How to budget for going out and entertainment.

Before we start this article, if you have trouble budgeting read this article that I wrote about a method I personally use that works great.

Obviously, everybody likes getting together with their friends and going out. Personally, going out for a drink or dinner is an enjoyable experience…. but unless you are rolling around in money it’s usually a good idea to set aside some money to do so. Unfortunately, there are people out there who are trigger happy on buying rounds at the bar or have an eating out addiction that they can’t afford. That’s where I come in. Let’s teach you some affective ways to budget for that new restaurant you want to try down the street or for blowing off some steam at a club on a weekend. Waiver of liability…. Since I will be talking about consuming alcohol, I want to add a friendly reminder that I do not encourage the practice of drinking and or drunk driving. Any mention of the consumption of alcohol in this article is intended for those who are 21 years of age or older.

First you must come to terms with how much money you bring home

Its common sense that some people make more money then others. Some cities have a higher cost of living. For example, where I’m from, San Diego, rent is damn expensive and therefore to have an active social life that includes going out for food or drinks regularly I would recommend you make 70k a year or more. On the other hand, if you are from Tucson, Arizona where the rent is cheap compared to the median income you don’t need to make nearly as much to go out and have a good time. So, this is something you must keep in mind when you decide to put aside some money every month for entertainment purposes.

How much should you put aside for eating out, hitting the bars, etc?

Enjoying yourself is a great morale booster, especially if you are a hard worker. What works for me is putting away 10% of my monthly paycheck for entertainment. For example, if my monthly pay comes out to 3,000 a month, I would put .10 * 3000 = 300 dollars aside for having fun. Usually I would never spend that much because over the years I have acquired some money saving habits that usually limits that dollar amount to around 150 to 200 dollars.

What are these money saving tips that you speak of?

For example, instead of going out and blowing money on drinks at the bar which can add up quick I would chip in on a handle of decent liquor with my friends and have them over for a pre-game. What’s a pre-game? I’m sure you know what a pre-game is, but if you don’t it’s simply having a small hang out at your house where you and your friends can drink/listen to music.  By consuming alcohol before you go out you will most likely purchase less drinks when you go out and in turn save money. Back in the day when I would go out frequently, I would go out with a decent buzz and just drink club sodas the rest of the night to avoid spending any money whatsoever. If I did decide to buy a drink it would be something cheap like the bar’s well vodka or whisky with soda. What does “well” mean? A well drink or rail drink is an alcoholic beverage served using the lower-cost liquors stored within easy reach of the bartender in the counter “speed rail”, “speed rack”, or “well“.

What about going out to eat?

Honestly this topic is straight forward. Like I mentioned earlier, if you’re making enough money where hitting up a steak house every weekend doesn’t affect your bank account then stop reading this article. On the other hand, if having a 150-dollar steak dinner sets you back then instead of going out for that steak learn to cook it at home or eat somewhere cheaper. To be honest going out to eat for food is a luxury and a big money waster. I personally didn’t start going to restaurants until I was clearing a decent amount of money every month where it didn’t stress me out to tip 15 dollars on a 60 dollars bill. On the other hand, if you’re a foody and like going out then eat in during the week and use some of the 10% of your salary you put away every month for entertainment to treat yourself. Another tip is to use Yelp to search for happy hour’s in your area to help you get a better bang for your buck.

I hope that answered your question’s about budgeting for entertainment. In my future articles I plan on writing about budgeting for larger purchases, such as shopping for a vehicle, electronics, clothes and more. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment or by sending a message to thedailynook@gmail.com