15 Free Hobbies That Are Actually Fun
When you are thinking of ways to spend your time, other than just scrolling through social media in the comfort of your own home, maybe you should consider getting a great hobby, especially one that is completely free. There are many hobbies to pick from so make sure to try a few before landing on the one best suited for you.
Read: Pocket an Extra $400 a Month With This Simple Hack
15 Hobbies That Are Free
If you have a full-time job, how you spend your free time can become a big decision to better your mental health. The following table of contents lists some great hobby options to choose from that are both free and fun:
Play outside in any season
Get cooking
Go bird watching
Build your body
Learn outdoor skills
Nature crafts
Garden with garbage
Go geocaching
Start a blog
Hone your photography skills
Learn a new language
Practice mediation
Play free games online
Listen to podcasts
Visit your local library
1. Play Outside in Any Season
Getting outside on your own or with friends and family can do a lot more than just get you some fresh air. No matter if the weather is hot or cold you’ll always have something to do.
Snow Sculpting
If you’re gifted with an abundance of snow in your yard, don’t just shovel it — sculpt it. Go beyond the usual snowman and igloo and build imaginative snow scenes that will captivate the attention of your kids and neighbors. Here are some helpful tips:
Start small to get the hang of it.
Besides rolling snowballs or heaping together snow in a mound, pack snow in cardboard boxes or milk cartons to form blocks.
Slightly wet snow works best; you can keep a spray bottle handy to wet the powder so it clings together.
Weather between 5 degrees and 30 degrees is ideal to keep your sculpture from melting.
Build Sand Castles
Besides swimming at the beach don’t forget about the option to build sand castles. You make simple or elaborate ones at your preference or as your skill level grows. Public beaches are free and all you typically need is a small shovel or spade and some buckets in a variety of sizes.
2. Get Cooking
Get the chill out of the house, and create an aromatic ambiance by honing your cooking skills. Best of all, you get to indulge in the fruits of your labor. To get started you can start with something basic and follow these helpful hints:
Use ingredients already in your pantry to save money on groceries.
Websites like MyFridgeFood.com enable you to check off all the ingredients you have on hand and then gives you recipes to use them.
Concoct a soup to simmer throughout the day and fill your home with delicious aromas.
Opt for low-cost, hearty classics like vegetable soup, chili and stew.
Use websites like YouTube and Facebook to find new twists on old favorites, like chicken noodle or tomato soup with grilled cheese.
Serve up a hearty soup in a sourdough bowl. You can make your own sourdough starter using just a few tablespoons of flour and water. Keep it on the counter to whip up a daily batch of pancakes or biscuits or keep it in the fridge for once-a-week use.
Cooking can also be a great winter activity for kids. Get them enthused about history by making doughnuts or fried chicken the 18th-century way.
3. Go Bird Watching
Although you can attract local birds to your yard with seed, you can save yourself money by going bird-watching where they typically feed. Here are some bird-watching takeaways:
Look for free birding hikes at your local parks or nature preserves.
Download the free Audubon Bird Guide app that will help you find which birds frequent the area you’re visiting.
Some websites of popular birding areas also list species that are active in the area during winter.
Dress to blend in with your surroundings, wearing green or brown.
Sit still stay silent, and let the birds come to you. Birds typically make an alarm call when you enter their territory. Once they’re able to forget you’re there, they’ll likely burst out in song.
Inexperienced bird watchers should bring a notebook, according to biologist and bird expert Dick Cannings. “Having a notebook really forces you to look carefully at things,” he said. “Write down what you see and hear. Then, consult the field guide to find out more about the species you saw.”
4. Build Your Body
You don’t need to shell out money for monthly memberships or home fitness equipment to get that summer-ready body. Body weight exercises like pull-ups, squats, push-ups, lunges and planks tone muscle without any special equipment. “You can’t expect to get anywhere if you do five push-ups and call it good,” said Obi Obadike, otherwise known as Bodybuilding.com’s “Ripped Dude.”
Obadike lays out three circuits for one workout. After completing the circuits, you’ll have a workout rivaling one you’d get in any gym, he said. Here are some other tips to whip you into shape for free:
Check out your local parks and recreation for free fitness opportunities, too. New York offers free access to indoor fitness equipment and classes in each of its five boroughs.
In Los Angeles, look for outdoor fitness zones with equipment designed to help with cardio, strength and flexibility training.
Get the kids involved in healthy fitness habits. Check out mommy and baby workout videos on YouTube to get toned while your little one gets one-on-one time. Get the older kids involved in dance and games by checking out kid-fitness videos.
5. Learn Outdoor Skills
If you’re looking to hone your winter outdoorsman skills or pick up a new outdoor hobby, check out free local classes in your area. Chattanooga, Tennessee, is just one city that offers free winter workshops to help residents to pick up new skills. Learn to rock climb or sharpen your bicycle skills. The city even provides all the equipment.
Check out the REI store website to find free, outdoor classes in your areas that offer everything from winter hiking to surviving a zombie apocalypse.
6. Nature Crafts
Bring a touch of the outside indoors by creating crafts from bits of nature. Not only is nature crafting a fun activity for kids, but you can also create craft items and sell them online. Browse through a local farmers market or folk art store for inspiration. Use artists’ creations as a springboard for your own. Here are some other key crafting takeaways:
Plan ahead for gifts they’ll want to give for upcoming holidays. Create gifts to celebrate loved ones on Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and birthdays.
Transform bendable twigs into simple wreaths or go for something more elaborate. Tie them around a pillar candle to create a woodsy flair indoors.
Slice discs from small branches and drill holes in the center to make beautiful buttons.
Birch bark or stones can also stand in for an artist’s canvas; use acrylic paint or permanent markers to make heart-shaped rocks look like Valentine’s candies, or make a mosaic inside a picture frame to create one-of-a-kind art.
7. Garden With Garbage
Enjoy fresh vegetables by growing them in your kitchen windows. Not only will you be growing the green, you’ll be saving money, too. By the time the last frost passes, you should have mature plants ready to set out in the soil.
When chopping up romaine lettuce, bok choy, cabbage and celery, save the bottom inch of their bases. Put each base in a bowl, and just cover the roots with water. In a few days to a week, you should see new leaves sprouting up from the center. Next, put the plants in pots with just the leaves poking out of the soil. Follow these instructions to do some more free gardening:
When ginger starts to shrivel in your refrigerator, plant it in a pot with the new buds facing up. As it acclimates to its pot, new growth should sprout above the soil. When you need ginger, just pull up the plant, take what you need and replant it.
If you can’t get enough of shiitake or other specialty mushrooms, grow them yourself. Use the head and plant the stalk in the soil with the top poking through the soil. Keep it cool, moist and in low light — try under the kitchen sink — and mushroom heads will begin to regrow.
Plant slices from tasty, ripe tomatoes to get plants ready for the garden by spring. Just cut tomatoes into quarter-inch slices, and plant them in potting soil or compost. After two weeks, plant the strongest seedlings two in a pot.
8. Go Geocaching
Go on a high-tech treasure hunt by downloading a free app and heading outdoors to find geocaches in your area. Geocaches come in all shapes and sizes. Some are as small as a thimble and others are as big as a small coffee table.
Check the app for the geocache’s difficulty rating, so you know how much of a mental test to expect. The terrain rating tells you how much physical effort you’ll spend finding it. Once your phone says you’re within 20 feet of the cache, start looking and feeling around. Geocaches aren’t always just sitting on the ground, so make sure you look in trees and other places that aren’t so obvious.
After you find the geocache, sign the logbook and post it online. Make sure you put it back in its original location before you head off to find the next one.
9. Start a Blog
If there is a subject you are passionate about it can be cathartic to write about it. You can even grow a following advertise on your blog and turn your free hobby into a money-making endeavor. Blogs are free to set up and produce as the content is all you and whatever you want to write about.
10. Hone Your Photography Skills
Even if you only have your smartphone, you can capture stunning winter photos. Keep your phone in an inside pocket until you decide on your photo to prevent it from getting too cold and shutting down. Look for locations around your home transformed by snow or ice. Drifting fog and long shadows caused by the sun being lower in the sky set winter photos apart. Head up to a local viewpoint to take pictures of storm clouds rolling in over your city or town.
Publish your pics online, and add images of your local area to sites like Google Maps and City Data. You might even want to try to sell your best photos on a stock photography site to earn a little cash.
11. Learn a New Language
Learning a new language is not only a fun hobby but also a functional one. Imagine using your time to be able to communicate in another language and how that would feel when you accomplish it. There are many free language learning apps you can download to your phone such as Duolingo or Memrise so you can learn on the go.
12. Practice Meditation
Hobbies don’t have to be physically taxing. In fact, they can be great for clearing up mental clutter. Carving out some time to practice meditation is proven to help in many areas of your life such as productivity, quality of sleep and general cognitive function. You’d be surprised how a few moments of quiet can prepare you for the rest of your day.
13. Play Free Games Online
It may sound obvious, but just having a few free games on your phone or tablet is a great way to decompress. Whether you’re a fan of word, arcade, card or solitaire games, there is something online for you. Some of these free online games you can even play for money to turn your fun hobby into a lucrative one.
14. Listen to Podcasts
Not only are there a million different options of podcasts available to listen to for entertainment but you can also dive into some educational podcasts to learn a skill or even get some free therapy. All you have to do to start this hobby is tune into any number of free podcasts on platforms such as:
Apple Podcasts
Audible
Google Podcasts
Stitcher
TuneIn Radio
15. Visit Your Local Library
Reading is a classic hobby for a reason as it’s easy, entertaining and educational. You don’t have to spend money on books but rather just head to your local library and check them out for free. Libraries are also a great place to find community boards that list free events and activities near you.
Final Take To GO
You don’t have to spend a lot of money, or any for that matter, to find ways to spend your time that you can enjoy. There is also no rule saying you can only have one hobby, pick up a couple or learn a new skill. The bottom line is there are many fun things out there to do, no matter how strict your budget.
FAQ
Here's more about hobbies and all the things you can do for free.
What are some fun inexpensive hobbies?
Sometimes you don't have extra money to spend on hobbies so here are some suggestions for a few fun inexpensive hobbies:
Play outside in any season
Get cooking
Go bird watching
Visit animal shelters
Build your body
Learn outdoor skills
Nature crafts
Garden with garbage
Go geocaching
Start a blog
Hone your photography skills
Learn a new language
Practice mediation
Play free games online
Listen to podcasts
Visit your local library
Jodi Thornton-O’Connell contributed to the reporting for this article.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 15 Free Hobbies That Are Actually Fun
