Thousands of Brits wasting more than £500 on forgotten hobby

A study from the marketplace site Gumtree found that Brits as a whole are wasting a total of £3.88bn per year on new hobbies that they then give up after four months on average.

Individually, this breaks down to about £833.50 per person, with people wasting more than £500 a year on sewing or more than £200 on fitness/the gym.

A survey of 2,141 UK adults found that just a third (32%) considered buying their equipment secondhand, which could help save some money.

For example, those who started sewing spent an average of £300 on a new machine, but the median listing price for a second-hand machine on Gumtree is £50-£60.

Fitness and exercise take the crown as the most common hobby that Brits have taken up and then given up in the past three years, with 13% of those surveyed having done so.

Looking more generally at the top reasons why people gave up their new interest, 38% said that the hobby was more difficult than they expected (increasing to 67% for guitar and running), 31% said it was too expensive to maintain, and 20% thought they weren’t very good at it.

Others simply got bored (36%) or were too busy to have time for it (26%).

Most expensive hobbies that Brits gave up

According to Gumtree‘s research, the most common hobbies given up (and the associated costs) were:

Kim Faura, consumer expert at Gumtree, said: “It’s only natural to want to try new things, but our research reveals that we can sometimes struggle to commit to a new hobby, despite having spent precious time and money in our excitement.

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“If you’re looking to take up a new hobby, we’d recommend buying any equipment secondhand – particularly if you’re not sure that you’ll keep at it long term.

“Whether it’s a guitar, a camera, paintbrushes, golf clubs or hiking boots, shopping secondhand can help to save you a lot of money when pursuing a new interest. 

“If you find that your latest passion isn’t quite right, you can always sell your items to other people exploring the activity. This will help you make some money back while providing someone else with the chance to find their new favourite hobby.”