Budget Friendly Hobbies for University Students
By: Maria Garcia Manzano, AEIC of The Quill
Brandon University, while one of the most affordable post-secondary institution in Canada can still be expensive. As students, we budget our funds towards school, and living expenses. However, we should still find things that bring us joy! Having a hobby can be psychologically beneficial to our health and during these unprecedented times, having an activity that we enjoy may be just what we need to get us through the pandemic. Below I have listed five different budget friendly hobbies that I believe will bring joy to your every day life.
1 Reading:
Reading allows us to temporarily escape into a different world and this method of travelling costs very little. If you have an amazon account you can purchase ebooks through amazon, download the kindle app and read them. Ebooks are typically cheaper and you are able to start reading as soon as your transaction goes through, rather than having to wait for your book to arrive in the mail. If you have an apple product you can also purchase books through Apple Books. In case you want to have the physical copy of the book you can order through a variety of different retailers. One of my favorites is www.bookoutlet.ca as it has a variety of books offered at discounted prices.
2 Photography:
Thanks to technology, most people have access to cameras on their phones. If you do not want to splurge on buying a professional camera, you can hone your skills on your phone instead. Additionally, there are a wide range of apps and resources to learn photo editing on either a phone or computer.
3 Drawing:
If you want to learn how to draw there are many free online courses (https://www.thoughtco.com/free-online-drawing-classes-1098200) that can help you hone this creative skill. The great thing about drawing is that it can be done anywhere and you are able to take a quick photo and share your creations on social media. Or alternatively you can just keep them to yourself. Drawing is also a gateway hobby as it may even lead you to pursue painting and other creative activities.
4 Cooking:
Many people don’t realize how much they like cooking until they really try it! This could be the case for you. Not only will cooking help save money on your meals since you won’t be constantly ordering skip the dishes, but cooking for yourself can be a healthy and creative alternative way that will allow you to feed your body and spirit. Plus, you will learn a whole array of different recipes that you can then share to your family and friends.
5 Restoration and DIY:
If you happen to take a walk around your neighbourhood or even inside your home and see a piece of old furniture lying around you may want to create a unique show piece. If you are willing to spend the time requires to restore furniture in creative ways then you will find yourself enthralled by the process. DIY is one of my personal favorites as I love to constantly rearrange my room and décor. I have found that browsing through the Facebook marketplace or on ebrandon I can find a variety of different items that I can restore into unique pieces that fit the aesthetic of my room.
There are a variety of ways to occupy our time while that do not involve watching Netflix, YouTube videos, or Disney+ etc. While there is no problem watching and enjoying shows it may be getting a little repetitive at this point and we may yearn for something different and a little more stimulating. Now is the time to switch it up and start a new hobby.