What are some non-electronic hobbies I can start for under $100?

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Juggling and tabletop Role-playing are great.

If you can find an already established group of role-players you can practically play for free.

 

[Chaos Inverse]

Archery maybe, buy a beginners bow for about $60-80 and a quiver of arrows. Long pointy hat and green tunic optional.

 

[Zwilorg]

Do the usual sports, got out for a coffe with some friends, enjoy yourself while reading (loads of ebooks nowadays for free and even manga), study for something you really really like (coding, history, maths, physics, economy,etc...) you start doing this and your time will get filled up without you even knowing

 

[Snotnarok]

Drawing, digital painting, webcomic making.

Art supplies can be cheap depending on what you go for and there's plenty of options for free painting programs online.

 

[Rafael Dera]

Learn Python! of all the programming languages, it best balances ease of learning, power and general utility (imho). I started learning it and wrote my first (useful) program the first day and first GUI the second day. It's fairly amazing how quickly you can 'get going' with it. It's available for most if not all platforms and is fairly lightweight compared to most pieces of software these days.

DnD is good fun, you'll need some dice, pencil, paper, eraser and some other similarly inclined people (you generally don't need to buy these). I'd advise pathfinder, because it's awesome and easy to pick up. Most resources are available on-line.

You could learn organic chemistry by getting the good 'ole "Clayden, Greeves, Warren and Wothers" (aka 'the bible') you can get it used for about 40 bucks.

If you're looking for tabletop action, warmachine is fairly cheap at the entry level (about 50 bucks for a "battle box"). Besides the standard pewter, they even have some plastic models to bring down the price.

Or learn sanskrit. Bitches love sanskrit (obscure penny arcade joke).

 

[kouriichi]

Warhammer 40k?

Oh wait.... It got another price increase.
Well, i guess if you like painting models and boardgames, its a great game to get into.
Its both in one. But its definitely not cheap.

 

[DSK-]

Fishing I suppose. Though I prefer Sea fishing (beachcasting) to fresh water.

Get some free weights and workout at home. It's great fun

 

[sheic99]

Guitar, you could probably pick up a started electric guitar kit for about $100 at somewhere like musician's friend (USA only) or other places.

Plus it'll help you look cool, even if you cant play very well

If you go to a pawn shop, you can probably get that for even cheaper and save some money for a couple of lesson books.

 

[Jabberwock King]

I am absolutely fascinated that no one has mentioned gardening. Have you considered buying a plant? If you want to try it out I suggest getting a Gardenia first, its flowers are about 3-4 inches across and can bloom prolifically, which is good because you won't be able to get enough of the caramel/spice fragrance.

 

[Casimir_Effect]

There's this incredible exercise I do which requires virtually no money and is proven to be one of the best there is. For some reason though, many people are only capable of doing it in a gym in which case it does cost money.

This exercise is called "Running". Trainers, T-shirt, shorts/light trousers, cheap mp3 player if you need one (I got a small, 2GB Archos clip-on one for £15 a year ago and it still works fine) and you're set to go. Don't need to waste money paying to go on a treadmill, just find a park, country lanes or even some city streets to run around.

For non-active hobbies, read some books. They really can be awfully good, and can be acquired very cheaply from charity shops or freely from a library.

 

[Atheist.]

Homebrewing. For roughly $100, you could get all of your equipment, a how-to book, and ingredients for your first batch of beer. Beyond the first batch, all of the equipment is reusable and each additional batch could be around $30, depending on the ingredient list and your experience with the hobby. It's great fun (if you like that sort of thing), and it'll turn you into a beer geek really quickly.

Oh yeah, and having a constant supply of a shitload of extra beer around is a really good way to make friends.

If your of age, definitely this route. I started last Summer and have enjoyed sharing my homemade beer with friends and coworkers ever since. You can modify your own recipes, but I'd recommend starting with a pre-made ingredient kit, just so you get the basics down.

If you have any friends or coworkers that have similar working hours, why not try finding a hobby that you can bond over as a pair or small group? I know fishing is reasonable for entry level, and if you know someone who already does it, you can likely borrow lures and such.

 

[MisterGobbles]

Might I add that stuff like guitar and M:TG are relatively cheap to start (unless you get a great guitar), but once you get into them, the expense adds up. Guitar is obviously the most expensive in the short term (getting a good amp and a decent guitar with a case will run you about $1000), but the stuff will last you a long time. Of course, you still have to buy stuff like picks and slides and cables and strings and music, but the initial gear should last you a long while if you take care of it. Magic adds up over the years; someone who plays extremely often will often sink thousands of dollars into cards, especially on the secondary market.

 

[Aur0ra145]

Hiking and camping. When done properly, it is very cheap. You don't need all the high-tech gee wiz shit everyone seems to think they need now days when they are outdoors.

 

[Aisaku]

The way my summer job works I work 3 days on and have 4 off. I was dismayed today when I looked back and realized I spent basically all my days off playing video games and watching movies. Other than that, I also read and go to the gym occasionally.

The problem is, almost every activity I want to start doing or get back into requires a good investment in equipment to get started: airsoft, archery, dirt bikes, kayaking, horseback riding, krav maga lessons, etc. Even things that seem deceptively simple on the surface, like fishing and mountain biking, are not when I do some research about all the stuff you need.

Previous posters have covered several good options so I'd like to counterpoint with some warnings.

AVOID: Anything collectible. That includes collectible card games, war games, miniature games, and being a roleplaying book completionist.

FOCUS on stuff that while fun, may have some practical use in day to day life. Stuff like carpentry, electronics, drawing, crafts. Any physical fitness activities are great too.

Come think of it I do have a new idea to add: Jugger. That's a german sport that's basically football with medieval weapons. (The weapons are tubes covered with foam, cheap to make and a lot of fun) Check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugger

 

[ArmorFan]

learn magic tricks, or learn to paint

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Get yourself some shoes with good grip and start climbing trees, it's great exercise and can give you a real feeling of accomplishment if you get scale a particularly rugged specimen. After that, when you finances improve, maybe look into rock climbing?

 

[Spade Lead]

Apples to Apples. You can get it for about $20-$30 at any number of major department stores. Invite a bunch of friends over and bask in the inevitable hilarity that follows.

My brother suggested that games gets funny as shit when you start allowing racism and slander to enter the game...