Most people who pick up magic as a fun thing to do are not going to be champions.
When recommending hobbies to people it matters what they're likely to experience, not just what happened for you. I like playing music and dancing a lot, but people I recommend them to tend to enjoy them less than I do. They still enjoy them, so I still suggest them to others, but I don't recommend them nearly as heavily as I would if I knew everyone picking them up would get the enjoyment I've had.
On ChrisHallquist's post extolling the virtues of money, the top comment is Eliezer pointing out the lack of concrete examples. Can anyone think of any? This is not just hypothetical: if I think your suggestion is good, I will try it (and report back on how it went)
I care about health, improving personal skills (particularly: programming, writing, people skills), gaining respect (particularly at work), and entertainment (these days: primarily books and computer games). If you think I should care about something else, feel free to suggest it.
I am early-twenties programmer living in San Francisco. In the interest of getting advice useful to more than one person, I'll omit further personal details.
Budget: $50/day
If your idea requires significant ongoing time commitment, that is a major negative.