Go Barack Teach her how to do the Salsa!
I wanted to find out what the average person spends on drinks and night clubs/entertainment and share it with my readers. Obviously this would be an average for someone in their 20-30s who goes out about 3-4 times a month. One thing to consider is where you live and how the prices of drinks vary by location. For example a drink in Paterson, NJ will cost you about 7-8 dollars while a drink in Las Vegas will cost you about 21 dollars. So you will have to run your specific calculations based on your actual location and prices.
Scenario 1 – NJ Night Club
Pre-Game Bottle at home $40 / 2 split it with a buddy= $20 Dollars each.
Night Club Entrance= $20 Dollars
Drinks while Clubbing = 3*7 = $21 Dollars
Total for 1 night of entertainment = 61 round it down to= $60
Total for the month 4 nights out is – 4 * 60 = $ 240
Total for the year 12 months – 12 * 240 = 2,880 Round this up to – $3000 for other expenses like – Haircuts, Gas, clothes, Etc.
This scenario is obviously on the low end of the spectrum because the prices are low estimates. The point I am trying to make is that if a young person spends this much on just night life then the possibility to save $$ gets eliminated or vastly reduced. Many people do not have an extra 250-500 a month after all expenses to splurge on night life and still be able to save adequately for future goals/retirement. That’s why most usually fall under either savers or spenders. I also understand that every situation is different and that some younger individuals may be living rent free in good ol’ mom and dad’s house. If this is the case then those folks can maybe get away with it in for the time being. But as soon as rent/mortgage payment gets thrown into the equation saving $$ should take priority over the expensive night life option. For the sake of being fair I will run the calculation on someone that goes out 2 times a month and saves the other half in a mutual fund for 10 years.
Scenario 2- Half Fun / Half Save
Total for month is = $120 night life round this up to 150
Total for year is = $1,800 Night life expense and 1800 Saved in Mutual fund. = $ 3,600
Go to the calculator at the bottom of the page and plug in $150 a month X 10 years to save.
The Grand total with a 4% savings rate is about $22,000 dollars.
In conclusion if you cut your night life spending in half and save the rest you can have a good foundation for a better life in the future. Everybody always makes regrets later in life, but those who take action will never be caught off guard financially. We all can find the right balance between fun and saving for the future. The problem some people have is that they do all fun and not one penny to save. If you’re in a situation where you don’t have money left over at the end of the month to allocate to savings, then just increase your income or do the half fun/half savings strategy I mentioned in the example above.
Make a plan, stick to it and watch how your savings grow.
Another excellent way to watch your money!
