I love going out. If I had unlimited finances (and a killer metabolism), I would probably spend every night trying a new restaurant,
ordering three courses, and washing everything down with a big bottle of wine.
I love the back booths of lounges and the dance floors of concert halls,
downtown dives and chic uptown hotel bars. I love moving through the city and
discovering it all in the most clichéd, Carrie Bradshaw way, full martini in hand.
But, going out is expensive. And, I run a blog called The Financial Diet, so saving money is
kind of my thing. I realized when I started the blog about six months ago (though I mostly knew it
all along) that a crazy portion of my monthly spending was going towards eating and
drinking out, sometimes nearly as much as my rent — and, yes, I am totally
embarrassed by that. Since I started the blog, though, I
have managed to whittle down my going-out budget through a combination of
cooking more, finding free alternatives to costly activities, inviting people
over, and having things to do at home that aren’t Netflix (although I do love
Netflix).
There were a lot of factors that went into my reckless
spending, though. It’s not that I went out (everyone does, and should), it’s
that I was really dumb about what I did while out. There’s simply no rule that says an evening or afternoon on the town has to cost a ton of money. And, generally
speaking, writing the blog has taught me that there were seven primary reasons why
my spending was out of control.
1. When drunk/tired/way too full, I took cabs. No
matter how diligent I was about public transport or walking most of the time, when the clock struck a certain hour (and I reached a certain level of tipsiness), like Cinderella,
I called my overpriced pumpkin to take me back to Williamsburg.
The solution to this was simple: Plan my evening with my transportation in mind, and become the person who suggests the subway instead of waiting for someone else to propose a cab. I went out of my way to make plans in places where I would want to walk to, or that were on my train line (at least in the beginning stages, when I was getting used to my no-cab life). Then, I would prompt my going-out partners with a quick "Anyone taking [my train]?" I managed to cut down to around two shared cab rides a week, which typically ranged from $10 to $15, and saved nearly $100 a month. I still take cabs from time to time, but it's no longer my default.
2. I was not diligent about finding deals, nor scheduling my evenings around them. In a city as big as New York, you can find
specials for (nearly) every kind of food or drink, often on a weekly
basis. There is no reason not to take advantage of these — as well
as awesome happy
hours — to save money on things you were going to get anyway. Everything from mussels
to mimosas
has a special night, and you end up getting to indulge yourself without going financially crazy. To make a meaningful mark on my budget, I like to pick something that would typically be a part of my social schedule — like brunch with drinks — and find fun ways to do it for less. One of my go-to spots has become Lexington Brass, which offers a four-course, sweet-and-savory tasting menu, coffee or tea, and a bottle of cava with mixers for about $27 per person. The same thing — two (and a half!) mimosas, a cup of Joe, and two main dishes — would cost me at least twice as much at most of the eateries around my apartment in Williamsburg.
4. I often got a glass of wine with dinner when out,
even if I didn't really want one, just because I had this weird idea that "being an adult" meant "I should be enjoying a glass of wine with a meal." It took a while, but eventually, I was able to convince myself that, more often than not, water
is just fine. If you count on having three meals out per week (where indulging on a glass of wine would cost roughly $20), cutting out the drinks two of those three times will easily save you $160 a month. Or, $1,920 in a year, which is money you could use to fly to Italy and have a good glass of Sangiovese in Rome.
6. I discounted the idea of weekday lunches (instead
of drinks and dinner) for hangouts, especially professional ones. You can get
amazing lunch specials across the city, in every type of cuisine, for
literally seven bucks. This
is one of my favorites.
7. I didn't pregame, which is dumb,
especially if you're going out on a Saturday night. A nice at-home cocktail hour
before going to a bar is a really fun option, and allows you to nibble cheese
and olives for a fraction of the cost. Just think, for the price of two $12 cocktails, you could have a bottle of wine, a block of cheese, a bunch of grapes, and a box of crackers — with a few bucks to spare on a drink later that evening.
Since I’ve started really paying attention to these
problems and working my hardest to fix them (as well as simply going out less
during the week), I’ve found that I save hundreds of dollars a month and have
more energy throughout the week from not being weighed down by oily
restaurant food and wine. Of all of my life changes, these steps have probably had the biggest impact on my finances, and they don't even require that I cut anything out, really. I just had to alter my definition of what constitutes going "out."