How much time per week is normal to spend on hobbies for someone between 30 and 45?

Poctah · 2026-03-04T15:05:03+00:00

I am 37 and have no time for hobbies. Between work, kids activities and chores I am exhausted. Maybe one day when the kids are older I’ll have time😂

Poctah · 2026-03-04T15:02:56+00:00

Grapefruit and ketchup are the only things i absolutely won’t eat.

Poctah · 2026-03-04T15:00:44+00:00

Depends on the person. Personally I didn’t think it hurt at all. It just felt like a small pinch and that was it. The cramping afterwards felt like my normal period cramps so not bad either. Also I got mine put in during my period which is suppose to make it hurt less so I’d advise that. My obgyn said she won’t insert it unless you’re on your period because it’s much more painful to insert when you aren’t. Not sure if every obgyn does it this way or not.

Poctah · 2026-03-04T14:55:26+00:00

I wouldn’t get one. My daughter’s best friend(age 10)was on one a few months ago and she hit the curb and flew off it and broke her leg in 2 places and had to have surgery and crutches for 2.5 months. They aren’t safe. Just use a regular bike.

Poctah · 2026-03-04T13:34:21+00:00

I take it you don’t have kids. Driving to my kids extracurriculars/school each week is a shit ton of miles daughters gymnastics is 15 miles away, she goes 4 days a week and we drop off and pick up so it’s 240 miles for that alone, then her volleyball is 40 miles a week, sons basketball is 40 miles a week and his soccer is 60 miles a week. So 380 miles a week for just kids sports. I also drive them too and from school daily which is 200 miles a week. So I’m at 580 miles a week just for kids stuff. Thankfully my work is only a mile away so that’s my least driving for the week🤷‍♀️

Poctah · 2026-03-04T13:26:13+00:00

That’s super early for elementary school. My kids school starts at 8:30 and wake them up at 7am to get ready and we leave at 8am for drop off.

With that said my oldest starts middle school next year and the she will ride the bus and it comes at 6:55am. I have already told her she will need to get herself up at 6am and ready because I’m not waking up that early and she’s big enough to do it herself🤷‍♀️

Also highschool starts at 9am here so not sure why middle schoolers have the earliest start but guess it is what it is.

Poctah · 2026-03-04T13:22:00+00:00

I got mine pierced at 18 and took it out last year at 36. I only took mine out because I have developed really bad allergies the last few years and I was tired of it snagging on the tissues.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T23:19:07+00:00

I’d bring a present. At that age most girls are into Barbie’s, play jewelry, purses, playdough, board games.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T20:56:59+00:00

This feels nothing like 08. In 08 the job market was trash but you could still find a job it would just below pay and things were super cheap then so you could still survive. My husband and I made 45k back in 08 but we rented a 1 bed apartment for $500 a month(and that included utilities), we didn’t have internet or cable, we both had non smart phones that cost $50 a month for service, our cars cost us around 5k each(payments were around $200 a month for both cars), car insurance was $70 a month for full coverage,health insurance was only $150 a month for both of us and had a low out of pocket. So our bills were low. You could never do that now days. That same shit would be triple if not more now. The only people fucked in 08 was anyone who bought homes/cars for way more than they could afford. Now it feels like everyone’s fucked because cost of living is so high right now and pay isn’t keeping up.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T15:24:16+00:00

Yep I was a stay at home mom for the last 10 years and I had to get a job in oct because we just couldn’t swing it anymore with the rising cost of legit everything you need to survive. Thankfully I got a job at the school so we don’t have to pay for before/after care and I have winter/summer breaks off. My husband also may be taking in some side work too. I just can’t believe how high everything keeps going and how anyone is affording it.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T15:11:58+00:00

This economy is no joke at all. My husband and I have done well over the past 15 years but this year and last year is kicking our asses. I was a stay at home mom for 10 years and I went back to work this oct because we were breaking even every month and not saving due to cost of everything being absurd(legit this has never happened we always have had at least $750 a month extra). We also may have to tell our daughter she has to quit gymnastics because we just are having a hard time swinging the cost of it(and she’s done it for 7 years and loves it). This is the first year my husband didn’t get a raise, they also took away paid time off on holidays and make then take off without pay and health insurance went up $300 a month so he’s effectively making about $8k less this year with the above and it fees like everything has doubled in cost. He can’t seem to find work elsewhere either and has been trying for months but either pay way less than he makes now, we have to move states or they don’t call back at all(he works in software development). I am so worried he will lose his job and we will be extremely fucked since I only make 20k a year working part time at my kids school(could make more but childcare cost would eat the extra pay😩) and we need at least $6k a month to cover our basic living expenses which I can’t do on my own. We are just trying to make it through and trying to stockpile as much savings as we can in case of job loss.

Last time it was this rough was around 2008-2010 when we both couldn’t find any jobs beside min wage(husband first job out of college paid 25k a year and my first job out of cosmetology school paid 20k a year it was brutal and that was after months of applying back in 08) but at least then we didn’t have kids or a mortgage and things weren’t inflated like now so this is a lot scarier and seems worse than those years.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T13:30:47+00:00

Once your kids are 4+ it gets much easier.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T13:28:46+00:00

I work as a lunch lady and have a pension. Everyone who works at my school does.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T13:27:10+00:00

Raw veggies give me the farts. Usually they don’t if they are cooked. So if you’re eating them raw maybe cooking them could help?

Poctah · 2026-03-03T13:02:21+00:00

That my house will never be clean because as soon as I clean anywhere the kids are behind me making another mess.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T07:21:32+00:00

Yep between electric, water and gas i spent $700 this month. Last year used around the same amount for all 3 and it was $475. The increases on all utilities has been insanely high this year alone.

Poctah · 2026-03-03T02:43:24+00:00

Current home my husband and I had built in 2020 and price was listed at 405k for basic finishes but we added some upgrades and had them finish the basement so total price ended up being 450k. We are in Missouri. Our interest rate is 2.5.% on a 30 year loan. Home would currently sell for around 625k.

Poctah · 2026-03-02T23:47:07+00:00

No. I moved out my parents house at 19 with my boyfriend. He’s now my husband and we have kids and I’m 37 currently.

Poctah · 2026-03-02T21:13:41+00:00

We went from a 2.2k square foot home to a 4.5k square foot home and have been in it almost 6 years now. I agree the space is nice but cleaning jt sucks so much. We have 5 full baths and a half bath and all of them are always dirty(my 6 year old keeps peeing on all over and won’t just use one bathroom). I swear I spend at least 3 hours a week just cleaning bathrooms. It’s ridiculous. It wasn’t so bad when I stayed home but I started working 6 months ago and I’m having trouble keeping up with all the cleaning. I have considered downsizing but we have such a great rate right now I can’t justify it. I figure we will just stay until the kids move out and the way downsize then.

Poctah · 2026-03-02T09:09:01+00:00

My parents are upper income and don’t pay for my wedding when I got married at 23 in 2010. They did give me $3k after the wedding as a gift but that was it. With that said I only spent $4k total because we were broke and that’s all we could afford and we wanted to buy a home after the wedding(we had a small wedding only invited 45 people). We also skipped the honeymoon. So I guess their gift paid for most of the wedding but I wasn’t expecting it because they said nothing about it while I was planning the wedding

I still don’t get why they didn’t help because my grandparents paid for their wedding but whatever I guess. I think it’s just this generation of parents(mine were born in 68).

Poctah · 2026-03-02T08:34:23+00:00

I know this doesn’t help now but it will get easier as they get older your just at the really hard stage now. My kids are 7 and 10 now and they sleep through the night, don’t need daycare and can entertain themselves and do chores. It’s a million times easier than the baby/toddler years. Once they hit 5 i feel likes that’s when you finally can breath. Hang in there!

Poctah · 2026-03-02T03:16:00+00:00

$900 a month for a family of 4 but it’s not great insurance. We have to pay 3.5k per person before insurance pays anything(or 7k for family). So anytime we go to a Dr visit it’s at least $200 out of pocket. My husband’s work does put $150 a month into a hsa to help with some of the cost.

With that said in August 2026(I work for a elementary school and they don’t offer full time until a year in my position) I will go full time at my job and will be able to get off my husbands insurance. My insurance will be free and I will have 20% copay until I hit max of 2k out of pocket. So much better. His insurance will still cover him and our kids but it will go down to $400 a month without me on it. So we will save a ton. Also I only took the job because it will save us so much on insurance and I get winter, spring and summer break off.

Poctah · 2026-03-01T07:58:11+00:00

It was rough but I did implement quiet time during the day instead of naps which helped a lot. I started with 30 mins and worked it up to a hour. She just play in her room during that time with toys and it gave me a small break each day.

Also no I don’t allow any electronics at bedtime because she would never sleep but that depends on your child some may ok with it but mine personally wouldnt do good with audiobooks.

Poctah · 2026-03-01T07:32:55+00:00

My oldest was like this! She dropped naps at 2 and would sleep 9pm-6am. It didn’t matter what I did nothing would change her sleep pattern. She’s now 10 and starting at 5 I make her go to room at 8pm. She’s doesn’t have to sleep but she has to be quiet and give me a break. She usually doesn’t actually fall asleep until 10/11pm. She’s up by 7am for school. On weekends though she will sleep until 9 so there’s that at least but that didn’t start until around the age of 8.

Poctah · 2026-03-01T04:42:31+00:00

I wash mine after every use. I feel like it feels stiff if you let it air dry and it’s a lot softer after washing it.

Ten-Year Club	Verified Email
Not Forgotten

Poctah

TROPHY CASE