Blog Post | ADHD, Hobbies, and Spending
ADHD, Hobbies, and Spending
We, the ADHD tribe, love our hobbies. We are creative and passionate people who love to geek out on whatever interests us. Unfortunately, hobbies cost money, time, and (often, but not always) more space. If we are not careful, our hobbies can take charge of us rather than us retaining dominion over them.
Here are a few key questions to ask yourself.
1. Will this make me money, or will this be a sunk cost?
I once thought I was “investing” in comic books in 8th grade. I still have all of them. They are worth very little. If I had taken that money and put it into a medium-growth mutual fund, I would have a sizeable amount more than when I started. My three-year phase of comic book investing was a sunk cost. If you are doing this to make money, begin scrutinizing how long until you make your money back vs. how long you can afford to have your money tied up in your hobby. I have a friend who has bought and sold over 40 cars in his lifetime. He can spot good deals and fix them up to sell for a profit. He only buys cars he likes. After years of learning, he now has a financially self-sustaining hobby. Those initial years of education cost him the most money and time. Initially, there were multiple runs to the stores to buy tools and materials that he now keeps on hand.
2. What do I think I am doing vs. What am I doing?
These questions clarify what you're doing. Many misjudge what hobby means. Collecting leads to hoarding and financial loss. Understanding what your hobby is and what level you wish to take it needs clarification.
Some of us are sports fans, and we like all the teams. We watch all the games and listen to all the commentary. Before we know it, our weekends, our evenings, and every spare moment is watching our sport. Keep an eye on how much time you devote to your love for the game. I love motorsports, yet I cannot be a fan of all forms of auto racing. There is only so much time in the week available for sitting on my rear and watching cars go around a track. So I only follow one form of motorsport since there is only one race every other weekend and not a weekend full of televised races.
3. What is my current competence with my hobby?
“Go big or go home” is a phrase that should be filed next to “hold my beer and watch this” for foolish last words. From the beginning of your interest in a new hobby, advertisements ask you to buy the latest and greatest gadgets and toys. Perhaps your sport or recreation has a poster of some top performer sponsored with the newest equipment. Has anybody decided to take up golf and buy a $6000 set of new clubs as their starter equipment after playing only a couple of rounds? Buying big-ticket items provides a rush to the ADHD system. It feels like you have fully committed to a new activity.
I love archery and started in the sport, as many others have. I borrowed a bow and some arrows from my dad. Over time I slowly upgraded through different cheap bows and arrows before eventually owning a $3000 archery set after years of practice.
If you are a beginner, recognize that your interest in your hobby may fade. Going all-in on brand-new equipment might be an overly steep price for a new hobby. You also haven’t developed the knowledge of what works and does not work for your particular interest when selecting your equipment or materials. When I get into a new hobby, I think about how much fun I can have without spending all my time and money. Typically I can have just as much satisfaction in my new sport or hobby by purchasing used equipment rather than new. I only consider top-dollar items when safety is involved.
4. What do I know? What are the unknowns?
This is important at every level of your hobby. Beginners and pros need to consider the cost versus the final price. No matter how much you think it will cost, double it. Bring as many knowns into the light and make room for unknowns.
Your hobbies cost not just the knowns but also those little unknowns that add up to a hefty price tag. In engineering, they call it “design creep.” When faced with a budget, engineers will still do what they are known for. Improve things. There is always one more tweak or modification to a design that an engineer can do. With each minor alteration, costs add up until they swell over budget.
Have you ever ordered just one thing on Amazon for $10 and yet ended up with a total of three items and a bill for twice as much? Let’s say you are an artist and need two Amazon markers. So you search and find that those two markers are $5. They sell those same two markers in a set with four different markers for a few dollars more at $8. You decide that even though you already have those markers, you use them regularly and will need backups at some point. So you put the set of six into your cart and go to the checkout. At the bottom of the page is a package purchase option with the innocent statement, “people who bought the same markers also bought a sketchbook and a set of pencils.” The package seems to be a great value at $12, even though you were going to wait a couple of weeks to buy another sketchbook. So here you are with a $12 bill for $5 worth of markers.
You might say, hey, Coach Nate, it’s only $7. Don’t be so rigid. The problem is that this 140% overcharge decision is repeated in many areas of our decision-making. You might consider having that extra slice of pizza that you don’t need stunting your health goals. You might take a more circuitous route toward your objective to satisfy lesser priorities that appear along the way, some of which may not be as important as they first appeared. You buy in bulk, and the surplus expires. These decisions are everywhere. And why do we make these poor decisions? Because our eyes are bigger than our wallets.
5. Is your hobby putting you in debt?
We all understand that if our spouses knew what our hobbies cost, there would be a difficult conversation to follow. How are you funding your hobby? Are you busy climbing out of credit card debt because of a sale too good to pass up?
Collecting anything can be expensive. For one, collecting requires volume. You can’t call yourself an art collector if you have just one art piece. Even if they are only buying shoes at $15 a pair, shoe collectors still manage to have thousands of dollars in shoes, knowing they can only use one pair at a time. Let’s not forget the closet size required to store all those shoes!
There are expenses in life. Did you get the shiny toy but have difficulty paying car insurance? Are you eating rice and beans to save money for the video game console? Are you overleveraging your credit cards to pay for hobbies?
6. Get a plan! Then review it regularly!
Taking stock of all these variables begins to outline the scope of what you are committing to. Of course, with ADHD, it is hard to slow ourselves down from going hog-wild with a credit card and buying shiny new things for our hobby. Why do we do this prep work before spending? We do this because we know our eyes are bigger than our wallets. It’s hard saying no to stuff, but when you have a plan, some “No’s” come easily because you have laid out a path to follow.
7. Accountability for hire, aka How do I keep myself in check?
Creating a spending cap and issuing a monthly allowance can be more complex than it needs to be when you are mixing hobby funds with bills. If this sounds like you, then maybe it is time to create a separate savings/checking account to keep track of your hobby spending. Remember, banks love it when you open a separate account. They want to offer you more ways to spend. Banks encourage you to open a separate credit card to attach to your new hobby account. Do not be lured by introductory 0% APR and attractive bonus points offerings. Banks only issue these credit cards for one purpose: to get you to spend more money than you make. Get yourself a debit-only card for electronic transactions.
Another idea is to use only cash to pay for your hobby. I know this is a little difficult in 2022, but it is better to walk into the store armed with only the money you know you can spend.
Good luck to you all, and don’t be afraid to show your inner geek for your hobby! Please spend wisely.
Nate Hooper
ADHD Coach | Center For Living Well with ADHD, LLC
