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Can you have a frank conversation with your buddy about finances? If you're buying each other rounds and his drinks are significantly more expensive (or he wants to drink more than you), I think it's time to talk about it.
I live in Boston where happy hour specials are not allowed (some places get around it with half-priced apps on certain nights) and in general, drinks are expensive. $12 with tax and tip could easily be ONE craft beer, much less 2! Even cheap stuff that I haven't drank since college (Miller, Budweiser, etc) is often $6 a pop. I go out with coworkers once every 2 weeks, but we're all budget conscience and plan our outings around specials, deals, and Groupons.
I get the cheapest mixed drink possible (typically vodka tonic) or, if I want to nurse something, look for the cheapest high gravity beer. I rarely drink to get drunk, and if I do, that's typically an epilogue to a night out when we all decide that by out mid to late 20s, we're too old to be out past 10 so we end up at someone's apartment mixing our own drinks and playing Cards Against Humanity. :P
The thread title is an oxymoron. Going out drinking is inherently NOT a frugal activity. If you're serious about being frugal, do not go out drinking.
I would disagree. Frugal doesn't mean that you have to give up things you find enjoyable. There are the entertainment, social and fun aspects of drinking. The OP needs to find some sort of moderation or balance in what he is doing. If he doesn't, he'll find his hurts his health, his work, personal relationships, bank account or some other sustenance type activity he needs.
I would disagree. Frugal doesn't mean that you have to give up things you find enjoyable. There are the entertainment, social and fun aspects of drinking. The OP needs to find some sort of moderation or balance in what he is doing. If he doesn't, he'll find his hurts his health, his work, personal relationships, bank account or some other sustenance type activity he needs.
The OP's stated main reason for going out drinking is to hear live music. If that's really the goal, I don't see why drinking alcohol - or at least drinking pricey beers and swapping rounds - is essential to the experience. If the OP is really there to hear the music he could drink soft drinks or even a light domestic beer and save a ton of money and probably enjoy the music experience even more.
If he can't enjoy the music with getting a solid buzz on, then music is only an excuse. The guy might as well host a BYOB party at his house which would save on not only the cost of his drinks but also the cover charge and the potential cost of a DUI.
I like going out to hear live music as well, although the opportunities to do so are limited in my area. But if the cost of cover charge + drinks was going to limit the number of shows I could see, I would much rather go to a show every week and drink water than go to one show a month and imbibe high-priced alcoholic beverages.
I would disagree. Frugal doesn't mean that you have to give up things you find enjoyable. There are the entertainment, social and fun aspects of drinking. The OP needs to find some sort of moderation or balance in what he is doing. If he doesn't, he'll find his hurts his health, his work, personal relationships, bank account or some other sustenance type activity he needs.
You have a good point there, but I stick by my original thought. It so happens that what the OP "finds enjoyable" is inherently rather pricey. Consider for a moment what the price of any given drink (whether it be a beer, a glass of wine, or any sort of mixed drink) is in a restaurant or bar as compared to what the same drink would cost you at the super market to be consumed later at home. For example, Trader Joe's sells a liter of dark rum for $10. You can get quite a few drinks out of that $10 bottle! Another example is I just bought a six-pack of hard cider at the market for about $1.25 per 12-ounce bottle. That same bottle at a bar or restaurant would be three or four dollars.
I suppose a lot depends on one's underlying attitude towards alcohol consumption. I have a few drinks every week, mostly at home and occasionally a beer at a restaurant but I think the idea that consuming alcohol is more or less necessary to have fun and have a good time is sick. I would be seeking a new group of friends if I were the OP. (O.K., that sounds pretty harsh, I admit, but the OP is buying into that underlying attitude.)
What I used to do when I was young and didn't have as much money to spend on things like that, I would set aside XX amount of dollars that I could spend, in cash, and put that in my pocket. No credit cards, no debit cards, just the amount I could allow myself to spend, along with my ID. When the money was gone, that was it.
What I used to do when I was young and didn't have as much money to spend on things like that, I would set aside XX amount of dollars that I could spend, in cash, and put that in my pocket. No credit cards, no debit cards, just the amount I could allow myself to spend, along with my ID. When the money was gone, that was it.
It's also easier to pay for your own drinks that way and not get put on a tab with others.
Bring a mini bottle and order a coke or whatever to mix it into. You may be asked to leave though, lol
I was getting ready to leave a bar in my hometown years ago and ordered a six-pack to go. By the time I finished the beer I was working on some friends came in so I decided to stay a little longer. While we were drinking our first round together the place started to get busy and we couldn't flag down the bartender to order another, so I nonchalantly slid my six-pack off the counter and passed each of my buddies a beer. Did that for the next round, too. It was done out of convenience rather than frugality, but it did save us a few bucks.
It doesn't always work out, though. A friend once was getting ready to leave a different bar with a six-pack when someone he knew stopped him to talk. After a few minutes he popped open one of his beers and started drinking it. He didn't do it intentionally, he was just caught up in the conversation and wasn't thinking. Unfortunately for him he was right next to the guy who owned the bar who promptly reached over and slapped the beer out of his hand.
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