Special interests are too expensive

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Exactly; I lucked out; cheap special interests. I've watched them on YouTube (like auto-pedestrian fatal accidents, seizures from skateboarding accidents, vehicular fatal crash aftermath -- can't collect any of these!!). Maybe immerse yourself with VIEWING your special interest?

Stop collecting things. Delve deeply into Harry Potter in ways that don't cost anything like researching all the fantastic trivea

Before the Potter books we had The Wizard of Earthsea series and the Narnia series with similar themes. Children and magic have long been popular with authors - even in the last book that was read to me - "The Ship that Flew." Maybe you would enjoy saving such volumes from recycling, which only costs your time.

Having a special interest hat involves collecting definitely doesn't feel good when you have to depend on parents still, I have my own and it's still a black hole. lol In fact I'm going to be bad and order some more CD's today. Never mind getting the stuff I haven't even really begun to actually archive my entire music collection and the entire project with music alone by the time I'm even able to do it is going to take all Summer. The only other thing I hate about having a special interest like that is the people who don't understand and really pick it apart thinking you're just wasting money when they probably just blew hundreds they didn't have on some shiny new video game console or something. Like everyone else blows money the same stupid ways but if your stupid way is more nonsensical to them suddenly everyone is financial expert.

"Sensibility" in hobbies relates to how likely they are to help in other activities. If you like studying obscure ancient languages, you are less likely to get a job offer than if you like popular modern ones. If you make up your own games, you won't make as many friends as you would if you played a popular one. I had a friend whose model aircraft could have led to a whole new career. He was getting offers. Computers grew out of special interests, as did all the sciences. An interest in fire can go to pyromania, supersonic combustion, or just managing one's own heating with minimal effort.

My main special interest is arts & crafts. While I was unpacking my boxes after my move, I've found that I have 50 skeins of yarn and almost 200 bottles and tubes of paints. Special interests are expensive, but they're also worth it.

I had an interest in horses for years. I obviously could not afford to collect live horses, so I collected figures. When I could not afford to collect figures I read books from the library and kept a scrap book of images and articles. The internet today allows me to collect images in files. Search engines can really refine a hunt for specific images. This could apply to any hobby. Pinterest or similar pages can be fun to do, and less expensive than trying to purchase every item related to your interest. Make mobiles and posters and decorate with images of your favorites. Sculpt your own figures out of clay or papier mache...
I also did a lot of crafts surrounding my interest, learned to make miniature saddles and bridles, created my own stables for the horse figures out of found materials (wood, cardboard, wire, leather from second hand purses or leather jackets, etc. You could re create scenes and sets from your favorite movie or book scenes using images you print and cut out, applied to card stock or something similar. I spent a lot of time learning anatomy and drawing horses in as realistic a manner as possible. There can be many aspects of any interest and many less expensive ways to follow the interest. hope you find a way to scratch that special interest itch!! !

I'll save up money after expenses are paid, which goes into emergency funds things. Every now and again it'll exceed what I consider "enough", so I'll take a little and buy an interest related thing every year or few. Say, a few hundred dollars worth of knife that I'll end up abusing and modifying into something that is nothing like it originally was. Maybe an antique item of whatever that'll go away into a cupboard. I have antique knives, handguns, letter openers, coins, jewelry and so on that I've collected over some decades (I kinda picked that one up due to being taken to antique shops a lot as a child, and they incorporate into interests just fine).

Being old, and getting weaker, I looked into getting an ultralight canoe. They now run $3-6 thousand dollars. I’ve never paid more than a few hundred for a canoe and can’t afford it. I’m planning a trip for this summer and started thinking about getting some new, updated gear. No way. Luckily, I’ve adjusted my brain back into simple and make do with what I have or can repair.

Dill, are you okay? …that new avatar… again, I don’t mean to pry…just want you to know I care…

Do you have any sweet pea plants?

Interests don't always have to be about collecting - I'm absolutely obsessed with "Doctor Who" but apart from the actual DVDs and books, I just have a single action figure!

People who collect a ridiculous amount of stuff are more likely to show their collections off on the internet, so I think that skews our ideas of fandom a bit. And I'm not convinced the people with massive collections actually enjoy them more than people with, like, a sensible amount of stuff.

I live independently and can work, but only in a low-paid job. I have some interests that could possibly be turned into manic collecting. I can't afford to, and I don't think I even want to.

Lego: many YouTubers have basement Lego rooms the size of my entire home, filled with vast dioramas and literally millions of Lego pieces. My Lego fits in 6 shoeboxes. That's fine. I still love building with it.

I've collected maybe 25-30 Transformers toys over the past 2 decades. There are people on the Transformers forum who buy that many in 2 months, but I'm pretty damn sure I've got 100 times more joy out of each individual toy than they have. They often go online to whine about the poor quality of a toy they "had" to buy for their collection.

Guitars: richer men of my age and up go a bit crazy and buy themselves 2 dozen fancy guitars at £700 - £25,000
each, which they may or may not be able to play more than 4 chords on. One of my uncles is a prize specimen of this. I have one (1) guitar. It was cheap, secondhand, and has a dent in the soundboard. I love it and have played it every week since 2005.

My special interest is robotics - it can get very expensive - i currently cannot decide to get a 700 usd biped humanoid robot powered by raspberry pi or a 700 usd cnc router or upgrade my laptop to the 4000 usd one i really want. I need to set a budget and save up. My special interest started with R2D2. My time management and project management skills are not strong - a victim of poor executive function due to ADHD (diagnosed) and ASD (un/self-diagnosed). Same for budgeting. My interest lead to a BS in computer science - which lead to gainful employment - but i have never worked professionally in robotics. Poor time management and project management at work means i waffle back and forth between hyperfocus and getting diffuse - becoming too expert / obsessed with / hyperfocused on too many things but not aways that one thing my boss wants. Other times i really can pull a rabbit out of my hat. Lots of variability.

I have taught robotics classes for kids and volunteered to be a judge for a club competition.

Platt Monfort has plans for skin-on-frame canoes as light as 12 lbs that you can build at home. My favourite design (not published) is for a proa, so the bottoms can be very narrow and made from regular marine plywood, with fabric sides and decks. I am in the habit of beaching a boat, so I want a stronger bottom, but one might also just step out and carry it ashore.

Fascinating. I looked up his boat building info. Thank you. The proa as you describe might paddle like a canoe.

Unfortunately, Not boats that can be used to run white water and battle winds on Canadian Lakes.

^ Can scratch built canoes be made of fiberglass? It is supposed to be stronger than steel of the same weight - not sure of the cost - some robot builders use it for robot domes - boats and model rockets are other often mentioned uses. also automotive - i haven’t tried it yet - just read a bit.

Good canoes can be built of fiberglass. Still heavy. Lighter weight is Kevlar. Now the lightest and strongest are made of carbon fiber. Brand name canoes have proprietary layups.