Even staying home is getting more expensive

The funflation is coming from inside the house. Consumers have grappled with the cost of entertainment in the wider world costing more for some time now: Price hikes for concerts and sporting events, and the phenomenon known as friendflation, have been well documented. Now, people are getting priced out of amusing themselves at home.

Exclusive data analyzed by PNC Financial Services for CNBC revealed that consumers cut spending on home entertainment in June compared to a year ago, particularly in these categories:

• Gaming. Consoles used to be expensive upon release before getting cheaper over time, but tariffs and the demand for memory chips brought about by AI have kept hardware prices elevated.
• Streaming. Netflix, Prime Video, Spotify, Crunchyroll, Paramount+, and YouTube Premium are among the platforms that have gotten more expensive recently.

Other at-home pastimes have become pricier:

• Home fitness. Peloton, Jazzercise On Demand, and Pvolve have raised the prices for digital subscriptions in the past year.
• Anything you plug in. Electricity prices in the US are expected to break a record high this summer.

On the bright side…reading books is still cheap and making a comeback, so maybe we won’t enter a post-literate age after all…—HVL