Hi and im a young adult who is yet to get a job and would rather do something like a sidehustle. ive been wanting a 3d printer or a laptop for a bit now but both are really expensive nowadys how do you all afford them. like i want to print a bunch of board games things, dnd things, and figures but i cant afford a 3d printer i cant even addord a candybar without involving a family member and i would feel bad if i asked a family member to but one for me and i dont even think they hav ethe money too.
is there something i can do to save up for a 3d printer or something like that?
is this by chance the wrong place to ask this?
items require currency to acquire
jobs will provide you with currency
But I want a peanut!
The cost of a 3D printer is more than just a printer. Other things to consider are the consumables like filament, periodic replacement parts and a computer to do the slicing.
An idea on getting a low cost printer; The Goodwill Store in your neighborhood sometimes can have a 3D printer for very cheap; these are usually from hobbyists that lost interest in 3D printing and just wanted to get rid of the printer. Pricing may be $50 or less but may require repairs/parts.
A no cost alternative to getting started in 3D printing is to contact a local library or if you still have access to a school makerspace, to see if they have a 3D printer you can share time on - sometimes its free and sometimes its a low fee to rent the printer time.
Comgrow has Amazon returns printers for $69. There are no returns and may be missing a part or two (mine was missing belts and the bed), but if you plan to tinker anyway, the parts are not terribly expensive.
That said, it definitely requires money. You’ll still need filament, at the least. You’re not going to get into 3d printing for free. Try to get a part-time job. Since it’s the summer, ask neighbors to mow their yards for money.
Start off with less pricy but more manual means if your looking to do some crafy stuff. Hand carved and polished pieces from some shop wood or such have potential if you put them up on a site like Etsy.
You would also need a computer with your 3d printer as you just don’t feed printer with files from internet. (Actually, they are a few case where you can but it is very limited). As for your question: To save money, you need to earn money…
Get a job and work for it.
Before I was old enough to drive, I mowed lawns and chopped firewood for extra money.
Some libraries will have 3d printers that can be used for printing the odd thing.
Look to see if there are any “maker spaces” near you (although they are more like to charge for access)
You may be able to get a cheap second hand printer on various second hand sites.
Realistically - get a job, that’s how everyone else affords this stuff 🤷♂️ (not sure how old you are - you may be able to persuade your parents to get you a cheap printer if your interested in 3d modeling etc)
Maybe see if there’s a library or maker space near you with one?
I get it, it sucks. Saving sucks too.
Keep an eye out for deals and freebies, especially locally. I’ve seen Ender 3s go for $50 and sometimes free when the user gets frustrated.
Don’t give up, save those pennies and keep hunting for deals.
who is yet to get a job and would rather do something like a sidehustle
Unfortunately you’re going to be asking this question for most luxury goods if you don’t get a job. Side hustles are nice, but they’re called side hustles because you do them on the side, in addition to your job. I mean if you can sustain your standard of living with a hustle, then by all means, more power to you. Most people can’t.
There are a lot of places you can get usable PCs for stuff like 3D printing for a lot less money. For most of this stuff, most decent-quality 10-year-old machines are fine - it doesn’t require a lot of computing power.
And if you’re near a Microcentre, you can often get Ender 3 (very entry level) printers for as low as $80 plus tax. It’s in-person only though.
But I think I very much like the idea of checking out your local libraries, which generally have computers and sometimes have 3D printers you can use for free or nearly-free. You’ll most likely have to supply your own filament, but you can get started on that for $20, so that’s something to think about.
If you live on a block with houses and your family owns a lawnmower, get permission from your parents and go from door to door offering to mow their lawns.
It’s shockingly tough to find someone who will mow a lawn, and you can probably clean up over a weekend, making enough to buy a 3d printer if you really want one. There are some models that are fairly inexpensive, a couple hundred dollars.
For real though, just going door to door with something simple like lawnmowing would probably do you way better than you’d expect. If they don’t know what to offer you, offer 20-40 bucks, and what’s really cool is then in a few weeks you can go back and say “Hey, I mowed your lawn a few weeks ago, just wondering if you’d like me to do it again” and if you can do it reasonably regularly you’ll be in high demand for a lot of the families who just want a mowed lawn.
