Americans are spending lots more on fun

A new analysis of credit card spending shows a big increase at movie theaters, theme parks and golf courses.

By Karen Datko May 17, 2012 5:05PM

After several years of forced frugality, we're all ready for some fun. So suggest the results of the Chase Freedom Lifestyle Index, which compares spending in the first quarter of 2012 with the same period last year.

Spending at movie theaters by Chase Freedom cardholders jumped 24% nationwide. Don't chock it all up to higher ticket prices or vastly overpriced soda and snacks. The cost of a ticket increased just 0.5% last year, to an average of $7.93, and was projected to rise 2% or 3% in 2012.

In the Midwest, movie theater spending rose 27%, Chase says. The West had an increase of only 19%.

Theme park spending was up 21%. The increase was lowest in the Northeast and South at 15% and up a whopping 38% among Western cardholders. (No explanation was given for that.)

Smart Spending on the go: Get our app for Android or iPhone

Spending at recreational venues like golf courses, ski resorts and campgrounds jumped 7%, including a notable 11% in the Midwest.

Also from the index:

Jewelry spending rose a mere 1%. It dropped 4% in the South but grew 12% in the West.
Spending on flowers rose 4%.
Spending on consumer electronics actually dropped, by 4%.

The index had several other interesting tidbits:

Between April and May of last year, spending on flowers almost doubled, and spending on jewelry jumped 28%. Consumer electronics spending shot up 21%. Attribute that to Mother’s Day, Father's Day and graduation gifts.
"Overall spending on flowers was 47% higher in May of 2011 than in February -- suggesting Mother's Day trumps Valentine's Day as the top gift-giving occasion for flowers."

Are you spending more on fun these days? Are you better able to afford it? And, most importantly, are you paying off your credit card balance each month?

More on MSN Money:

Tags:

bankingcredit cardsentertainmentKaren Datkospending

< Back to Smart Spending

0Comments

DATA PROVIDERS

Quotes are real-time for NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. See delay times for other exchanges.

Fundamental company data and historical chart data provided by Thomson Reuters (click for restrictions). Real-time quotes provided by BATS Exchange. Real-time index quotes and delayed quotes supplied by Interactive Data Real-Time Services. Fund summary, fund performance and dividend data provided by Morningstar Inc. Analyst recommendations provided by Zacks Investment Research. StockScouter data provided by Verus Analytics. IPO data provided by Hoover's Inc. Index membership data provided by SIX Financial Information.

Japanese stock price data provided by Nomura Research Institute Ltd.; quotes delayed 20 minutes. Canadian fund data provided by CANNEX Financial Exchanges Ltd.

Feedback

ABOUT SMART SPENDING

Smart Spending brings you the best money-saving tips from MSN Money and the rest of the Web. Join the conversation on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Editor Bev O'Shea lives and works in the foothills of the Appalachians. A former copy editor for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Orlando Sentinel, she joined MSN Money in 2007. She's a fan of sunsets, college football and free shipping, among other things.

Having worked as a writer, reporter and editor for more than 25 years, Editor Julie Tilsner is the sort of person who can't help but correct grammar in Facebook postings and on billboards. She's written for BusinessWeek, the Los Angeles Times, Parenting, Redbook, AOL and others. She lives in Los Angeles County with her family and loves to drink wine and practice yoga, although not generally at the same time.

A writer for MSN Money since January 2007, Donna Freedman won regional and national prizes during an 18-year newspaper career and earned a college degree in midlife without taking out student loans. She also writes about smart money tactics for magazines and on her own site, Surviving and Thriving.

Mitch Lipka has been warning people about scams and shining light on questionable business practices for more than 20 years. Mitch, the consumer columnist for The Boston Globe, has also been a reporter and editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, Consumer Reports, South Florida Sun-Sentinel and AOL. He won the 2010 New York Press Club award for best consumer reporting online and was honored in 2011 for his reporting on child product safety.

Marilyn Lewis is an award-winning writer with a passion for getting readers clear, straight information that helps them stay out of financial trouble. A former reporter for The San Jose Mercury News, she works from her home in Port Townsend, Wash. Contact her at MarilynLewis@Outlook.com.