Let me tell y’all something that I’ve learned the hard way: time is the one currency we can’t earn back. You can hustle for money, you can budget better, you can even return that Amazon order you swore you “needed” at midnight (been there done that). But when it comes to time? Once it’s gone my dear, then it’s gone.
And yet, what do so many of us do with our most precious resource? We scroll. We scroll TikTok while dinner burns, we scroll Instagram while our kids beg us to watch their new dance routine, we scroll Facebook Marketplace until we’re convinced we need a speed boat even though we live three hours from the nearest lake.
I’m not judging, trust me, I’ve done all of this and even more. But at some point, I realized that endless scrolling wasn’t filling me up. It was draining me. And, more importantly, it was stealing my minutes.
So today I want to talk about something radical, something that feels almost rebellious in our swipe-and-buy culture: to stop the scroll (jesus, I would even say delete TikTok!) and instead picking up low-cost hobbies that actually make you happier. The kind that don’t just entertain you for a few seconds but leave you with a memory, this wonderful feeling of endorphines, a skill you can make money of, or even a fridge-worthy piece of art (and I don’t mean the kind your toddler finger-paints – though those are cute little treasures too).
I’ve rounded up five low-cost hobbies that can genuinely improve your life and yes, I speak from experience as a two-time mama living in the sticky, sweet, pecan-pie-filled South. These hobbies have pulled me out of the consumer trap, quieted my restless brain, and given me way more satisfaction than hitting “add to cart” ever did.
Let’s dive in, y’all (still feels funny to say that as a German but I love it!).
1. Watercoloring: Painting without the pressure
You know how intimidating “art” can feel? Like you need to have graduated from some fancy art school in New York and own berets in multiple colors before you’re allowed to pick up a brush? Forget that. Watercoloring is the exact opposite. It’s messy, it’s forgiving, and – bonus – you can start with a cheap $15 paint set from Walmart or Amazon (I got this one and I like it).
Here’s the thing about watercolor: it’s not about control. The water does its own thing, and you just kinda… flow with it. It’s a great metaphor for parenting, honestly. I’ll be sitting at the kitchen table while my kids are doing homework, and I’ll whip out a brush and make little blobs that sort of turn into flowers. By the end, I’ve got something cheerful taped to the fridge instead of another 45 minutes of scrolling news headlines that just stress me out. There is just something mediative about it what I like. Plus: You can do ith wherever you want, whenever you want. In the park, at the fireplace…It´s universal, cheap and pretty cool.
Why it makes you happier:
- It slows your brain down. You literally cannot do watercolor in a rush. The paint and water won’t let you.
- It’s cheap. Paper, brushes, and paint. Done.
- You get a little dopamine kick from making something beautiful. Even if it looks like a drunken rainbow, it’s still yours and you´ll get beter over time (I am still not very good but the process is the important thing, right?).
And no one ever regretted spending an evening with a brush in hand instead of buying stuff online they’ll forget about in a week.
2. Hiking: Therapy with mosquitoes
If there’s one thing the South has, it’s trails. Okay, and humidity. And bugs the size of toy cars. But still very beautiful trails and so does Germany! And here’s the best part: hiking is free. You don´t even need fancy hiking shoes.
Hiking doesn’t require a gym membership, a Peloton subscription, or those $200 leggings with pockets only big enough for a Tic Tac. You just lace up whatever sneakers you own, grab a water bottle, and hit the path.
And y’all, the happiness payoff? Immense. There’s something about walking through trees that feels like plugging your brain back into a charger you didn’t even know was missing. Studies say hiking lowers stress and boosts your mood, but honestly, you don’t need a study. Just try it once and you’ll get it.
Why it makes you happier:
- Fresh air and sunlight beat fluorescent lighting any day.
- Movement = endorphins = natural high.
- Instead of scrolling through other people’s vacations, you’re actually living your own adventure and FEEL it yourself.
And unlike my online shopping habit, hiking has never once ended with a package I had to sneak past my husband on the porch.
3. Kayaking: The low-cost adventure you didn’t know you needed
I know, I know. Kayaking sounds expensive and very complicated with the racks on top of the car etc. I thought the same thing! But hear me out. Many local parks rent kayaks for less than what you’d spend on two frappuccinos. (And if you’re in the South, odds are you’re within driving distance of a river, lake, or swampy bayou that’ll rent you one.) And even better. Did you know that there are INFLATABLE KAYAKS? How cool is that? I actually own 2 inflatable kayaks which I got off from Facebook Marketplace for 40$ each and I can simply put them in my trunk and take them whereever I want without a big truck or car.
The first time I kayaked, I expected it to be terrifying. Like, “gator jumps out and flips me over” terrifying. Instead, it was… peaceful. There’s something magical about being on the water, phone zipped away in a dry bag, just paddling and listening to the world around you. Birds, fish, the occasional splash of your kid’s paddle when they accidentally soak you. It’s grounding in a way no app will ever be and cheaper than most hobbies I know.
Why it makes you happier:
- It forces you offline. (No one’s scrolling TikTok in a kayak, right?)
- It gives you bragging rights. “Sorry, can’t scroll tonight, I’ll be out paddling.” Sounds way cooler than “I fell into another three-hour Instagram hole.” And it´s a very good excuse for not answering the phone at all for a couple of hours.
- It makes you feel adventurous without costing a fortune.
And unlike retail therapy, kayaking doesn’t come with buyer’s remorse. Just a sore shoulder and some funny stories.
4. Becoming really good at cooking: From dinner duty to superpower
Listen. I know cooking doesn’t always feel like a “hobby” when you’re a mom. Sometimes it’s just survival- getting something edible on the table before the kids declare mutiny. But once I reframed it as a skill I wanted to get good at, everything changed.
Instead of scrolling Pinterest for impossible 47-step recipes, I started small. One dish at a time. Perfecting my stew. Nailing a weeknight pasta sauce that didn’t come from a jar. Learning how to roast vegetables so they didn’t taste like sad, soggy punishment. I actually even started a foodblog on Instagram which gained about 10k followers and made some decent side income off of my courses.
Cooking well is like giving yourself a superpower. It saves a loooot of money (fewer takeout nights), especially if you also start to do your kids snacks and lunches yourself instead of buying snacks. It boosts confidence (“yes, I did just make this bread from scratch, thank you very much”), and it turns something mandatory into something joyful.
Why it makes you happier:
- It shifts you from consumer to creator.
- It saves money, which makes future you happier.
- It’s shareable. Food brings people together like nothing else.
And honestly? Nothing compares to the smug joy of watching your kids demolish a meal you made instead of whining about it.
5. Photography: Freezing joy in real time
Okay I have to admit: I am still working on my photgraphy skills and there i a looot of room for improvement. When I first started playing with photography, I thought I needed a $1,500 camera to “do it right.” Nope. Turns out the best camera is the one you already own. Yes, even your phone.
Photography as a hobby is really about noticing. It makes you pay attention to details you’d otherwise miss: the way the light hits your kid’s face while they’re laughing, the way your garden looks after a rainstorm, the way your coffee steam curls in the morning sun. Suddenly, you’re present. And: You don´t need to hire an expensive family photographer for your yearly christmas photo shoots.
And unlike endless scrolling, photography leaves you with something tangible: a captured memory. A little reminder that you were there, you saw it, you lived it. You could even sell your shots on stock-photo platforms like pixabay and earn a tiny little side-income (let´s be honest, maybe 1% of people doing that can actually make a living from it).
Why it makes you happier:
- It trains your brain to look for beauty.
- It keeps your hands busy in a way that doesn’t involve doomscrolling.
- It gives you little souvenirs of everyday life—no shopping required.
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Why these hobbies beat scrolling (and shopping) every single time
Now, here’s the kicker: all five of these hobbies don’t just make you happier. They also crowd out the bad habits that eat up our time and money.
When you’re painting, hiking, kayaking, cooking, or taking photos, you’re not mindlessly scrolling Instagram. You’re not filling online carts just for the thrill of hitting “purchase.” You’re too busy living.
And here’s the real moneymalism lesson: hobbies like these don’t just save you money. They give you a better return on your most valuable asset – your time. And if you are overall happier you don´t have the feeling to need to fill this „void“ in your life with useless stuff. In fact, you will rather will feel more grateful for what you already have.
Because at the end of the day, none of us will look back and say, “Wow, I’m so glad I ordered all that random junk from Amazon in 2025.” But we will remember the watercolor doodles, the trails hiked, the river adventures, the meals cooked, and the snapshots of our kids growing up.
Final thoughts
Happiness isn’t something you buy. It’s something you practice. And the more time we invest in hobbies that ground us, challenge us, and delight us, the less space we leave for habits that drain us.
So the next time you feel that itch to scroll or shop, ask yourself: what if I put this time into something that’ll actually make me happy?
Then grab a paintbrush, lace up your sneakers, rent that kayak, fire up the stove, or snap a photo. Your future self—the one with a calmer mind, a fuller memory bank, and maybe a killer gumbo recipe—will thank you.
And trust me, she’ll be a whole lot happier than the version of you who just bought another set of throw pillows online.
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