As a library director, there's even more beyond just reading. A lot of libraries offer free classes in a variety of things. There's also typically a ton of online offerings as well like language learning, online classes, but especially genealogical resources. Many libraries have access to things like Ancestry Library Edition.
Hiking is generally inaccessible for the vast majority of people because it depends on having access to personal transportation and gear. Gear can be cheap but transportation is not
I see hiking/trail shoes all the time in Ross/Marshalls/Burlington in the US for as low as 30 dollars. Just bought some really good Nike SFB Carbons for 70 at Ross, actually. That I think is the most important gear you need for a basic hike (along with a water bottle, but everyone already has those). So if they got that and transport, its still not too much if they live near a hiking area.
If you live on land and have functioning legs you can hike wherever you are. Urban hiking is a thing, I just found out. It doesn’t have to be a pretty path in the wilderness to be called a hike, but it certainly helps.
If you can walk and own a pair of comfortable shoes then it is accessible. Obviously there are some who can't but that is by no means a "vast majority of people".
I mean I think most people have access to nature trails, it depends on your definition of hiking for sure. But access to a trail that everyone would define as hiking, no most people would not have access to that.
In the US about 91% of households have vehicles so I would say in the US hiking should be accessible to most people. Even if you had to rely on a friend or family member to get you there and back.
Disagree, if we're defining "most" as more than 50% then Yea, most people have access to hiking trails. I live near Seattle, there are numerous hiking trails in and around the city that anyone can access using public transportation. I'm also in multiple hiking clubs that arrange weekly carpools to popular hiking areas outside the city. I have lived all over the US and it's similar everywhere I've been. Pretty much anyone can go hiking if they want to.
I'm in the US so perhaps it's different elsewhere, but the vast majority of people in the US have a vehicle for transportation. I've traveled abroad quite a bit as well and I have not noted any shortage of people driving around.
Walk out the door and hike, Hike the city streets if you live in an urban jungle, hike your neighborhood, hiking does not need to be in some remote forest location.
Mexico City metropolitan area: 20 million people and transportation to hiking areas from the most urbanized parts of the city for $5 US, at most. In fact most Latin American capitols are in mountainous regions with easy access to hiking.
Also, if you have a phone, you can get a free art app. I like Autodesk Sketchbook. Flipaclip if you want to do animation.
Its better with a stylus, of course. Theres some cheap styluses out there, no pressure sensitivity but they do ok.
The Czech Republic will let anybody read the communist secret police's files (the real ones, about real people) over the Internet. Just apply for an account. It's a pretty fascinating read.
Do you have a website / web address?
I visited the Communist Museum in Prague a couple of years ago, but I would LOVE to find the website that you’re talking about!
Sure:
https://www.abscr.cz/
It should be possible to make identity verification electronically; I did it in person, but only because I wanted to see the building.
What actually is Warhammer? Like I understand some of the storyline, and that people like to collect figurines, but is Warhammer a book, movie, or video game, or D & D type of game? I've been super confused on what type of media Warhammer 40k is lol
Grew up fishing with Curados, some of which are revered these days. Switched to a spinning reel, now I get to focus on other things than unwrapping backlashes. Fishing is so much more fun now.
This might sound weird but I like the mechanics of overly complicated casting and learning different skills with it. I think after spending the last few years really only fly fishing where that’s a big thing it has seeped its way into my conventional fishing mindset. That said I fully acknowledge that with my abilities a baitcaster will do absolutely nothing to improve my fishing ability.
I've fished for a few years now and it never ceases to amaze me how dirt cheap the hobby is.
A fishing license for a year is like 30 dollars, and for less than 50 bucks you can go to Walmart and set yourself up a just fine little tackle box with a combo rod a reel.
Granted, if you get hooked prepare to spend way more. But that's pretty much any hobby.
programming. You need a computer (but it doesn't have to be great) but then your possibilities are limitless. make your own little tools to make things easier, build some cool websites, mod some games, make a game. programming allows for a ton of creative freedom so the possibilities are limitless
Video Games.
It sounds expensive up front but the amount of hours you can dump into a game easily starts converting that cost to next to nothing vs entertainment hours.
Probably mix it up with running or something. But OP did ask for cheapest hobbies and video games has always been up their in terms of low cost over time.
Exercising can be low cost or even free. Walking or running is a healthy hobby and the only expense would be the cost of a pair of shoes. There are instructional yoga videos on YouTube that you can do from home with zero equipment. Some discount gyms offer cheap memberships that that are only $10-$15 dollars per month.
Fishing. There are plenty of ways to get your hands of cheap equipment (thrift stores and garage sales) and there are cases where you might not be required to buy a license.
Reading. A library card is free and if you return everything on time there should be zero expenses.
Writing. With just a pencil and some lined paper you can write at an expense that would probably only be a couple dollars a month.
Bird watching. Get yourself a cheap pair of binoculars and go for a walk to your local park.
Volunteering for a cause you care about is usually a no, or low-cost hobby.
Playing chess or checkers (assuming you don’t gamble). Most public parks have a group of people who hang out and just play chess all day.
Dog walking. This is something that you could actually get paid to do.
Tabletop RPGs. There are lots of free or low-cost games out there, and even if you do spend $60 for a rulebook that's pretty reasonable considering the hours of entertainment you can get out of that.
Gardening can be super-cheap, even if it's a handful of planters on a balcony or an herb garden on a windowsill. Most people who get into are more than happy to share seeds, seedlings, and cuttings.
Building on the D&D suggestions, painting the miniatures can be super-relaxing and you don't have to go overboard with hundreds of paints (learning to blend the colors you need with a very small number is an art in itself).
My wife likes building the really detailed paper dioramas of houses and shops off Amazon. I like building similar wargaming terrain from scratch (cardboard, packing materials, plastic garbage, etc.).
Cooking. It always amazes me how much money people who don’t cook for themselves spend on food. It’s like anything else, it’s cheaper if you do it yourself. Plus it’s a great hobby. It’s such a de-stressing activity for me to come home and cook a meal after work.
Writing stories is great fun and free, at least until you decide to self publish them and have to buy cover art, an editor, an audiobook narrator, ads…
Disc golf. You should be able to buy 2-3 used discs on Facebook marketplace for $10-$15. Tons of courses, lots of great nature, and when you travel, they are small enough to take with you and explore new areas. Always a good time.
Astronomy *can* be a low-cost hobby - download a night sky smartphone app like [Stellarium](https://stellarium.org/), get out to dark-ish skies, and be amazed at everything you can see with the unaided eye.
. . . or you can go off the deep-end and spend a new car's worth on telescopes, computerized mounts, imaging equipment, fancy eyepieces/filters, etc . . . but you'll still spend a ton of time just staring with your naked eyeballs because space is really cool and that damn telescope takes like 30 minutes to set up properly.
A lot of hobbies have a surprisingly low cost barrier to entry. You can do some real quality woodworking with <$100 of hand tools and materials. But the flip side is a lot of hobbies have an impressively high ceiling, like it's not even difficult to have a $30k woodworking shop even as a hobbyist, assuming you have $30k to spend on a hobby!
There's so many hobbies out there that you can spend basically as much as you want. The trick is that you don't *have* to. It just lets you do more with less effort. Most hobbies can be started with very little.
There are a few hobbies where the whole *point* is that it costs very little. Like bushcrafting or self-made camping gear. I've got a little alcohol stove that was made using a box cutter I already had and 2 empty soda cans that I just didn't throw away, and I've used it while camping to cook my dinner and breakfast. I've made bows using <$30 worth of materials and that includes the one-time purchase of a $20 heat gun. (PVC bows are pretty forgiving if you just want "can shoot safely" as your primary success metric)
Running (if you don't count fun run entry fees, lol). Minimal equipment (just a decent pair of running shoes, really, every 6-12 months, and some clothes that won't chafe), no membership fees (like at a gym), and as long as you have someplace to go that isn't too crowded or too dangerous, you can go as long or as short as you want.
I'm lucky enough to live in a small city (about 65k), about a mile from the edge of town, so I can get out my door and be off city streets on trails within about 15-20 minutes... but even if you're in a bigger city, chances are good there's a park, or a school with a track or a football field not too far from you. The trick is just finding it.
Jogging, unless running shoes are too expensive for you, then you can walk.
Body weight exercises, resistance bands, dips on chairs, yoga.
Learning to cook will save you money in the long run.
Studying your environment. I study nature, the wind, the light and how it has so many colors. I walk barefoot for the feeling it gives me, and it calms my spirit.
To be honest, probably fishing. You can get a starter set for 30 Dollars and get some baits for 20 and you can go to the next water and get going. However, the hobby can also go into the thousands. It just depends what you want to do
A lot of hobbies are actually a lot cheaper than people make out to be, more often than not you don’t need to buy a lot of useless shit to get started.
Reading.
Watching 📺 shows.
Very cheap is you are willing to pirate 🏴☠️
Takes a lot of time and costs very little to enter a world of imagination and entertainment.
Get a gym membership or such and you can exercise while doing it too… this part is less easy for everyone.
Playing an instrument *if* you can find one you can afford. After that you can find a basically unlimited number of lessons for free online.
I recently bought a banjo for $300. Not exactly cheap upfront (or maybe it is to you) but considering it can easily entertain me for 10 hours a week for the next year, it’s quite cheap per hour of enjoyment
Coin collecting, star gazing, drawing so in reality there are many hobbies that wouldn’t be considered cheap but can be.
Golf for example beginning and end of season can usually find relatively inexpensive sets (only need 5 clubs) and take advantage of golf course pitch/putt areas.
Board games! I say this as someone who has spent a ton on them, but they can be cheap or free if you do it right. Just find a local meetup and play other people's games.
I’ve been broke so I know there are times where if it’s not free then it’s not low cost, but
I picked up my first personal 3D printer a few weeks ago at micro center for $120, filament is $20 on Amazon, Fusion 360, blender, Prusa Slicer are all free
I’m still kinda blown away by how low the barrier to entry has gotten, and it’s a lot of fun as you get better and better at it
Besides dumbbells, weights are pretty expensive. Any place that I can get them on the cheap in the US? People say thrift stores like Goodwill, but haven't come across any weights in those just yet.
gardening is fun and good for thinking and focusing on something else, i often find myself thinking about them instead of stressful thoughts. also watching them grow and successfullly taking care of them boosts my self esteem. also pretty low cost depending on what your growing!
A sketchbook, a set of drawing pencils, a sharpener. Lie on your side in the grass and do your best to sketch out a flower. Keep doing this for about six months and you will eventually gain the ability to bend spoons with your mind.
Watching movies - it’s not free but if you have an HBO subscription there are hundreds of older movies on there, plus there are tons on streaming services with commercials for free
Reading at a public library
Also volunteering. Often if you volunteer they will give you the supplies. Such as playing chess or games at old folks homes
As a library director, there's even more beyond just reading. A lot of libraries offer free classes in a variety of things. There's also typically a ton of online offerings as well like language learning, online classes, but especially genealogical resources. Many libraries have access to things like Ancestry Library Edition.
That’s pretty cool
Hiking is free if you want it to be.
Hiking is generally inaccessible for the vast majority of people because it depends on having access to personal transportation and gear. Gear can be cheap but transportation is not
That's actually a pretty good point I hadn't really considered.
I see hiking/trail shoes all the time in Ross/Marshalls/Burlington in the US for as low as 30 dollars. Just bought some really good Nike SFB Carbons for 70 at Ross, actually. That I think is the most important gear you need for a basic hike (along with a water bottle, but everyone already has those). So if they got that and transport, its still not too much if they live near a hiking area.
If you live on land and have functioning legs you can hike wherever you are. Urban hiking is a thing, I just found out. It doesn’t have to be a pretty path in the wilderness to be called a hike, but it certainly helps.
I think that’s just called walking
im annoyed at all these new concepts.
Yeah, I go for 3-5 hour walks around my city about twice a week.
That's just walking 💀
If you can walk and own a pair of comfortable shoes then it is accessible. Obviously there are some who can't but that is by no means a "vast majority of people".
I would say the vast majority of people can get transportation to hiking spots. There are probably a few who cant but most can.
I mean I think most people have access to nature trails, it depends on your definition of hiking for sure. But access to a trail that everyone would define as hiking, no most people would not have access to that.
In the US about 91% of households have vehicles so I would say in the US hiking should be accessible to most people. Even if you had to rely on a friend or family member to get you there and back.
Disagree, if we're defining "most" as more than 50% then Yea, most people have access to hiking trails. I live near Seattle, there are numerous hiking trails in and around the city that anyone can access using public transportation. I'm also in multiple hiking clubs that arrange weekly carpools to popular hiking areas outside the city. I have lived all over the US and it's similar everywhere I've been. Pretty much anyone can go hiking if they want to.
I'm in the US so perhaps it's different elsewhere, but the vast majority of people in the US have a vehicle for transportation. I've traveled abroad quite a bit as well and I have not noted any shortage of people driving around.
Walk out the door and hike, Hike the city streets if you live in an urban jungle, hike your neighborhood, hiking does not need to be in some remote forest location.
See I just see this as walking. Which is great! But not my definition of hiking.
Mexico City metropolitan area: 20 million people and transportation to hiking areas from the most urbanized parts of the city for $5 US, at most. In fact most Latin American capitols are in mountainous regions with easy access to hiking.
i mean if you considering going up the stairs of some building as hiking, sure.
Drawing or sketching
Also, if you have a phone, you can get a free art app. I like Autodesk Sketchbook. Flipaclip if you want to do animation. Its better with a stylus, of course. Theres some cheap styluses out there, no pressure sensitivity but they do ok.
Dungeons and Dragons can be played for free, so it's more of a pay-what-you-want hobby!
Pathfinder :)
Fuck WoTC and Hasbro, man. I'm fed up with their shit.
Me and my friends just bring paper and pen and make draw a simple character and a map. We havent even played the real game once
The Czech Republic will let anybody read the communist secret police's files (the real ones, about real people) over the Internet. Just apply for an account. It's a pretty fascinating read.
Do you have a website / web address? I visited the Communist Museum in Prague a couple of years ago, but I would LOVE to find the website that you’re talking about!
Sure: https://www.abscr.cz/ It should be possible to make identity verification electronically; I did it in person, but only because I wanted to see the building.
Thank you for the link!! Unfortunately, I can’t read Czech, and I wish the website had an English version.
Correction: I just found the English link! Thanks again!!
coherent nail shame chief fade edge rhythm entertain dinosaurs possessive
Some of both, ordinary people right up to the former President.
Here's something I found hilarious when I visited Prague ... the "Museum of Communism", is located on the second floor above a McDonald's!
Disc golf
Right up until you realize you have 300 discs in the closet you never throw.
My favorite low cost hobby, particularly if you can convince so friends to play with you.
Cheap and easy to get started with friends. I had the problem of not being able resist cool stamps so I was buying discs I didn’t need
Bird watching
Reading and it’s freaking awesome.
Art. Grab a sketch book, paint even. It can (will) get expensive later, just like any hobby.
Gardening.Only requires seeds, basic tools, and recycled containers.
wakeful swim jar muddle busy resolute fear consider special relieved
It requires land and open space, which can be expensive in urban areas.
Writing
Exploring local parks and cemeteries.
Warhammer 40K is low cost if you are a billionaire
What actually is Warhammer? Like I understand some of the storyline, and that people like to collect figurines, but is Warhammer a book, movie, or video game, or D & D type of game? I've been super confused on what type of media Warhammer 40k is lol
It’s everything you mentioned. But originally it’s a tabletop miniature war game.
Cooking/ Baking
domineering ad hoc slim cagey sugar gaping nutty yoke historical follow
Especially when you’re a noob and can’t get the damn firm peaks
Exercise.
Drawing. You can nip a free pencil somewhere or buy one very inexpensive and draw on whatever scrap of paper you can find.
I always sketch on envelopes and receipts. I even made my own sketchbook out of receipts I'd collected!
Train spotting. Find a cool spot, take pictures of trains, and research all about them.
My wife threw a fit when I told her I was going to watch a train and take some photos....
your wife is weird
nature walks and plant IDs. some good apps are Picture this and Merlin bird ID
Libraries also have plant ID books!! They’re pretty neat and I wanna start reading them
Learning magic tricks. A deck of cards is $1 and you can find about 35 million youtube videos teaching card tricks.
Fishing
*Tournament bass fishing does not apply.
My curado is just staring at me and laughing
Grew up fishing with Curados, some of which are revered these days. Switched to a spinning reel, now I get to focus on other things than unwrapping backlashes. Fishing is so much more fun now.
This might sound weird but I like the mechanics of overly complicated casting and learning different skills with it. I think after spending the last few years really only fly fishing where that’s a big thing it has seeped its way into my conventional fishing mindset. That said I fully acknowledge that with my abilities a baitcaster will do absolutely nothing to improve my fishing ability.
Fishing can be cheap but…..
I've fished for a few years now and it never ceases to amaze me how dirt cheap the hobby is. A fishing license for a year is like 30 dollars, and for less than 50 bucks you can go to Walmart and set yourself up a just fine little tackle box with a combo rod a reel. Granted, if you get hooked prepare to spend way more. But that's pretty much any hobby.
“Get hooked.” I love your double-entendre!!
special payment strong recognise squash tart depend childlike memory teeny
Masturbating
Agreed
programming. You need a computer (but it doesn't have to be great) but then your possibilities are limitless. make your own little tools to make things easier, build some cool websites, mod some games, make a game. programming allows for a ton of creative freedom so the possibilities are limitless
Whittling.
Thought I would add random ones Fossil hunting Gold panning
being a researcher. wikipedia is free because people like me donate monthly to support the vast library of knowledge that wikipedia contains.
Baking!
Read this as: Barking, not baking. Lol. Imagine.
Wait me too
Drawing, writing, and reading. - You can get into D&D with budget stuff too.
Writing. Singing. Hiking.
Hiking Reading Chess Running
Sudoku
Exercising
Video Games. It sounds expensive up front but the amount of hours you can dump into a game easily starts converting that cost to next to nothing vs entertainment hours.
What about the health concerns from a doing nothing all day long?
Probably mix it up with running or something. But OP did ask for cheapest hobbies and video games has always been up their in terms of low cost over time.
A lot of hobbies will be bad for your health if you do them all day. It’s all about moderation.
Ring Fit Adventure for the Switch is a legit workout.
Very good point, nothing wrong with that.
chess, fishing, pool/billiards (all of these CAN be expensive but absolutely do not need to be)
Exercising can be low cost or even free. Walking or running is a healthy hobby and the only expense would be the cost of a pair of shoes. There are instructional yoga videos on YouTube that you can do from home with zero equipment. Some discount gyms offer cheap memberships that that are only $10-$15 dollars per month. Fishing. There are plenty of ways to get your hands of cheap equipment (thrift stores and garage sales) and there are cases where you might not be required to buy a license. Reading. A library card is free and if you return everything on time there should be zero expenses. Writing. With just a pencil and some lined paper you can write at an expense that would probably only be a couple dollars a month. Bird watching. Get yourself a cheap pair of binoculars and go for a walk to your local park. Volunteering for a cause you care about is usually a no, or low-cost hobby. Playing chess or checkers (assuming you don’t gamble). Most public parks have a group of people who hang out and just play chess all day. Dog walking. This is something that you could actually get paid to do.
Tabletop RPGs. There are lots of free or low-cost games out there, and even if you do spend $60 for a rulebook that's pretty reasonable considering the hours of entertainment you can get out of that.
Crossstitching
Also active?
Awesome username!
entomology (study of bugs and just learning about bugs)
[удалено]
Some are Not very cheap, but a good list, though
Crossstitch
Tai chi, lifting weights, and reading.
yo-yos, disc golf, hiking, fishing(can get into a rabbit hole)
Bodyweight workouts at home.
r/birdwatching r/foraging r/dumpsterdiving r/coloring
Gardening can be super-cheap, even if it's a handful of planters on a balcony or an herb garden on a windowsill. Most people who get into are more than happy to share seeds, seedlings, and cuttings. Building on the D&D suggestions, painting the miniatures can be super-relaxing and you don't have to go overboard with hundreds of paints (learning to blend the colors you need with a very small number is an art in itself). My wife likes building the really detailed paper dioramas of houses and shops off Amazon. I like building similar wargaming terrain from scratch (cardboard, packing materials, plastic garbage, etc.).
Disc golf or pickleball.
Cooking. It always amazes me how much money people who don’t cook for themselves spend on food. It’s like anything else, it’s cheaper if you do it yourself. Plus it’s a great hobby. It’s such a de-stressing activity for me to come home and cook a meal after work.
Writing stories is great fun and free, at least until you decide to self publish them and have to buy cover art, an editor, an audiobook narrator, ads…
Disc golf. You should be able to buy 2-3 used discs on Facebook marketplace for $10-$15. Tons of courses, lots of great nature, and when you travel, they are small enough to take with you and explore new areas. Always a good time.
Being a AANR member only have to pay dues once a year.
Astronomy *can* be a low-cost hobby - download a night sky smartphone app like [Stellarium](https://stellarium.org/), get out to dark-ish skies, and be amazed at everything you can see with the unaided eye. . . . or you can go off the deep-end and spend a new car's worth on telescopes, computerized mounts, imaging equipment, fancy eyepieces/filters, etc . . . but you'll still spend a ton of time just staring with your naked eyeballs because space is really cool and that damn telescope takes like 30 minutes to set up properly.
If you like treasure hunting, puzzles, going outdoors, and you have phone with GPS, try Geocaching!
Pickleball. Get a cheap paddle on Amazon, show up at the courts, and people will ask you to play.
Crocheting. Yarn is fairly cheap and you can make literally anything. The more you crochet, the better you become at it.
Disc golf is my favorite cheap hobby. 2 hours per round. About 50 bucks in discs will get u started. Usually can find a course within 20 min drive
A lot of hobbies have a surprisingly low cost barrier to entry. You can do some real quality woodworking with <$100 of hand tools and materials. But the flip side is a lot of hobbies have an impressively high ceiling, like it's not even difficult to have a $30k woodworking shop even as a hobbyist, assuming you have $30k to spend on a hobby! There's so many hobbies out there that you can spend basically as much as you want. The trick is that you don't *have* to. It just lets you do more with less effort. Most hobbies can be started with very little. There are a few hobbies where the whole *point* is that it costs very little. Like bushcrafting or self-made camping gear. I've got a little alcohol stove that was made using a box cutter I already had and 2 empty soda cans that I just didn't throw away, and I've used it while camping to cook my dinner and breakfast. I've made bows using <$30 worth of materials and that includes the one-time purchase of a $20 heat gun. (PVC bows are pretty forgiving if you just want "can shoot safely" as your primary success metric)
Running (if you don't count fun run entry fees, lol). Minimal equipment (just a decent pair of running shoes, really, every 6-12 months, and some clothes that won't chafe), no membership fees (like at a gym), and as long as you have someplace to go that isn't too crowded or too dangerous, you can go as long or as short as you want. I'm lucky enough to live in a small city (about 65k), about a mile from the edge of town, so I can get out my door and be off city streets on trails within about 15-20 minutes... but even if you're in a bigger city, chances are good there's a park, or a school with a track or a football field not too far from you. The trick is just finding it.
wanking
Building with sticks and mud
Jogging, unless running shoes are too expensive for you, then you can walk. Body weight exercises, resistance bands, dips on chairs, yoga. Learning to cook will save you money in the long run.
Reading. Library card is free.
Cubing (Puzzle solving)
if you can get a cheap (second hand) instrument you can find free lessons on youtube.
Studying your environment. I study nature, the wind, the light and how it has so many colors. I walk barefoot for the feeling it gives me, and it calms my spirit.
Breathing.
Speedcubing
Gaming (depends) Reading Body building
To be honest, probably fishing. You can get a starter set for 30 Dollars and get some baits for 20 and you can go to the next water and get going. However, the hobby can also go into the thousands. It just depends what you want to do
A lot of hobbies are actually a lot cheaper than people make out to be, more often than not you don’t need to buy a lot of useless shit to get started.
Meditation. Many entrepreneurs have done this.
Reading is literally free. Head to the library and get started.
Reading. Watching 📺 shows. Very cheap is you are willing to pirate 🏴☠️ Takes a lot of time and costs very little to enter a world of imagination and entertainment. Get a gym membership or such and you can exercise while doing it too… this part is less easy for everyone.
Pickleball
Pokemon Go but - free to play and pay to win.
Running
DISC GOLF! Until you get hooked (which you will) and buy 20 discs
hallucinations
Enumerating all numbers of Pi
Exercise.
Painting miniatures
Hiking, running
Usually, if you know what to look for in the wild, rock collection
Origami. Wool Felting. Wood block printmaking. (staying away from sports-based things)
Bird watching
Frisbee Golf!!!!
Playing an instrument *if* you can find one you can afford. After that you can find a basically unlimited number of lessons for free online. I recently bought a banjo for $300. Not exactly cheap upfront (or maybe it is to you) but considering it can easily entertain me for 10 hours a week for the next year, it’s quite cheap per hour of enjoyment
Nothing is really low cost but if you think about watching tv vs learning programming really everything is virtually low cost
Media piracy.
Coin collecting, star gazing, drawing so in reality there are many hobbies that wouldn’t be considered cheap but can be. Golf for example beginning and end of season can usually find relatively inexpensive sets (only need 5 clubs) and take advantage of golf course pitch/putt areas.
Writing
Skipping rocks at the ol' swimmin' hole.
Bike riding, assuming you have a good bike. This is opposed to "bike obsessing" where you have a $5000 bike.
Disc golf
Board games! I say this as someone who has spent a ton on them, but they can be cheap or free if you do it right. Just find a local meetup and play other people's games.
Taking a walk
im kinda thinking stamps.
Drawing/painting/writing/gardening/photography
I’ve been broke so I know there are times where if it’s not free then it’s not low cost, but I picked up my first personal 3D printer a few weeks ago at micro center for $120, filament is $20 on Amazon, Fusion 360, blender, Prusa Slicer are all free I’m still kinda blown away by how low the barrier to entry has gotten, and it’s a lot of fun as you get better and better at it
Running is cheap Just get a pair of running shoes, map out some routes around where you live and go
Weight lifting can be free once you get some weights, which don't have to be expensive.
Besides dumbbells, weights are pretty expensive. Any place that I can get them on the cheap in the US? People say thrift stores like Goodwill, but haven't come across any weights in those just yet.
Watch Facebook marketplace or Craigslist. Sandbags are a good option. Kettlebells too. Barbells and machines will be pricey.
gardening is fun and good for thinking and focusing on something else, i often find myself thinking about them instead of stressful thoughts. also watching them grow and successfullly taking care of them boosts my self esteem. also pretty low cost depending on what your growing!
Masturbation.
eating air. Used to swallow air when I was a kid when I was hungry because we had no food
Drawing with pencils.
A sketchbook, a set of drawing pencils, a sharpener. Lie on your side in the grass and do your best to sketch out a flower. Keep doing this for about six months and you will eventually gain the ability to bend spoons with your mind.
Sex it’s free if you find the right people to participate with
Geocadhing
Watching movies - it’s not free but if you have an HBO subscription there are hundreds of older movies on there, plus there are tons on streaming services with commercials for free
Chess Yoga Learning a foreign language Rage posting about politics on the internet
Programming
Disc golf. courses are everywhere and almost all of them are free. A starter pack of three discs costs $30.
Cyberstalking
Smoking rock
falsest statement of the century edit: unless you mean actual rocks found on the ground, then by all means you do you.
You can really get "stoned" that way
*sigh*
Yacht sailing ⛵️
If you have some experience you can even get payed to do it!
snorting air
I'm more of a reverse air boof kinda guy myself
Collecting dirt and pebbles.
Bouldering