Balancing Life's Passions and Your Budget

Sometimes the things we love in life can be expensive. Several months ago I started rock climbing and I'm hooked. I love it. I try to climb 2 to 3 times a week but if I'm feeling sore I might take a yoga class instead. This got me thinking about how much I was spending on my new passion in life.

I did a trial membership at the gym to see if I liked it. I decided that while I loved the gym and climbing, taking SF Muni to get there was a huge waste of my time. It would take at least an hour each way to make the three mile trip, which I found to be incredibly aggravating. After trying four different bus lines to get there, each worse then the last, I decided that if I was going to keep climbing I would need to stop renting and buy climbing equipment and also a bike. I loved climbing, so it was an easy decision.

My harness and chalk bag were $85. My beginner shoes which would have cost $65 were a gift, but my next pair will likely cost around $125 and I also got power putty ($10) for hand exercises. My out of pocket expenses for equipment was $95, with another $125 expected sometime next year when my shoes wear out. Then there is the cost of the gym membership - $70 a month.

After a few weeks of looking I bought a bike for $50 (it was by far the best deal on craigslist) and spent another $80 on a helmet, a lock, lights and water bottle for a total of $130 in bike expenses. However, I need to have the shifters replaced which I'm expected to cost another $60 including labor which will bring my bike expenses to $190.

My total costs so far: $95+ $130 = $225 for bike and equipment plus $70 per month and I'm anticipating spending another $60 tonight on bike parts. If I go through a pair of shoes a year, my on going expenses would be $840 +125 = $965 a year with one time equipment costs of roughly $285.

Climbing might be expensive, but it's a conscious expense on something i love and is balanced by being frugal in other areas of my life. I take my lunch to work most days, I use zipcar instead of owning a car in SF, I don't have a fancy new internet phone with an expensive data plan (though I do have unlimited texting) and I spend very little on unnecessary items.

So am I any good at climbing? I'm not great but I'm getting much better. I started climbing about two months ago on routes that were 5.6-5.7 and I'm now climbing 5.10B routes. Now, I just need to build up the skill, strength and stamina to get past the C's...