Funflation Hits: Hobbies Suddenly Cost More

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Americans spent 7.9% more on hobbies in August 2026 than a year earlier, and that spending grew twice as fast as purchases.

Story Snapshot

Bank of America Institute reports hobby spending rose 7.9% year-over-year in August 2026, while transactions climbed just 3.4%.
The gap between spending growth and transaction growth points to a trend the bank calls “funflation,” or rising prices for fun.
Older Millennials spend the most on hobbies, while Gen Z’s hobby purchases slowed sharply.
The category covers arts and crafts stores, hobby shops, and outdoor recreation retailers tied to hiking, camping, skiing, and scuba diving.

What The New Bank Data Actually Shows

Bank of America Institute pulled its numbers from real card transactions, not surveys or guesses. The bank tracked spending at arts-and-crafts stores, hobby shops, and outdoor recreation retailers tied to hiking, camping, skiing, and scuba diving.

Hobby spending jumped 7.9% year over year in August 2026, according to the report. That single number is the headline, but the real story sits in what happened alongside it.

Americans are spending more on their hobbies, but getting less fun for their buck as "funflation" hits everything from arts and crafts to outdoor recreation.

Bank of America card data shows hobby spending jumped 7.9% year over year in August, more than twice the 3.4% growth in… pic.twitter.com/VeybYv8xmm

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Transactions, meaning the actual number of purchases people made, only rose 3.4% over the same period. That gap matters. When dollars spent grow more than twice as fast as the number of purchases, it usually means people are paying more per item, not just buying more stuff. Bank of America’s own report ties this pattern directly to what it calls “funflation,” the rising price of fun.

Why Economists Call This Funflation

Funflation is a simple idea with a catchy name. It describes the cost of leisure and hobbies climbing faster than the number of things people buy. The term borrows the “flation” from inflation but applies it to fun specifically, whether that’s yarn for knitting, a new tent, or scuba gear for a weekend dive trip. Bank of America’s report says the August data marks “the reemergence” of this pattern.

That word “reemergence” is worth pausing on. The report notes that a year earlier, transaction growth actually outpaced spending growth, the opposite of what happened this August.

That flip suggests hobby costs cooled off for a stretch before climbing again. Multiple outlets, including CNBC, Fortune, and Fox Business, repeated the same 7.9% and 3.4% figures, showing the numbers held up across independent reporting.

Who Is Actually Paying For This Hobby Boom

Not every generation is feeling funflation the same way. The Institute found that Older Millennials are the biggest hobby spenders of any age group tracked. That generation, now largely in their late thirties and forties, appears to be settling into disposable income and stable careers, giving them room to spend on gear and gadgets tied to personal interests.

Gen Z tells a different story. Their hobby purchases slowed sharply compared to prior periods, according to the same report. Younger consumers facing tighter budgets, higher rent, and student debt may simply have less room to spend on extras like camping equipment or craft supplies. That generational split shows funflation isn’t hitting every American’s wallet equally.

What Might Be Driving Prices Higher

Bank of America’s analysts pointed to something outside the hobby aisle entirely: travel costs. Rising jet fuel prices, tied in part to the U.S.-Iran conflict, pushed airfare higher and may have nudged some consumers to trade travel plans for closer-to-home hobbies instead.

If more people are staying local and spending on gear rather than plane tickets, that shift alone could push demand, and prices, higher at hobby retailers.

Consumers watching their budgets should take this as a reminder that inflation rarely disappears; it just moves. When airfare and gas prices climb, spending doesn’t vanish; it relocates to hobbies, home projects, and local recreation. That’s basic economics, and it’s a pattern worth watching as we head into next year’s travel and leisure season.

What This Means For Household Budgets Going Forward

For the average family, funflation is a quiet tax on downtime. A weekend hike, a scrapbooking session, or a ski trip now costs more than it did a year ago, even if you’re buying the same gear.

Bank of America’s data gives households a clear signal to plan around: budget more for leisure this year, or expect less activity for the same dollar.