Why the cost of fun is less amusing

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Money Matters, a newsletter from Britannica Money, on July 12, 2026.

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Has the cost of fun gotten out of control?

© Cambo, BillionPhotos.com/stock.adobe.com; Photo illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Most of us can remember when little indulgences didn’t require much thought. When I was a kid, it was Whopper Wednesdays, when Burger King’s biggest burger cost just $1. It was a fun midweek treat, a welcome break from my mom’s pot roast or pork chops.

That burger isn’t the point, of course. But it is a reminder that many of the things we once enjoyed without thinking twice now come with price tags that demand a little more planning.

A tale of two outings tells the story. Since 1996, the average ticket price for one of the top 100 concert tours has climbed to $134 from $26. During the same period, a general admission ticket to Walt Disney World rose to $119 from $30, according to Britannica Money’s analysis of data from Pollstar and Yahoo Finance. Both easily outpaced inflation, with concert prices accelerating even faster after the pandemic.

Concerts and theme parks aren’t the only examples, but they illustrate a broader trend. Inflation has made nearly everything more expensive, but the cost of many things we do for fun has risen even faster.

Looking to blame someone? There’s no single culprit. Live entertainment has become bigger and more elaborate. Dynamic pricing and ticket fees have become more common. And consumers have shown they’re willing to spend more to do the things they value most.

The result is that the cost of having fun now claims a bigger share of many household budgets than it once did.

Few of us can afford to say yes to everything. That makes choosing where to spend our entertainment dollars almost as important as deciding how much to spend.

For some, that means skipping several smaller outings in favor of one bucket-list concert. For others, it’s a two-week family vacation instead of multiple weekend trips. Each dollar spent one way is a dollar that can’t be spent another way. Economists call it opportunity cost. Those trade-offs take on greater significance as the cost of fun rises.

One way to think about it is to ask yourself what you’ll remember a year from now. A sold-out concert with friends might be worth every penny, whereas a pricey outing you agreed to simply because everyone else was going might not. Being selective doesn’t mean saying no to fun; it means staying focused on the things that matter most to you.

Making those choices intentionally can also help you avoid one of the biggest traps of expensive entertainment: financing today’s fun with tomorrow’s income. Buy now, pay later plans and revolving credit cards can make a splurge feel affordable in the moment, but the bill doesn’t disappear when the music stops. Instead, it follows you home in the form of monthly payments, fees, and interest charges.

Higher prices don’t have to mean giving up the things you enjoy. A few simple habits can help you fit entertainment into your budget without sacrificing your financial goals:

The things we enjoy may cost more than they once did. Giving them their own line item in your budget can help keep fun from becoming a financial regret.