They can be wildly expensive, and some truly aren’t worth it. I almost always opt to donate the shirt I get because frankly I’m a little picky about my gear and they’re rarely good quality, but even beyond that I’ve run a few where the race coordinators just haven’t got a clue how to host a race and I really start to question why I even paid to register at all.
Fortunately I’ve found an amazing local company that hosts trail runs and is managed by a former ultramarathoner and they’re the best races I’ve been a part of. I also feel good about paying a local small business.
Good luck making it to your first marathon 😀
Oh yeah, forgot about that one. You thought you just needed one pair of shoes? Well, no I need a different pair for trail running and road running. And it gets cold here and I like to run in the winter so that’s a whole other set of clothing I gotta have. And let’s don’t even get started talking about how the grocery bill gets hiked up during the training cycle…
Still cheaper than my cycling hobby!
Running.
Was supposed to be the cheapest way to get exercise. You can do it right from your front door, no gym subscriptions, no specialized equipment (some people will tell you you don’t even need shoes), and it’s far and away the best time-value exercise I’ve ever found. You can get away with like 20 minutes 3-4 times a week and be doing great.
Well, turns out I love running and I love distance running so I’m now putting up enough miles to need new shoes 2-3 times a year, a nice Garmin smart watch and heart rate monitor to track my progress, sign-ups for several long-distance races each year, shorts, socks, you get the picture.
Could I do it cheaper? Yeah. But at the end of the day it’s a hobby and I like it
Interesting. I basically do this to myself by counting two breaths and repeating that count while focusing on the darkness behind my eyelids. If I catch my mind wandering I go back to the simple count and staring at my eyelids again. Works pretty well most of the time as I’m not picturing anything nor am I allowing my inner monologue to run away on me.
Free or affordable, clean, safe public transit that takes me no more than 20 minutes from the time I set foot out my front door to setting foot in the office, and a team/company that doesn’t care if I decide to work the day remotely for any reason whatsoever. I also like the other guy’s comment about the workplace being a nice, inviting place to be since my cube is barren and probably 20+ years old.
Also the rest of y’all need to stay home when you get sick instead of bringing that shit into the office.
I’m very close to finishing The Sound and the Fury. It has lived up to it’s reputation of being opaque and difficult. Really more of a checklist book for me.
I am about midway through Neurotribes. It’s interesting, but has been slow going.
I’m finally picking up steam on my second read of Infinite Jest. Even better than the first time around.
I am about midway through Anathem. Neal Stephenson is a gifted writer, but for some reason I really lost traction on this one after I got through the world building and into the actual narrative.
I am also nearly done with my second read of American Gods. I have it on audiobook this time. Really enjoying the ensemble cast. It’s a good story and I enjoy Gaiman’s narrative style.
Idk why but ever since my youth I’ve never been able to focus on just one book at a time.
Cooking! You don’t need to be a Michelin-star chef (or even aspire to be) but if you can make your own meals regularly you can save so much money. It’s a great way to bond with your kids, too!
Also, maybe it’s weird to say, but ‘learning’ is an incredibly valuable skill that Will see you through a lot of hardship. The ability and drive to continue learning and having curiosity late into life makes people healthier, happier, and more well-rounded persons in my opinion.
It’s trending down as the overall amount of dead humans continues to grow proportionally with the current population. No matter how many humans are born they will eventually die and add to the total; even with a massive and sustained baby boom the ratio of alive humans to dead humans will still, eventually, reach zero.
The subresdit /r/frugalmalefashion was really incredie for a while there, but it thrived in users posting good deals regularly and fair moderators keeping out inappropriate content (i.e. scams, predatory subscription services, and comments like “this isn’t truly frugal!”). /r/buildapcsales was the same way
I do this when I take walk breaks. I often end up “presenting” what I’ve just learned to someone in my head, anticipating questions they might ask and trying to concisely explain the material