I am retired and woodworking is my primary hobby. I am not that great at it, but I still spend 30 to 35 hours a week puttering around in my basement shop. I probably have a half dozen projects underway at all times. 90% of my raw materials are recycled pieces that have little or no cost.
My “words of wisdom” are, if you repurpose stuff, people’s’ expectations for craftsmanship are diminished. I get comments like, “Wow, I can’t believe you built that from old pallets”