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Jennifer writes in:

I鈥檓 getting very frustrated with my husband. Every few months he will come up with some new personal project he wants to work on. He tried woodworking a few years ago. A few months ago he tried cooking. Now it鈥檚 exercise. As soon as he gets into that mindset, he goes and spends hundreds of dollars on equipment for the project and will be really gung ho about it for about two weeks. After that, it just tapers off and a few months later he鈥檚 not doing it at all. This repeated cycle really eats into our annual budget. Help!

The title of the article says it all, but let me elaborate a bit.

The Honeymoon鈥�

When you stumble across something new that you鈥檙e passionate about, you go through a 鈥渉oneymoon鈥� period with it. You dive into the enjoyable side of it. You find yourself filling a lot of your spare time with it. It fills quite a few of your spare thoughts.

During that period, because your focus on the new thing is so intense, it鈥檚 easy to think that you鈥檒l be doing this for a long time. It鈥檚 also easy to think that you should outfit yourself well for this journey right off the bat so you can do it 鈥減roperly.鈥�

In truth, though, you鈥檙e far better off going through that 鈥渉oneymoon鈥� period with low end equipment.

There are two big reasons for this.

First, it鈥檚 often hard for a novice to really understand why the 鈥渂etter鈥� equipment is actually worthwhile. If you don鈥檛 have chopping skill, for example, the difference between a great chef鈥檚 knife and a cheap chef鈥檚 knife is almost nonexistent. It鈥檚 only when you can chop quickly and efficiently do you see the subtle ways in which a good knife can improve your cooking productivity.

Second, it鈥檚 impossible to tell whether or not you鈥檒l stick with a new passion after that honeymoon period. It might feel great to run every day right now, but in three months, are you going to get up at five in the morning on a rainy day to run? Are you going to stick with it when the new wears off? You can鈥檛 know until you cross that threshold.

Diving In鈥�

So what鈥檚 a better way to attack a new passion? For me, I attack any new interest of mine with as little cash up front as possible. This way, if it doesn鈥檛 last, I鈥檓 not out very much, and if it does last, I can replace the equipment a piece at a time as I need it.

Take my recent dive into piano playing, for instance. I鈥檓 using an old used keyboard to practice at home and visiting a local church a few times a week to practice on a real piano. The keyboard was a freebie; the church piano is free, too. For instruction books and sheet music, I鈥檓 using more books picked up for free, either off of book swapping sites or as gifts.

If I keep up my current level of playing over a year or two, I probably will invest in a piano. For now, however, at my current level of skill, the equipment I have works well in helping me build additional skill. There will come a point when a piano in my home will help me greatly in making further progress, but I鈥檓 not there yet and I still don鈥檛 know for sure if my current passion will sustain me to that point.

Whatever your new passion is, look for ways to channel it and dive in without emptying your wallet. Check out the library. Check out Craigslist or consignment shops or Freecycle. Ask around your social circle. Look for community access to the equipment and facilities you need, whether through a city department or a shared workshop space.

Once you鈥檝e found that inexpensive source for deepening your passion, dive in. Chase that passion as hard and as deeply as you want. If that passion still burns within you after six months, then I would argue that you鈥檝e reached a point that it鈥檚 reasonable to begin upgrading your equipment when you can articulate clearly what that upgrade will gain you.

At the six month mark, you will either have found that the passion is sustainable over a long period or that it didn鈥檛 fulfill you like you initially thought that it might. In either case, if you didn鈥檛 invest a lot up front, you鈥檙e in better shape than you would be if you had invested a great deal up front.

Don鈥檛 let the stuff lead the passion 鈥� it almost never works. Instead, let the passion lead the stuff. See if the passion is deep and true before you throw money into it.

Good luck!

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