When you’re on a budget, one of the first places many people cut back on expenses is in entertainment, recreation and hobbies.

The problem is: leisure-time activities might be exactly what you need to break out of the stress of everyday living. How can you balance out these competing financial interests?

Here are some tips for keeping up with your hobbies when you’re on a budget:

• Pick your hobbies carefully. It is not in your best interest to have a hobby whose sole purpose in life is to suck money out of your wallet. Collections, in particular, have a way of doing that because the focus of a collection is acquiring “stuff”. Seek out the hands-on hobbies where the focus is more on your time or talents than your money.
• Try it out before you invest a lot of money. If you’re starting a new hobby, then borrow or rent equipment or purchase the initial supplies second-hand. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on a hobby that you might not stick with in the long run.
• Shift priorities when money is tight. If you can’t purchase the supplies to take on your next big project or make your next purchase, use your time instead to research the topic. Pick up books at the library that pertain to your interest, or search out  resource sites and hobby blogs on the Internet. Find out if there are any free or low-cost community education courses that give you more skills and knowledge to enjoy your hobby.
• Enjoy your collection. If you have already built up a collection of this or that equipment or supplies, then enjoy the pieces you already own. Spend time re-reading your favorite best sellers, watching again your favorite DVDs, creating a different layout with your train set, rotating your art work around different rooms in your home, or getting as much use out of that fishing equipment as possible.
• Consider ways to save money because of your hobby. I never thought of handcrafting cards to save money on greeting cards until I paid attention to what I was really spending on cards. I already had papercrafting supplies because I was scrapbooking – so it was very little effort and money to adapt my papers, punches and design books into a different art form. Gardeners, cake decorators and photographers also have the talents in which they can save real money on services that families frequently pay for.
• Consider ways to make money because of your hobby. It is a rare situation when a hobby can generate enough funds to replace a full-time income. However, it is a reasonable goal to sell or barter your services as a painter, crafter, computer geek, consultant, seamstress, etc. to help pay for your supplies or with the cost of upgrading your equipment.

Update: This article has been featured as one of CESI Best 101 Debt Busting Posts of 2009.