Sewnoma

I used to feel guilty about spending money on my hobbies but now I do not.

About 12 years ago I was very much into soap making. OBSESSED with it, more like. I made (literally) hundreds of bars of soap and spent hundreds of dollars on supplies and materials in the process. I loved every minute of it and I actually got to be quite good at it (if I do say so myself).

Then I decided I needed a way to "get rid of" my soap and also gain back some of my expenses. I had been giving it away to friends, families, and charities (women's shelters, specifically) but I figured I could sell some of it instead and at least recoup my expenses.

So I launched an online shop. Got a business license and a retail license and the whole 9 yards. Spent hours building my site, integrating a shopping cart, networking and getting the word out online and amongst family and friends...hours and hours and HOURS of work.

And orders rolled in! I had customers as far away as the Netherlands. People were buying entire batches of my soap and I was selling out all the time. I was actually turning a profit my first year in business! Not a HUGE profit, but profit nonetheless, even after expenses and paying myself a (minimal) salary. Success!

Problem was...it became a CHORE. A HUGE chore. I was rushing to make soap to meet a demand, not taking my time and being creative and enjoying the process. It made me leery of trying new things because I didn't have time for failed batches. I was always at the post office, always answering email, packing boxes, replacing lost orders, tracking down billing problems, updating my site, trying to get decent photos, shopping for packaging.... It didn't make nearly enough money to become my full time job or to even hire an assistant, so I was still working a full time job, so now instead of having a job and a really fun hobby I just had two jobs. It was exhausting.

It was no fun at all and I burnt right out and closed the business in less than 3 years, despite making a (small) profit. I haven't made soap in years (although I do still have my equipment and my custom recipe books!) We have actually just recently used up the last of my soap stash and I'm not at all interested in making more. I will go to a local craft show and BUY soap instead! (I do still firmly believe that properly made handmade soap is the BEST soap, so now I'm happy to put some money in another soapmaker's pocket.)

So for quilting...I refuse to even THINK about making money from it. It's my hobby, it's my "fun thing", it's my get away from the work-a-day world. I have a stash and I love it! I refuse to feel guilty about it. I only buy what I can afford and if this is how I chose to spend my extra time and money, this is how I'm going to spend it!!

So...long story short...I firmly believe that it is 100% OK to have an utterly profitless hobby. As long as you're still paying your bills and keeping food on the table and a roof over your head....do NOT feel guilty about having a stash. Create a ledger line for happiness and chalk up your profits THERE. And if the stash becomes a tiresome burden, sell it or give it away and don't look back. Life is too short to be burdened by things that are supposed to bring you happiness.

Sorry for the long post...this topic is very near and dear to my heart. This was a hard thing for me to learn; that it's OK to "waste" money on something if it makes you happy and you have some money to spare.