybody’s default hobby, because it’s “free” (or at least it feels free). It’s not that we are lazy or uninspired—it’s just that everything else demands money upfront. 


You like reading? Surprise, surprise! The average novel prices are not lower than 500. This really sucks, because I genuinely feel ashamed asking my parents for the third book this month. I honestly think half of their salary goes to my books. I don’t understand why I have to pay so much for some chemicalised, processed wood? Outrageous. 


Baking? Who doesn’t like cake? How wouldn’t like to decorate a cake? Unfortunately, there are thousands of ingredients required! I would much rather decorate a sponge. Baking is another very expensive hobby. I only bake on special occasions. I will rarely be caught draining the stuff in the fridge for “fun”.

What about cycling? Riding a bike in the fresh (actually really polluted) air. That sounds really fun. Good for your health too, right? Well, good luck with the equipment prices. How am I supposed to cycle when all the good gear is acting like it’s made of gold? And why do fitness apps suddenly require a billion dollar membership?! There go my fitness goals.

Don’t even get me started on knitting and crocheting. Making things with that prestigious wool feels like a perfect, aesthetic hobby. Too bad sheep products, apparently, are way out of my league. Seriously, is sheep-stuff really worth more than me now?


How about origami? Making cute, little paper figurines sounds interesting. But, why is colored paper suddenly priced like gold foil? I did not sign up for a humiliation session at the stationary shop. 


It’s just so frustrating! Whenever I google “beginner hobby ideas” online, it ends up being a list of stuff that requires a shopping spree. Candle-making kits, resin art kits, film cameras—it’s like hobbies are being sold as “starter packs” now, not something you can explore slowly and cheaply. 


Last time I checked, a hobby is an activity that someone pursues for enjoyment during their leisure time, rather than as a primary occupation. So, why are we making them seem like a full-time job with the level of protocol a stupid “beginner” hobby requires!


Anyway, thank you for bearing my 2025-world-problems motivated rant. Just to help the readers of this blog, who sadly might relate, here’s a list of a few affordable hobbies: 


Top 5 Affordable Hobbies

  1. Staring at the ceiling.

  2. Mentally redesigning your room without ever buying anything.

  3. Walking to the fridge, checking for snacks, walking back.

  4. Watching YouTube DIYs of things you can’t afford to make.

  5. Ranting about expensive hobbies on your blog (this one’s free… for now).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Teachers, Give Us Our Lunch, Not Your Life Story

Image
A tragic tale students know too well.    This title is probably the most universally familiar topic among students. Doesn't matter if you’re a topper, or an average student. Every person has gone through this tragedy, where they have to give up five prestigious minutes of lunch break. Usually, it's the teacher explaining homework from 2070, or just summing up the lesson—which honestly seems legal, considering how often it happens. I mean, the teacher’s just trying to cover the stuff we are learning. But the only situation that gets on my nerves is when the teacher keeps us waiting, because she’s telling one of her old tales. Like, I'm sorry you didn't get into Med School—life's tough, but girl, this isn't therapy. We just want to have a bite of food to put up with another 3 hours of blabbering teachers. It’s even worse when the teacher isn’t even telling us some educational, or motivational story, she’s rambling about her dog’s death. Like... sweetie, you want ...
Read more

Over Thinking: The Hobby I Never Asked For

Image
   Over Thinking: The Hobby I Never Asked For By Hoor Fatima Listen up folks, Gen Z and Gen Alpha, we've all got that one prestigious, addictive "hobby" we never signed up for: overthinking .  My best hypothesis is that it’s high in nicotine, that’s probably why it’s so addictive. But, on a serious note, we are the chosen ones, the "Over-thinkers." Who else would meticulously plan every detail of a birthday bash or re-analyze that one millisecond eye contact from five years ago? Only us. Now, let's cut to the chase, the reality of being an over thinker is nowhere near fun . I don't suppose sobbing in your pillow for thirty-minutes straight just because you thought someone was waving at you, but they were waving at someone behind you, is fun. Being an over-thinker is like a scientist scrutinizing everything about their experiment. We just have this habit of re-thinking, and over thinking the most basic, harmless interactions. Why? Mostly because we'r...
Read more

Washroom Wars: A Tale of Two Toilets

Today was my first day back at school, and I have to say, the washrooms are still a disaster. I mean, we pay thousands of rupees in fees, but our washrooms are like a bad joke. Have you seen the state of our girls' washrooms? It's like they're trying to make us cry... or maybe that's just the smell talking. So, our girls' washrooms have these pathetic doors. The locks don't work, and you can't even close the door properly. It's like a game of chance. Will you get the one with the broken lock? Will you get the one with the door that's stuck? Honestly, what is the school staff even thinking? “Hey, let's just leave it broken and hope no one peeks in!” Like, who thought this was a good idea? "Let's not fix the doors, let's just hope the girls can figure it out!" And then there's the water situation. It's like a mythical creature – we've heard of it, but we've never seen it. Is water in the washroom? No, it's a le...
Read more