What affordable hobby can I try out?

A few years ago I hit a similar issue and decided to try 4 new things a year (a friend was doing this monthly, but I am lazy). Lock Picking Learn how to open locks without keys. Budget less than £50 for a lock pick set plus transparent locks to see if you like it. Then check eBay for new locks every now and again. (I didn't keep this up, but it was very interesting). Fencing Hit people. With swords. There are both traditional fencing clubs and the historic fencing clubs dotted about London. Budget about £100 to try it and see if you like it. If you do club costs will be £30-50 a month. If you really like it and want your own gear ~£400. (I did this for ~4 years, before I moved jobs away from the club and had kids). Drone/RC Crash a drone and constantly replace the rotors. If you have a decent sized garden you just need to pick one up and see if you like it. Or join a club, a local park may well have one. Budget, I'm not the best person to ask here, I really like the concept and have tried to get into it twice (with a £100 helicopter and a £70 drone) but it never clicked for me. Air guns Shoot pits of paper in your garden. Budget if you have a large enough garden (10m length minimum) then you just need a gun (minimum spend: £70 for a Beeman P17 if pistol, £160 for a decent SMK, yes a fair chunk of airgunners will now disagree but this is imo the /minimum/ spend) then paper, bottle tops and pellets is about £10 for 500 shots. If you don't have a large enough garden then you will also need to join a local club. There are a few dotted around London, I think you are looking at about £50 a month. (I do this, it is a lot of fun, really good way to unwind) Clay Pigeon What is affordable is a rather personal thing. This is towards the less affordable end, but it is also a lot of fun. There are a few clubs within easy reach of London. Budget about £100 to see if you like it. Then you need a license (£80), medical certificate (£0-65), safe (£100) and shotgun (£300 and up, £650 would get you a new ATA SP, a fine cheap starter, but there are good second hand options) Then about £50 for each session. (This is my primary hobby at the moment) Practical Shotgun A different, more modern feeling shotgun sport. See above for the rough costs. (This is on my "to try" list for this year) Computer gaming (/VR) A Meta Quest 3 or XBox or PS or Switch are all about £500. That said if you had a mid range PC you don't need any of the about, just hit steam for some games that look interesting. (I like to think of this as one of my hobbies, but I rarely game these days. My VR kit is just a cheap way to shoot clays (£500 for the Meta Quest 3, 15 for Clay Hunter, £200 for a good stock). 3D Printing/designing The second part is in my opinion what makes this hobby fun. Designing your own nerf gun or what have you and then seeing it made real is pretty damn cool. Budget a mid range computer (which I'm assuming that you already have), minimum £150 for a basic 3D printer (Ender 3 has been the go-to for many years, but I'd check on 3D printing groups with your budget) and "ink" at about £20 a kg. (This is an on/off hobby for me, I really like the designing part of it, but could do without constantly fixing the Ender 3 Pro) Photography Free if you have a somewhat modern phone. Exercise/Gym I'll be honest, before I started I assumed it would be dull. It ain't. I'm not a gym rat and (because of my love for fizzy drinks) I'm still a fat git. But it is a really good way to centre yourself. Budget: nothing if you just do something at home, £30-50 for members to a gym Swimming Budget, less than £10 a session. Programming Make your computer do stuff. Budget free if you have a PC. If you don't and want to keep it cheap, you really don't need much of a PC to get started. A £50 ex work box from eBay or a Raspberry Pi (or alike). (This is my job, so at home I program directly on "unusual" hardware) Electronics Like programming, but in real life. Budget I'd buy a project box, like the PI Hut Xmas thing for ~£40 Board games! Free to start with clubs like London On Board. Then if you are not careful, slowly eat all your spare money and space. Airsoft/Paintball Shoot people not targets. There are a few clubs in and around London. I don't do either of these, but they both look fairly reasonably priced to try. ---- I've pretty much stopped doing 4 new things a year now as I've found a few hobbies that work for me.