Hobbies are an incredible way to take care of yourself and keep a balanced, healthy lifestyle. They allow you to stay social, get active, and pursue interesting or creative endeavors. With the right planning and direction, they can also be an extra income. Here are five enriching hobbies that can make you money in your free time.
Beekeeping is rising in popularity as a hobby. More and more people want to buy local honey, and with bee populations on the decline, there is a growing movement to protect them. If the outdoor time and environmental service isn’t rewarding enough, it’s easy to turn your beekeeping hobby into extra income by bottling and selling the honey from your hives at a local farmers market. Honey isn’t the only thing you can sell, either. Many beekeepers make and sell soap, candles, and other goods made from beeswax from their hives.
Similar to beekeeping, gardening is a great way to spend more time in the fresh air and sunlight, and it’s easy to make a profit selling the fruits of your labor. If you don’t have room for a full fruit or vegetable garden, you can also keep herbs indoors. Not only will you have fresh, homegrown produce to use in your cooking, but plants are also a great way to decorate your home.
From poetry to blogging, there are endless opportunities for you to turn your writing into an income. This is one of the best enriching hobbies that can make you money because it requires little prep work or money to get started. You can even combine this with another hobby by writing about what you love and submitting it to blogs. If blogging isn’t your style, you can send your writing to journals and collections to get published. While many of these have a submission fee, there are also many that take entries for free or for a very low price.
If you have an eye for a quality photo, consider turning it into a side business. While this might take a little money upfront to invest in a quality camera or studio space, you can soon make an income by selling your service to family and friends. Professional photographers can be expensive, which is why local, more affordable photography services are in demand for weddings, family pictures, graduations, and other life events.
Playing an instrument is good for your coordination, mental health, and emotional well-being—plus, it’s just plain fun. While not everyone can pick up a guitar and make a living out of it, there are ways to make some cash on the side with your music. Perhaps the simplest is busking, which is playing on the street to gather donations from passersby. However, modern technology makes recording, mixing, and publishing music easier than ever. You can even find free audio editing software online, and music streaming websites like Spotify and Amazon Music allow you to self-publish—making your music available worldwide for all to hear.