SIGNIFICANT, NON-FINANCIAL RETURNS
Both are hobbies that cost me money rather than bring in income. But both have yielded significant, non-financial returns.
There is a reconnection with my creative self, a sense of accomplishment from learning a new skill, the benefit of challenging my mind and body to learn new ways of moving, and access to a new, intergenerational community.
Yes, crochet is a skill set I could easily monetise, but profit margins would be nonexistent if you did the math on cost of supplies and the hours of labour for one piece. Instead, I donate my creations or give them away for birthdays and holidays.
There is one concession I’ll grant about monetising a hobby. For those whose interests result in physical creations — like woodworking, painting, producing pottery or making jewelry — it can result in clutter. Beautiful clutter, but lots of it, that perhaps you don’t need in your home. In this case, yes, it can indeed make sense to sell your wares and perhaps use that money to reinvest in your hobby. But selling off a surplus is much different from building a side hustle.
As someone who has had multiple streams of income her entire adult life, I understand that there’s a benefit to having more than one way to earn money. But some hobbies should simply be hobbies. We are allowed to create and learn for personal enrichment, even if it costs us some money — and earns none.
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