Yeah it's not really a money saver, I already upgraded my roaster, but it is really fun and satisfying. The are ways to start for like $20 if you ever become interested.
I've been roasting for about 12 years now. I still use the second roaster that I bought 10 years ago, a Behmor 1600. The unit cost under $400 new, and I get my coffee for about $8/lb max including tax and shipping. I have absolutely saved money, probably thousands of dollars over the course of this hobby. And I've become proficient enough that I can produce coffee that I prefer to anything sold commercially I've been able to find.
That being said, I am considering upgrading my roaster to the Aillio Bullet, which costs around $3k, so that would probably put me back in the red for this specific hobby.
i highly recommend the bullet! the batch size is great and the data logging and responsiveness with the induction heating is pretty amazing. i wasn't planning to upgrade but a local one went on sale for 2500 and i couldn't pass up the opportunity.
That being said, I am considering upgrading my roaster to the Aillio Bullet, which costs around $3k, so that would probably put me back in the red for this specific hobby.