From passion to profit! These hobbies can change your life!
Tired of the same 9 to 5 job? Then it might be time to do something that actually makes you happy…and, why not…rich?
While having a hobby is not exactly about making money, it doesn’t hurt to choose something that can bring you feelings of accomplishment but also some money in your pocket. Because, whether we like it or not, it is also important to have a certain financial stability. And if a hobby can bring you this sort of stability, then even better.
Not all hobbies are profitable, but some of them can bring you serious financial gains. Maybe not from the very beginning, but you know what they say: practice makes perfect.
That being said, read on to find out 12 pastime hobbies which can be turned into quite lucrative side hustles or even main activities.
Collecting
An activity that was quite popular in the past is collecting items. From stamps and coins to vinyl records and comic books, there’s nothing enthusiasts do not collect. And if there’s something profitable among those collected items, then you can consider yourself one of the lucy ones. Like Charles Amble, who managed to make around $20,000 with his Nintendo games collection.
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Metal detecting
Metal detecting might seem like a thing of the past, with your grandparents enjoying it as if they were real archaeologists. But you might want to wipe of that smirk of your, because metal detecting can be quite entertaining and profitable.
Apart from the fact that it is a fun activity, it’s also quite exciting and thrilling to not know what exactly you are looking for. You might find something completely worthless or something that could change your life in unexpected ways. Like it happened to metal detectorist David Board, who discovered a 14th-century diamond and gold ring while searching a field in Dorset, England, in February 2019. Quite a profitable walk, wouldn’t you say?
Panning for gold
An activity as old as the Roman Empire is panning for gold. It might not seem like an entertaining activity, but similar to metal detecting, it can prove to be quite lucrative. Sure, you might say that sifting through riverbeds is a waste of time, but you never know luck strikes you. Not to mention it is a pleasant way to spend a sunny day, maybe even with your family.
While this pastime hobby is not as thrilling as one would want, give it a chance. Enthusiast Dan Hurd managed to snatch an ounce and a half of gold over one weekend in British Columbia, Canada. The shiny discovery was valued to around CA$4,000 ($3k).
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Digging for diamonds
Similar to panning for gold, you have digging for diamonds. So that you don’t roam the country in search of inexistent diamonds, there are specialized locations where you can carry on with your search, like the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas. Visitors are allowed to dig on a 37-acre field in search of diamonds and other precious stones, such as garnet, jasper, and quartz and amethyst. The cherry on top is that you get to keep whatever it is that you find. And there are plenty of things that you can find, considering that solely between January and May 2022, 206 diamonds were discovered at the Crater of Diamonds State Park. The biggest of them all was a 2.38-carat brown diamond, discovered by Adam Hardin, who visited the park regularly.
Thrift shopping
People who love fashion and clothes surely have a blast when walking the aisles of stores in search of their next attires. But if they are also looking for serious discounts, then thrift stores should be their next stop. Apart from the thrill of rummaging thorough piles of clothing sold for very affordable prices, they can even find some pieces of clothing which can bring them quite the profit.
If you are perseverant and observant enough, you can spot incredible designer items hiding in the bargain basket. You can then resell them on site such as Poshmark, Depop or eBay for substantial amounts. This is what Ashley Peek from Dallas, Texas did and ended up turning her passion for fashion and thrift stores into a six-figure side job.
“I never knew that I was growing this to be a six-figure business,” Peek explained to CBS News DFW. “I was just enjoying doing it, and that’s what led me where I am today.”
Restoring old furniture
It’s a beautiful feeling to turn an old and maybe broken item into something beautiful, ready to be used again. It’s like giving it a new life. If you’re inclined towards artistic activities, you can give furniture restoration a try.
Apart from being a fulfilling experience, this pastime activity can also bring you important money. Interested people search thrift stores and flea markets for items with a potential to be refurbished and transformed. The newly created items are then resold on ecommerce sites such as Etsy.
Lilly Skjoldahl from Texas succeeded in finding a piece of furniture on Facebook Marketplace, restore it and resell it for $10,000. That was the cost of her dentist bill!
Gaming
Turns out, your mother was not right when she was asking you to stop playing those silly video games. That’s because video games can now be turned into important side hustles. That’s right! Playing video games can bring you money, with players receiving serious money for performing on live streaming platforms such as Twitch.
They can also add more dollars to their account via subscriptions, ad revenue, and tips from other viewers, all from they very comfort of their home. If it sounds too good to be true, just know that the team at fan-favorite channel Critical Role earned $9.6 million in 2021 simply by playing Dungeons & Dragons. An average player, on smaller channels can earn between $25 and $130 per month.
Beekeeping
It might not seem like everyone’s cup of tea, but beekeeping has gained quite the popularity in recent years, with celebrities like Morgan Freeman and Michelle Obama promoting this sort of activity.
Apart from being eco-friendly, beekeeping can also be quite lucrative. You can make honey, but also soap, candles and the like. Bee lover Patrick Harrison from New Jersey turned his passion into a serious business He started with only two bee colonies and managed to develop his Harbee Beekeeping business to 200 colonies, selling honey, beeswax candles and teaching other people about bees.
Baking
Baking has always been among the popular hobbies but its popularity skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only is baking therapeutic and beneficial to your overall well-being but it can also help your bank account. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart or Mary Berry to turn your batch of sweets into a profitable side hustle. You just need to put passion into your creations (and the right ingredients, of course).
Take Michelle Heston, for example. She transformed her passion for baking into a profitable business, even if she is commissioned to make one sweet a week. Her creations bring her between $500 and $1,000 a month.
“I’ve always believed that baking is a productive therapy for me,” she said in Time interview. “If you love what you do, it’s not really work – I’ve found that both in my side hustle and my full-time career. Both bring me great joy and push the limits of what I can accomplish.”
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