If you didn’t have a toy hobby, what would your life be like?

For me, I would probably be more involved in animal related hobbies and activities.  Not that I’m ‘blaming’ my current toy hobby for holding me back on my other interests.  It’s just that if I didn’t have a toy hobby as the main focus of my free time, I’d most probably use much more of my time and resources on reading more about animals, wildlife conservation, be more active in volunteer groups related to animals and such.

Of course I would also have a different set of friends and network if I had other interests and hobbies instead.  My lifestyle would be very different.  Perhaps I would still be collecting something else, such as animal fact books and mainly animal models, instead of toys based on comics, cartoons and movies. 

If I didn’t have a toy hobby, I would definitely have more money for other indulges in life.  Or if I keep to my current non-toy frugal spending habits, I’ll probably have even saved enough for a down payment to my first private property and other investments.  Yeah, maybe I would have planned for an early retirement and financial independence to be achieved at a much earlier age.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret my toy hobby as I still enjoy it, though a little less than when I started out many years.  All interests and even obsessions will reach a peak somewhere along the way and would gradually start to decline after that with time.  People will then want to move on to newer or seemingly more exciting things as they progress along their lives.

What about you?  Can you imagine how your life would be like if you didn’t have a toy hobby?  What would you be doing during your free time instead?  Would you be more engrossed in your career?  Lead a more sporty lifestyle?  Be more fashion conscious? (I notice that most toy collectors aren’t fashion people)  Have more children since you probably have the extra money and time to raise and educate them?  Go traveling around the world?

Feel free to share your views here, I’m very keen to know your perspectives!