Frugal Hobbies

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables is good for your body, but buying them? Not so good for your wallet. Tend a small garden plot or container garden in your spare time, and enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of your labor.

• Gardening on a Budget
• Landscape with Edibles

Up for a treasure hunt? Then, give letterboxing a try. Visit letterboxing.org for a list of letterboxes hidden in your area. Choose a box to hunt, and follow the clues to its hiding spot. Easy, free and fun.

Become a bookworm on a budget. Libraries, used bookstores and book swaps (both online and off) make it easy to feed a love of words for less.

• Make the Most of Your Library Card

Learn how to sew, and you can use your free time to make clothes, quilts, gifts and other items that you would otherwise have to buy.

• Frugal Sewing Projects

Turn crafting into a money-saving hobby by using your skills to make gifts, home décor items and jewelry for a fraction of what you'd pay in stores.

• Thrift Store Bargains for Crafters

Turn meal prep into something that you look forward to. Try out new dishes, take up home preserving, make your own mixes and ingredients. Then, sit down, and savor the results.

Like to dream about winning a large amount of money? Take up sweepstaking as a hobby, and you can increase your chances of making it happen.

• Sweepstakes Tips for Beginners
• Sweepstakes Listings by Category

Digital cameras have transformed photography from a very expensive hobby to a very affordable one. Fill up a memory stick with loads of pictures. Then, print the ones you like, and delete the ones you don't