When I was growing up, my Dad fished and hunted and my Mom grew a garden. Back then, my Dad was making $2.50 an hour as a cabinet maker and my Mom was a stay-at-home mom raising four kids. The fish, game, and produce ensured that we always had food on the table.
2018: My wife has a quarter acre garden, working most days through the summer. Although she provide produce for our table and donates over a thousand pounds of produce to local food pantries, there is no way that she can justify all the expenses entailed from an economic stance. I like to go fishing and provide enough fish for at least a meal each week throughout the year with some excess going to neighbors. But no way can I justify the hobby from an economic standpoint.
I had a fairly large collection of tools and machines purchased when I had my own business and when a company that I was partner in was sold, I bought myself my Tormach and a seat of SolidWorks. A few years later, when I retired, I bought a G0602 lathe. If I looked at the investments that I have made in my shop, I would find it hard to justify them on an economic basis.
The point of all of these is that while it isn't justifiable economically, there is a sense of accomplishment, of satisfaction, and of general well being that is priceless.
