Whether you are looking for a hobby that can make you some extra cash, a list of fun and unique hobbies, or a way for you to get your family out of the house and have some fun, you have come to the right place. I believe that we spend to much time in the house watching TV, playing video games, or staring at a computer like you are doing now. So i hope to inspire you to find a new hobby and have some fun. Most of the hobbies i talk about on this site are hobbies that can making some if not a truck load of money.

If you are looking for a way to bond with your children and start a new family tradition, why not plan a weekend getaway with the possibility of finding some real treasure whether that is numismatic or memories of a family adventure from days past. Let us not forget about our beautiful national parks, beaches, camp grounds, mountain ranges and bodies of water and lets mark a date on the calender to start a new expedition to happiness. I wish you and your family many fun filled days pursuing your new hobby and buckets of treasure to take home as a bonus. 




Gold Panning

Gold panning is a fun way to get out in the wilderness and have some fun. When you find your first nugget you will be hooked for life. You can get a gold panning kit on Amazon for under $20, that is all you will need to get started. Depending on where you go and how lucky you are, you could make gas money or enough money to buy a new house. 


Magnet Fishing

Magnet fishing is simply tying a magnet to a rope and throwing it in the water to see what you can catch. You will want to use at least a 150 lbs pull magnet. I use two 250 lbs pull magnets screwed to two metal flat bars to give me more range and holding power. I have found that railroad bridges and back country rivers have the most unusual items in them. If you are lucky enough to live by an old battle field then you may be able to find some good stuff there. It will cost you $25 to $100 to get a decent rig put together but you can use whatever you can find to start. Amazon has a 150 lbs pull magnet for about $11 to get you started. Even if you don't find an old gun or an antique boat motor, the price of scrap metal is $215 a ton as of march, 8 2012, so 10 lbs of metal is about $1.08, it wont make you rich but it pays for gas. Just to day I pulled up 237 lbs of metal in 1 1/2 hours at a local railroad bridge, thought I got a gun but it was just a poop scooper, oh well. A three prong anchor or big treble hook will help get larger items out once you have located them also.
Below is a video i found on you tube.

You can get a decent metal detector online for $100 to $200 but you will want to do your homework before you buy one. Depending on where you live and what you are looking for there are many different options, the "Bounty Hunter Tracker IV" is a sound investment for a beginner. I like to try to find small towns with rich history to hunt for relics and collectibles. Battle fields are great places to look as well as old schools and sports fields. If you have kids, this is a great way to bond with them. You are not allowed to metal detect in federally controlled lands in some states, so you will want to check your local laws. Happy hunting! 

Get Started Metal detecting

You can search for antiques and collectibles in many places. Here are a few good places to start.

• Thrift Stores
• Garage Sales
• Estate sales
• Auctions
• Flea Markets/Swap Meets
  
• Antique Stores In Small Cities
  

• Storage Auctions

Hunting for antiques and collectables, what i have been doing that has generated some income for me is to go to; garage sale, thrift stores, auctions, and some online auctions. Fist step is to go to you local antique dealers and see if they are buying and at what price (usually 1/3 of retail). Then research, knowledge is power so learn as much as you can and try to learn one category at a time or you may be overwhelmed. Then get out there and hit some garage sales, keeping in mind how much you can sell them for and focus on what you know will be a profit. Such as sterling silver flatware, desirable glassware, vintage toys, old fishing gear, military items, and don't forget recyclables, you may find a roll of wire worth $20 selling for $5. Don't be scared to bundle and negotiate the price, also walk away from a deal if it is not profitable. E-bay can be a great way to sell some items for more than you would get from the antique dealer but you will have to do more work, pay fees, and wait 2-3 weeks to get your money. I make between $50 and $400 a month with this source of income. Some Collectibles to Get You Started

Coin roll hunting is one one of my favorite hobbies. This hobby has no risk of loss, if you buy $50 worth of coins, it will be worth $50 minimum. Another reason i like this hobby is because you can search rolls of coins anywhere, sitting at home watching TV, waiting for the bus, or having a drink on your own personal dock to name a few. This hobby requires a high power magnifying glass and possibly a digital scale. The first thing to look for is silver coins: dimes, quarters, half dollars, and dollars 1964 and older are 90% silver, half dollars 1965-1970 are 40% silver, and nickles 1942-1945 are 35% silver. Next thing you will want to look for is error coins, error coins can be worth a considerable amount of money. Error coins are tricky because it can be vary hard to see some of the errors that are worth hundreds of dollars, so it is necessary to have a good magnifying  glass or jewelers loupe. Some common errors are Double Dies, Doubling, Repunched, Wrong Stock, and Rotated Revers. You will have to read up on the subject and it will take a while to learn what to look for, but this can be a fun and rewarding hobby. "Strike It Rich with Pocket Change" is a very good book to learn the basics from. A few coins to look out for are:

• 1943 copper penny     $50,000+   1943 pennies were struck on steel blanks, a copper 1943 penny is very rare
  
• 1965 silver dime         $9,000+        1965 dimes were struck on copper and zinc, a silver 1965 dime is very rare

• 1969-S penny with a doubled-die obverse   $35,000                Beginner coin info         Coin Melt Value
  

Storage auctions take hard work, attention to detail, research, and a little luck.. Most units will have to be emptied out within 24 hours of the sale. Moving all that stuff is hard work and some items are very heavy. I recommend you buy units with a partner, they can help move all the items, pay half of the cost, and they may have knowledge about the value of different items. You will need a truck maybe a trailer and a lock or two. My advice is to bring a flash light, evaluate the resale value of everything you can see and Do Not bid more money than you see in value. You can bid more if you want to but you risk substantial losses, it is your decision. You will have to walk away from units at times, some days you will wonder what people are smoking, but don't get caught up in these bidding wars. Try to go to auctions on days that have bad weather or weekdays if possible, less people = more deals. Find outlets for your goods: resale shops, collectors, antique dealers, fisherman, construction workers, mechanics, etc., and put them in a Rolodex or binder. The more outlets you have the more money you will make and the faster you will move your products, not to mention you will keep the stuff you buy from ending up in your living room and finding yourself on a episode of hoarders. Some items will not sell but you can donate them to a thrift store for a tax write off. To find where the auctions are at you can subscribe to a site that lists all storage auctions coming up for a fee.  You can also do what i do and Google "legal notices your city and state"  and scroll through the listings to find the storage auctions or look under legal notices in your local paper.    

Oyster and Shiitake Mushrooms are some of the easiest and most profitable mushrooms to grow. I have experience with growing oyster mushrooms on a small scale. I usually just eat most of the mushrooms i grow but i have sold some in farmers markets for $15.00 a pound. It can be hard for people to get fresh, locally grown exotic mushrooms so you will have plenty of customers should you choose to start growing mushrooms. Even if you just grow mushrooms to save money and have fresh mushrooms when you want them, this is a fun and tasty hobby. Here is a link that has allot of information on growing mushrooms  for a profit.               Grow Some Shrooms

Do you cook the best chicken or make the best home made BBQ sauce? Do you enjoy cooking? Well why not make some money from it. You have many options to get payed to cook, you could buy a food cart and sell anything from sandwiches to racks of ribs or maybe roast a whole pig on a spit. I owned a hot dog stand a few years back and i made about $150 profit per day for about 4 hours of work. There is a little hurdle called the Health Department, insurance, an LLC, and a sellers permit, but after that it is a fun and profitable business to start. It will take a couple weeks up to a few months to get everything up and running depending on how familiar you are with all the legalities of starting a business, getting insured, and getting approved by your local Health Department. It took me 5 weeks and I know my way around starting a business. Be prepared to spend at least $3000-$4000 and up to $40,000, if you want a pull behind cart you will be at the lower end, if you want a truck with a full kitchen you will be at the higher end. You could make this a full time job but be warned that in colder climates, the winter season you will either have to take a vacation with all the money you made or find another source of income. Where you set up will directly effect how much cash you make, If you sell low cost product set up next to a college, if you have a high priced product find a neighborhood with demand and traffic, and if you sell bar time food, well set up next to a bar at 1:00 am. Do your research before you buy a cart or truck and make sure that the cart meets your states requirements, you don't want to get your shinny new cart and then have to replace the sink and buy another water heater.  You can find a cart on E-bay or just Google "vending cart" and you will have hundreds of options. I for one think we need to see more people running their own business and enjoying their lives, hope to see you out there.

This is not a hobby I have had the personal opportunity to participate in. However I often dream of finding a sunken ship full of pirates treasure. Below is some information to get you started.

Diving For Sunken Treasure

Precious Gem Mining

You can find paces all over the world to mine precious gems, usually you will have to pay a day rate to dig there. Here is a list to get you started on your gem quest. Precious Gems

Do you have a writer inside you? If you enjoyed writing in high school or college or are just an avid reader, the answer is probably yes. In any event, you certainly have an outlook or experience that no one else has. Why not put that perspective into words and make a few bucks sharing what you think?

Types of Books Here are some types of books you could consider writing, depending on your personality and skills.  More

Blown glass is a particularly beautiful art form. From bowls to jewelry, the effect of blown glass is vibrant, organic, and unique, and appealing to everyone who can appreciate the end product of a unique craft. If you have a creative bent and are looking for a new hobby, glass blowing can be a great option to look into.

How to Get Started If you’re not familiar with the basics of blowing glass, you’ll need to spend some time learning the techniques and skills involved. Many glass blowing studios offer classes, in which students learn the beginning skills. These are often available through independent studios or university art programs. Courses can range from $40-300 a class, depending on the structure of the class and its length.  More

Is crafting a hobby that can earn you extra cash? The answer is a resounding yes, although the amount you can make will depend on your particular skills and the crafts you decide to pursue. Here is our list of the 10 best crafts to pursue for making money.

Paper Goods
Paper goods, such as wedding invitations, stationery, and party invites are a great low-investment craft to try your hand at.

Art
If you’re already painting, drawing, sculpting, or pursuing some other type of art, then you’re letting a good money-making opportunity go by if you’re not showing these pieces on a virtual or real storefront. More