People who seem content despite having less money usually have these 7 hobbies in common

I have a friend who makes about half what I do, lives in a studio apartment, and drives a fifteen-year-old car.

By most conventional measures, he's not "successful." Yet he's one of the most genuinely content people I know.

Meanwhile, I know people pulling six figures who seem perpetually anxious, always chasing the next thing, never quite satisfied with what they have.

The difference isn't just mindset or gratitude practice or any of that self-help stuff. It's something more concrete. The people who seem content despite having less money tend to share specific hobbies, ways of spending their time that create satisfaction without requiring significant financial investment.

Today, we're looking at seven hobbies these people have in common, and why these particular activities seem to generate contentment that money can't buy.

1) They cook from scratch

People who are content with less almost always cook most of their meals at home, and not just heating up frozen dinners. I'm talking about actual cooking from basic ingredients.

There's an economic reason for this, obviously. Cooking from scratch is significantly cheaper than eating out or buying prepared foods. But the contentment piece goes deeper than just saving money.

Cooking engages you in a creative process with immediate, tangible results. You're learning, experimenting, improving. There's satisfaction in developing a skill that serves a fundamental need.

There's also the time aspect. Cooking slows you down. It forces presence and attention in a way that ordering takeout doesn't. That enforced slowness creates space for contentment to actually register.

From my own experience going vegan eight years ago, I had to learn to cook properly because restaurant options were limited. What started as necessity became one of my primary sources of satisfaction. Making a meal from scratch that actually tastes good never gets old.

2) They read library books

You'd be surprised how much contentment comes from a library card.

People who are content with less tend to be voracious readers, but they're not dropping money at bookstores or on e-readers with extensive digital libraries. They're using the library, requesting holds, waiting their turn for popular titles.

What makes this particularly interesting is the delayed gratification aspect. You can't impulse-read whatever strikes your fancy at the moment. You have to plan a bit, wait a bit, make choices about what's worth the limited number of holds you can place.

That constraint actually increases satisfaction. We often enjoy things more when we've had to wait for them or work slightly to get them.

Libraries also create a relationship with your community in a way that buying books online doesn't. You're going to a physical place, interacting with librarians, participating in a shared resource.

The people I know who are most content despite modest incomes are almost all regular library users, and they genuinely love it rather than seeing it as settling for less.

3) They walk or bike for transportation and pleasure

Here's something I've noticed: people who walk or bike regularly seem more connected to their surroundings and more content with where they are.

Part of this is practical. Walking or biking saves money on gas, parking, car maintenance. But it also changes your relationship with your environment.

When you're walking through your neighborhood regularly, you notice things. You see seasonal changes, you recognize faces, you discover small details that you'd never catch from a car. That noticing creates a sense of richness and connection that has nothing to do with income.

There's also the exercise component without the cost of a gym membership. You're taking care of your health and your mental state while saving money, which creates a double sense of accomplishment.

Living in Venice Beach, I walk constantly. To coffee shops, to the farmers market, to meet friends. Could I drive? Sure. But walking gives me time to think, helps me transition between activities, and makes me feel more connected to where I live.

4) They garden or grow something

Even if it's just herbs on a windowsill or tomatoes in a container on a balcony, content people with less money tend to grow something.

Gardening is one of those rare hobbies where a small investment returns ongoing value. Seeds are cheap. Soil is cheap. What you grow can actually reduce your food costs while providing something most expensive purchases can't: the satisfaction of nurturing life.

There's also the timeline aspect. Gardening requires patience and operates on nature's schedule, not yours. You can't rush it, you can't buy your way to faster results. You have to tend things and wait.

That enforced patience is actually a hedge against the anxiety and discontent that comes from our instant-gratification culture. Gardening teaches you to be okay with slow progress, with processes you can't control, with outcomes that depend on your consistent effort over time.

Studies on gardening and mental health consistently show that people who garden report higher levels of life satisfaction and lower stress levels, regardless of income. There's something about working with soil and watching things grow that hits psychological needs money can't meet.

I've got basil, cilantro, and rosemary growing on my balcony. Nothing impressive, but clipping fresh herbs for dinner never fails to make me feel like I've got something valuable that didn't require earning more money.

5) They create things with their hands

Knitting, woodworking, painting, pottery, sketching. People who are content with less almost always have some hands-on creative hobby.

These hobbies share some key characteristics: they can be done inexpensively (especially after initial supply investment), they produce tangible results, they improve with practice, and they can be done alone or socially.

What makes hands-on creation particularly powerful for contentment is that it directly counters the consumption mindset.

Instead of spending money to acquire things, you're spending time to make things. That shift from consumer to creator changes how you see yourself and your capabilities.

There's also the flow state aspect. When you're focused on creating something with your hands, you lose track of time. Your mind quiets. The comparison game stops. You're just present with what you're making.

Research on creative hobbies shows they activate reward centers in the brain similar to meditation, reducing anxiety and increasing feelings of accomplishment. The people I know who seem most content despite modest incomes usually have at least one craft they're working on, and they talk about it with genuine enthusiasm rather than as a way to pass time.

6) They play music (even if not particularly well)

This one surprised me until I thought about it more carefully.

Many people who seem content with less play an instrument, sing, or make music in some form. Not professionally. Often not even particularly well. But regularly and for their own enjoyment.

Music is interesting because the barrier to entry can be relatively low (a used guitar, a keyboard, your own voice), but the skill ceiling is essentially infinite. You can practice and improve for your entire life and never run out of things to learn.

Making music also meets multiple psychological needs simultaneously: creative expression, skill development, emotional processing, and if you play with others, social connection.

Studies on amateur music-making consistently link it to improved mood, reduced stress, and greater life satisfaction. The key factor isn't skill level, it's regular engagement with the practice itself.

From my music blogging days in the LA indie scene, I noticed that the musicians who seemed happiest weren't necessarily the most successful commercially. They were the ones who loved the actual practice of making music regardless of external validation or income potential.

7) They invest time in community spaces

This isn't exactly a hobby, but it's a pattern worth noting. People who are content with less tend to spend time in free or low-cost community spaces: parks, libraries, community centers, free concerts, public events.

What this does is expand your sense of access and wealth without requiring personal wealth. When you regularly enjoy public resources, you feel less deprived by what you can't privately afford.

There's also the social aspect. Community spaces naturally create low-pressure opportunities for connection and conversation. You're not spending money to be somewhere, so there's no transaction hanging over the interaction.

Experiences and connections contribute more to happiness than possessions. Community spaces provide exactly that: experiences and potential connections without financial barriers.

The contentment comes from feeling like you're part of something larger than yourself, like you have access to culture and beauty and community regardless of your bank account.

Final thoughts

Here's what these hobbies have in common: they're all generative rather than consumptive. They create value, skill, connection, or tangible results rather than just passing time or spending money.

People who seem content despite having less aren't depriving themselves or just making the best of a bad situation. They've figured out that satisfaction comes from what you do and create and experience, not from what you buy or own.

The beautiful irony is that these hobbies are available to everyone regardless of income. You don't need more money to be more content. You need to shift how you spend your time.

That's not toxic positivity or minimizing real financial struggles. It's recognizing that contentment and income are far less correlated than we've been taught to believe.