Short answer
An expensive hobby belongs in the plan as its own flexible line.
Hobbies with real recurring cost, like golf, sailing, photography, collecting, or competitive sport, deserve their own line in a retirement plan. The useful planning question is the yearly cost, the years it may repeat, and what changes elsewhere in the retirement map when this dream is included.
Start here
What you actually came to find out
Plain answers first. Sources stay below for checking details.
What is the real cost?
Add the small costs until they become a yearly number: fees, gear, dues, travel, lessons, and upgrades.
What does it mean?
A hobby can be health, friendship, and purpose. It is not just spending.
What does it mean for my money?
Put the hobby in the flexible layer. That way the plan can show when it fits and when it needs to slow down.
What does it mean for my time?
Some hobbies have a physical window. The heavy-use years may come earlier than the cheapest years.
AARP
Frame
AARP frames the early years of retirement as the active phase when hobby and bucket-list spending naturally runs higher.
Source trail: AARP
Kiplinger
Source 2
Kiplinger treats travel, dining, and hobby spending as meaningful but flexible lines that can be tuned when a plan needs adjusting.
Source trail: Kiplinger
Fidelity Viewpoints
Source 3
Fidelity's budgeting framework splits retirement spending into essential expenses and discretionary spending, with hobbies sitting on the discretionary side.
Source trail: Fidelity Viewpoints
Charles Schwab
Source 4
Schwab walks through a step-by-step retirement budget split into mandatory needs and discretionary wants and wishes, comparing the totals against expected retirement income.
Source trail: Charles Schwab
Dreams are planning targets, not demands. This page keeps the dream visible while showing the source trail for cost, timing, and trade-offs.
Neutral landscape
The shape of the question
A serious hobby has a price tag, and retirement research treats that price tag as its own budget category. Fidelity Viewpoints separates retirement spending into essential expenses and discretionary spending, and places hobbies, travel, and entertainment in the discretionary bucket where most lifestyle choices live. Charles Schwab uses a similar split between mandatory needs and discretionary wants and wishes, and notes that retirees commonly plan total expenses at roughly 80 to 100 percent of pre-retirement spending depending on lifestyle.
Spending research consistently finds that the first phase of retirement is the most active. AARP notes that in the early years of retirement, spending tends to be higher as retirees pursue hobbies, check off bucket-list items, and otherwise enjoy newfound freedom, before tapering later. Morningstar's research describes a "retirement spending smile" in which expenditures are higher at the start of retirement, decline through the middle years, and rise again late in life as health costs climb.
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College adds a wealth-and-health layer to the same story. CRR finds that wealthier and healthier retirees keep their consumption relatively flat across a 20-year span, with the highest-wealth group's spending declining roughly one-third of one percent per year, while lower-wealth and less-healthy retirees see larger declines. The implication for hobby spending: a retiree who is well-funded and physically able will tend to sustain discretionary spending longer, which is the population most likely to be financing a serious hobby in the first place.
For specific hobbies, the governing bodies publish the cost data. The USGA, quoting National Golf Foundation editorial director Erik Matuszewski, reports that the average cost to play an 18-hole round in the U.S. is $43, with municipally owned courses running roughly 22 percent cheaper than other daily-fee courses. The USGA also frames golf as a $100 billion-per-year industry, mostly driven by recreational play, purchases, and travel. US Sailing publishes its own membership rates of $85 individual and $135 family as the entry-level line item for an active sailor.
Kiplinger frames travel, dining out, hobbies, and lifestyle choices as meaningful parts of retirement that can be adjusted if the plan needs flexing. EBRI's 2024 Spending in Retirement Survey of roughly 3,600 retirees ages 62 to 75 catalogs how this discretionary spending actually behaves across the population, making it the most direct empirical reference for "what do other people in my situation actually spend."
Curator core
What the authorities say
These sources are here for the reader who wants to check the work. The plain-English answer stays above them.
Source 01
AARP
6 Signs You Aren't Spending Enough Retirement Money
AARP frames the early years of retirement as the active phase when hobby and bucket-list spending naturally runs higher.
Source framing
In the early years spending tends to be higher as retirees pursue hobbies, check off bucket list items and otherwise enjoy their newfound freedom.
Strongest for: Primary source for the active-phase framing of hobby spending
Read at AARPSource 02
Kiplinger
These 4 Spending Mistakes Can Derail Your Retirement Plan
Kiplinger treats travel, dining, and hobby spending as meaningful but flexible lines that can be tuned when a plan needs adjusting.
Source framing
Travel, dining out, hobbies and certain lifestyle choices might be meaningful parts of your retirement, but they can also be adjusted if needed.
Strongest for: Primary source for treating hobby spending as a flexible plan input
Read at KiplingerSource 03
Fidelity Viewpoints
Budgeting in retirement
Fidelity's budgeting framework splits retirement spending into essential expenses and discretionary spending, with hobbies sitting on the discretionary side.
Source framing
Essential expenses... discretionary spending... stick to your income plan.
Strongest for: Primary source for the essential-vs-discretionary budgeting framework
Read at Fidelity ViewpointsSource 04
Charles Schwab
Retirement Budget Planning: 9 Steps to Consider
Schwab walks through a step-by-step retirement budget split into mandatory needs and discretionary wants and wishes, comparing the totals against expected retirement income.
Source framing
Start by separating your spending into two buckets: mandatory (your 'needs') and discretionary (your 'wants and wishes').
Strongest for: Primary source for the needs vs. wants and wishes bucketing approach
Read at Charles SchwabSource 05
EBRI
2024 Spending in Retirement Survey
EBRI's chartbook surveys about 3,600 retirees ages 62 to 75 on their actual spending patterns, including discretionary categories that include hobbies.
Source framing
The 2024 Spending in Retirement Survey queried ~3,600 individuals ages 62 to 75 about their spending habits and situation at and during retirement.
Strongest for: Primary source for population-level retiree spending data
Read at EBRISource 06
Center for Retirement Research, Boston College
Health and Wealth Drive Retirees' Spending
CRR analyzes 20 years of national consumption data and finds that wealthier and healthier retirees keep discretionary spending relatively flat over time.
Source framing
Wealthier households' consumption was relatively constant, declining "just one-third of 1 percent a year.
Strongest for: Primary source for how wealth and health shape sustained discretionary spending
Read at Center for Retirement Research, Boston CollegeSource 07
Morningstar
Estimating the True Cost of Retirement
Morningstar's research paper documents the "retirement spending smile," in which expenditures start high, dip in the middle years, then rise late.
Source framing
There appears to be a 'retirement spending smile' whereby the expenditures... " curve high at the ends and low in the middle.
Strongest for: Primary source for the spending-smile shape of retirement expenditures
Read at MorningstarSource 08
USGA
Golf's New Narrative
The USGA's 2025 industry overview, citing National Golf Foundation data, reports the average 18-hole round costs $43, with municipal courses running about 22 percent cheaper than other daily-fee courses.
Source framing
The average cost to play an 18-hole round is $43, according to NGF editorial director Erik Matuszewski.
Strongest for: Primary source for unit-cost of golf participation
Read at USGASource 09
National Golf Foundation
Golf Industry Facts
The NGF tracks rounds played, course pricing, and participation; from 2020 to 2025 it reports rounds trending 21 percent higher than the pre-pandemic average.
Source framing
From 2020-2025, rounds are trending 21% higher than the five-year, pre-pandemic average from 2015-19.
Strongest for: Primary source for participation volume and pricing trend data
Read at National Golf FoundationSource 10
US Sailing
Membership
The national governing body of the sport publishes its membership fee structure, the most basic recurring cost for an active sailor.
Source framing
Family $135 - For families that live for the time on the water. Individual $85 - For beginners, avid cruisers, racers, instructors, or just lovers of the water.
Strongest for: Primary source for entry-level sailing dues
Read at US SailingPlain-English forks
The forks people face
Most retirement questions hide a few smaller decisions. These are the practical pieces that change the plan.
How should the hobby line item sit in the overall budget?
Why it matters: The first question is structural: does the cost of the hobby get a permanent line item, or does it flex with portfolio performance.
In real life: This turns today's bills into the yearly target the retirement map has to carry.
What to look at: Fidelity Viewpoints and Schwab both split retirement spending into essential and discretionary buckets, which is where any hobby line normally lives; Kiplinger emphasizes that this category is meant to flex when the plan needs adjusting.
Does spending really fall later in retirement?
Why it matters: A retiree budgeting for decades of golf, sailing, or travel-heavy hobbies has to take a view on whether discretionary spending will hold up across a 30-year drawdown.
In real life: This turns today's bills into the yearly target the retirement map has to carry.
What to look at: Morningstar's spending-smile research, CRR's Boston College analysis, and EBRI's 2024 Spending in Retirement Survey all chart how discretionary spending actually moves over time.
How much does the specific hobby actually cost in dollars?
Why it matters: Unit-cost data for any given hobby comes from that hobby's governing body or industry research arm, not from general retirement publications.
In real life: This lets the dream stay optional while still showing the cost of one real version.
What to look at: For golf, the USGA and National Golf Foundation publish average round prices and participation data; for sailing, US Sailing publishes membership dues; AARP and Kiplinger reference but do not originate these unit-cost numbers.
How does health shape how long the hobby is affordable?
Why it matters: A hobby that requires physical capacity, like competitive golf or sailing, has a different time horizon than one that does not.
In real life: This turns today's bills into the yearly target the retirement map has to carry.
What to look at: The Center for Retirement Research finds that health, not just wealth, drives how flat or how steep the spending curve runs; Morningstar layers in late-life health-cost spikes.
Where does hobby travel sit in the budget?
Why it matters: Travel attached to a hobby, like buddies-trip golf weekends or out-of-state regattas, blurs the line between hobby spending and the broader travel budget.
In real life: This turns today's bills into the yearly target the retirement map has to carry.
What to look at: Fidelity and Schwab both treat travel and hobby spending as adjacent discretionary categories; Kiplinger discusses them in the same flexible-line framing.
Common questions
Quick answers
Short, plain answers for the questions people usually have next. The source trail stays available below.
Where does a hobby line item sit in a retirement budget?+
Fidelity Viewpoints places hobbies, travel, and entertainment in the discretionary spending category alongside other lifestyle choices. Charles Schwab uses an equivalent split between mandatory needs and discretionary wants and wishes.
Does retirement spending actually go down over time?+
Morningstar documents a "retirement spending smile," with expenditures higher in the early and late years and lower in the middle. The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College finds the trajectory depends heavily on health and wealth: the wealthiest, healthiest retirees see consumption fall only about one-third of one percent a year, while lower-wealth and less-healthy retirees see steeper declines.
What does the average round of golf cost in the U.S.?+
According to the USGA, quoting National Golf Foundation editorial director Erik Matuszewski, the average cost to play an 18-hole round in the U.S. is $43, with regional variation. The USGA also reports that the 2,900 municipally owned courses run about 22 percent cheaper on average than other daily-fee courses.
How big is the golf industry overall?+
The USGA, citing the National Golf Foundation, describes golf as a $100 billion-per-year industry, driven primarily by recreational play, purchases, and travel. The NGF reports rounds played from 2020 to 2025 trending about 21 percent higher than the pre-pandemic 2015 to 2019 average.
What does sailing cost at the membership level?+
US Sailing, the national governing body of the sport, lists an Individual Sailor membership at $85 and a Family membership at $135. That figure does not include boat, slip, insurance, maintenance, or regatta fees, which the organization treats separately.
Is the first decade of retirement really the heaviest spending phase?+
AARP describes the early years of retirement as the active phase, when retirees pursue hobbies, check off bucket-list items, and spend more freely. Morningstar's spending-smile research describes the same shape at the population level.
How do health changes affect the ability to keep funding a hobby?+
The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College finds that retirees in fair or poor health see relatively large declines in spending compared with those in very good or excellent health, even when wealth is similar. The CRR concludes that both health and wealth "are important determinants of consumption paths in retirement."
Can a hobby budget be tuned mid-retirement if the plan tightens?+
How this page is curated
The Retirement Atlas does not give financial advice. It curates named, authoritative sources that frame the question clearly, points to the governing bodies for hobby-specific cost data, and lets readers turn those numbers into their own plan inside the free The Retirement Atlas journey.
Read the planner methodologyTrust anchor
Sources used on this page
Every source named above is listed here in one place.
AARP. 6 Signs You Aren't Spending Enough Retirement Money
https://www.aarp.org/money/retirement/signs-you-should-spend-more/Center for Retirement Research, Boston College. Health and Wealth Drive Retirees' Spending
https://crr.bc.edu/health-and-wealth-drive-retirees-spending/Charles Schwab. Retirement Budget Planning: 9 Steps to Consider
https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/retirement-budget-planning-9-steps-to-considerEBRI. 2024 Spending in Retirement Survey
https://www.ebri.org/docs/default-source/chartbooks/ebri_cb_spendingret_disability.pdf?sfvrsn=e74e052f_1Fidelity Viewpoints. Budgeting in retirement
https://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/budgeting-in-retirementKiplinger. These 4 Spending Mistakes Can Derail Your Retirement Plan
https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/spending-mistakes-that-can-derail-your-retirement-planMorningstar. Estimating the True Cost of Retirement
https://www.morningstar.com/content/dam/marketing/shared/research/foundational/677785-EstimatingTrueCostRetirement.pdfNational Golf Foundation. Golf Industry Facts
https://www.ngf.org/the-clubhouse/golf-industry-research/US Sailing. Membership
https://www.ussailing.org/membership/USGA. Golf's New Narrative
https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/articles/2025/03/golfs-new-narrative.html
Before you act on this
This plan is educational. It is not personalized financial, tax, or insurance advice. Projections illustrate the math, they do not predict the future. Talk to your own licensed financial professional before acting on any of it.