Study Finds Travel is Costliest Hobby — And It Might Not Be Worth It

Solitaire Bliss, an online gaming site, recently conducted a survey asking Americans about their hobbies, including how much money they spend on their hobbies, as well as how happy their hobbies make them. It’s no surprise travel came out as one of the costlier hobbies in the survey; however, it is surprising that not only did travel come out as the costliest hobby overall, but it also might not be worth the cost in terms of how much happiness it brings to those who claim it as one of their top hobbies.

The study found survey respondents spent the most, on average, per month, on travel as a hobby, with an average monthly cost of $630.52. This is more than double the average monthly cost of the second-most expensive hobby in the survey, collecting. Other most-expensive hobbies included cooking, golf and painting. The least-expensive hobbies, meanwhile, were singing, meditation, birdwatching, writing and walking.

That said, for its cost, travel did not break the top 10 hobbies for happiness-to-cost ratio. It ranked in the 15^th spot for its happiness-to-cost ratio, behind hobbies like playing in a local band, being part of a book club and video games.

The hobby with the best happiness-to-cost ratio, according to the survey? Music production, followed by comedy, meditation and creative writing.