Well, as a modeler, I've got lotsa toys and I'm good with my hands... therefore my lovelife has benefited greatly...
On the serious side, I know that this is wholly dependant upon the individual and their skills, natural or developed, but the techniques used in painting and weathering a model can be applied to a number of other things.
For example, over the years we've had a buncha decorative crap in our yard such as barrels, wishing wells, and wind mills and such. Often times stuff like that looks better if it appears to be old and beat up a bit... rustic, some might say. Well, whenever we get something new, I'll often 'weather' it so that it fits in with the other stuff we've got. Word gets around a neighborhood pretty quick sometimes, and next thing I know, I'm doing this kinda stuff for other folks... and not for free in most cases. So that's one way modeling has affected my non-modeling life...
Fade to Black...