Happiness: Hobbies

I am a man of many hobbies. In fact, my wife could argue that I have one or two or three too many hobbies to fit into one pee sized brain. I believe however that hobbies are one of the world's most important keys to being happy.

Hobbies have been around for what I can only assume is as long as mankind has had the ability to think beyond their more basic needs. Where historically our ancestors may not have had time to think of much other than food, shelter, and survival, most of us have the luxury of thinking beyond those necessities. If that is the case for you, you might have hobbies that include dancing, bike riding, working out, crafting, auto mechanics or much more.

Personally, my hobbies include working out, game design, hunting, playing the guitar, self help studies, and psychology. Whether you share any of these hobbies makes no difference. In fact, there are probably few in the world who share my exact same list of hobbies. That's just yet another great part about them. Hobbies can help make us unique, exciting, and fun to be around. This can then influence others around us in a positive manner. That's not to mention the positive effect that a hobby can have on you, yourself.

Las Vegas on a Budget

I feel that most of the posts that I make on this blog are dedicated towards the stock market and the inner workings of my portfolio but I want to remind myself that the blog wasn’t just meant for that purpose. It was also made to discuss topics of personal finance that can lead to better money handling which then translates to more to invest with. That being said, there was a post on Mr. Money Mustache’s message boards today that was discussing frugal people’s views on Las Vegas.

Most of the replies were centered around “oh my God, I hate Vegas! (insert silly reasoning about how expensive it is or how bad some of the people can be there)”. On the other hand, there were a few who replied that saw it in a different light – a much more positive one. I myself am of the positive stand point on Vegas. In fact, in the last year, the wife and I have been several times (me three times and her twice).

Where some have found the city to be a money pit and the land of bad decisions (the capital?), I have found Vegas to be one of the most unique cities in the United States and I think that it would be a crime for anyone to not experience it at least once. I write this post today then to describe how one can go about visiting and enjoying Las Vegas without dropping thousands of dollars on the trip.