How much do you spend on a night out?

[braga123]

Just curious. And how often do you go out?

 

[Rhea]

What do you mean a night out? We don't really do out I don't think, though maybe we are normal and I just don't know it. We go to the pub for a drink or two every couple of weeks and spend around £10 - 20. About once a month we have dinner out and that's around £60 - £100 depending on if it's Chinatown or the Gordon Ramsey gastro pub. Husband isn't a fan of eating out at all so that's a push though we often have lunch out on at a cafe on the weekend. We don't club or go out dancing unless it's with friends for an occasion and for the once a year it happens, the total is often less than if we have a meal out.

 

[LLJsmom]

With the kids, it's casual. But we still like yummy food. So for dinner, at a fun cool pizza and pasta place or sushi for dinner, $70-$100. For lunch, it's $50-$70. Weekly.

With just the DH and me $90-$100 at casual yummy, just food. We don't drink, so that saves us a lot of money. If we go fine dining, it's $150-$250. Dinner just us two - 1 to 2 times a month.

For entertainment, we seldom do anything more than a movie. We used to do comedy clubs, but we're just too tired these days. And with On Demand, we don't really even need the theaters, unless it's one of those better on the big screen.

 

[monarch64]

We like to go out to dinner and then go watch live music at least once a month. An evening out usually costs anywhere between $75-150 depending on where we eat/who we see play, and on top of that we usually spend $50 on a babysitter (4-5 hours at $10/hr.)

 

[Dancing Fire]

about $40-$50 bucks on booze every Friday night.

 

[Asscherhalo_lover]

It depends, normal dinner out with a few drinks, 50-100 US depending on where we go. Tonight we went to the opera and just for the show/travel we spent about 300 US. No dinner at all lol. This was our Valentine's gift though so it was a special treat.

 

[kenny]

Depends how many hookers I pick up.
As I get older and uglier they charge me more.

No seriously, if we go out to dinner it'll be $20 to $40 for the two of us.
We never go out drinking or to films, concerts or shows.

About once every other year we'll splurge on a fancy restaurant and the bill will total maybe $70.
That's very fancy for us.
I don't even own the kind of clothes that are the norm in the nicest restaurants.

 

[TooPatient]

Out? What is that word?

We grab lunch together about once a week outside of the house (usually take-out eaten at home...). That runs $15-20 for two.

Dinner out?
The three of us had dinner as a family about a year ago. Came to about $100.

Dinner just the two of us?
Um... I think the last time was almost two years ago
We didn't even have dinner alone the day after our wedding when we were still at the winery.
Usually runs something like $50-75 if we stick to water and iced tea.
The nice dinner at the winery ran us about $180 for two -- Oh! We did have dinner just the two of us about a year ago after the full cellar wine tasting we did in preparation for the wedding. Decided we needed to eat dinner before driving the 2 hours home after tasting about 20 wines plus about 3 glasses each!


Seriously --
We'd LOVE to eat dinner out more often, but we like good food. It is hard to find stuff we enjoy and it is expensive trying to find things we like. We don't have the extra money to spend on meals out on a regular basis. I also really like to know what is IN the food we're eating and how it was handled. (after working in a couple of food service places I saw enough to leave me nervous!)

 

[ringbling17]

It depends. I am a foodie. I am willing to go and try anything. Usually our dinner costs anywhere from $50 to $150 pp. I don't think I would spend more than that. There are plenty of good restaurants.

I just went out last nite to the Melting Pot but it was restaurant week in Atlantic City (they extended it) so our dinner was fairly inexpensive. About $60 pp including one drink. I don't usually like the Melting Pot but my friend really wanted to go.

I was at Cheesecake Factory last Sat. and we ate at a Seafood Buffet the afternoon before.
I think our bill was $50 pp.

Normally my husband and I go out two to three times a month. A lot if times it's lunch while the kids are in school. But I also do take out a lot as well.

The last fancy place we went to was about $100 pp but I hate dressing up, so I don't usually do fancy.

I think that is the area where I could save the most money if I tried.

 

[missy]

My dh and I are also foodies and it is expensive to eat at the restaurants I enjoy so we do it a lot less now -mainly because of me because my dh doesn't mind spending the $$$ but I do these days. When we do go out to eat it is easily $250 and up a couple. That is why we don't go out to eat often anymore. In the past we thought nothing of spending that every Friday and Saturday night but we were younger and more carefree with spending. And while I don't regret those experiences I much prefer eating at home these days. And the money we are saving makes it that much sweeter!

 

[dk168]

When I go out, I push the boat out, in that I would like to have a bite to eat; and when I eat, I like to have some wine to go with the meal. Therefore, I usually stay overnight in a hotel as I shall not be able to drive home. This way, I can continue to drink more alcohol and stay up until the small hours in the morning.

Hence a night out in Bath, the nearest big city close to my work place, could cost me 200 GBP, including a night in a hotel (Bath is expensive when it comes to accommodation), an average meal (budgeted for 40 GBP including alcohol), and drinking money, more if I stay all night knocking back cocktails at my favourite cocktail bar.

This is just for me alone, and excluding pet care, add another 40 GBP if both pets need to be boarded at the cattery and kennel!

The next work's night out is at the end of May, and we are going to Bristol a bit further away instead, for a change of scenery. 2 nights hotel already booked, as OH will be joining me for the weekend - his first outing with me at a work's do. And I have started to put money aside for this weekend, as it is not going to be cheap! Luckily, OH is very generous when it comes to food and drinks.

Hence I seldom go out, as it is not cheap, about four times in a year perhaps, usually after receiving my quarterly bonus payment.

DK

 

[SB621]

In the US it ran us about $125 a night out me and DH (that included 3 hours of babysitting which I usually pay $15 an hour for. In the states though we didn't have a ton of nice places to eat. In Europe things are more expensive so a night out I'm guessing will run us closer to $225. We just took our kids out to lunch today actaully. It was $75 and they barely ate anything.

 

[Dreamer_D]

We have two kids and for a looooooong time we did not go out at all Between nursing and newborns and all that it just wasn't possible.

But now that they are older and our finances are a little better, we try to go out every two weeks and ideally we would like to go out every week. It's pricey though. The babysitting is $15 per hour, so assuming we go out for at least five hours (6pm to 11pm) then the minimum price of a night out is $75! We usually go out for dinner and a long walk when we go out, plus a movie if there is something good going on.

So, a night out is about $150. WHich is why we are lucky to do it twice a month!

 

[manderz]

*slowly backs out of thread*

*cowers in corner, feeling poor*

 

[MichelleCarmen]

My husband and I go out on a movie/dinner date about once every three months and we spend about $75 on dinner and drinks (I love ordering mixed drinks which I never have at home, so I order cheap dinner and nice drinks) and then $20-40 on a movie, depending if we get a regular show or 3-D and if we get popcorn or not.

With the kids, we eat out about once a month (and the bills is always under $80) and we go to about 3 movies a month. I've been on a movie kick lately so we've been going to a lot more, but about half are matinees and we normally don't get concession because it kills me to pay $5.00 for a pop!

 

[momhappy]

We go out one weekend night per week. We usually have a nice dinner & drinks either just the two of us or with friends. We like to dress up a little bit (so I can put my designer shoe collection to use ) and we prefer upscale atmospheres as opposed to more casual ones. A typical dinner out probably runs us about $150 and paying the babysitter is about another $60-$75.

 

[Sparklelu]

*slowly backs out of thread*

*cowers in corner, feeling poor*

+1
We hardly ever go out to eat.One reason is we live in a vacation area and season is from Oct-April so the wait for a table is crazy.
The other is I'd rather cook, it's cheaper. I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes .

DH did get over $500.00 in random restaurant gift certificates as Christmas gifts from his swimmers( he is a coach) so when we do go it's free!!!

DH is bringing in dinner tonight, seafood from Lobster Lady

 

[Enerchi]

We don't normally go out to restaurants or movies. Occasionally we attend local theatre but mainly we host other friends or go to their homes for casual dinners. Even these casual dinners for 2 or 3 couples run into the $150 - 200 range when you purchase beer/wine and prepare a nice meal. We love it, but it is not cheap.

We do eat out when on vacation and that is ALWAYS so enjoyable for DH - he's the cook and loves being off duty! I'd say average meals on our last vacation were in the $50 - $75 range including a beer or two each. We do not eat HIGH end, apparently!!

 

[manderz]

*slowly backs out of thread*

*cowers in corner, feeling poor*

+1
We hardly ever go out to eat.One reason is we live in a vacation area and season is from Oct-April so the wait for a table is crazy.
The other is I'd rather cook, it's cheaper. I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes .

DH did get over $500.00 in random restaurant gift certificates as Christmas gifts from his swimmers( he is a coach) so when we do go it's free!!!

DH is bringing in dinner tonight, seafood from Lobster Lady

I love eating out, and there's not a lot of fancy places around here. We're pretty low budget, and it's just the two of us.

The thing that gets me... Several people are paying their babysitters as much as I make at my job.

 

[Chewbacca]

The thing that gets me... Several people are paying their babysitters as much as I make at my job.

Ha ha, I was thinking the same thing!

A night out for me would be the movies, and if we've run out of gift vouchers (they are my go-to request if someone asks me for a gift idea so we usually have a few!) that would run us $30-$40.

If we are in the mood to eat out we tend to do breakfast or lunch because its so much cheaper!

In saying this I am only in my mid twenties, and I don't have a professional job. So it makes a lot of sense!

 

[04diamond<3]

This thread makes me sad because we don't have time to go out on dates and we don't even have kids yet. We've been trying to plan to do out on a date like we used to for the last two months. We're both working full time (in stressful industries), are in school full time and are in the middle of building our house. We also hang out with our friends a lot and end up picking the tab on that almost every time. But a date night just me and DH would cost $150 between dinner and a movie. We used to go out every weekend, but now it's every couple months if we're lucky. Some of our "date nights" are just ordering food from an upscale place and bringing it home...does that count? We do that probably every other week.

 

[ihy138]

Oh, boy. We really don't get out much. Maybe once a month? And we don't even have children. When we do go out, we probably spend between 40 and 50. Dinner and drinks afterward is our usual routine.

 

[junebug17]

We usually go out to eat every Saturday night to one of the local and casual places in our area, and we spend around $50. We'll go to a more expensive, upscale restaurant when we go on vacation.

 

[iluvshinythings]

It varies. We don't go out that often because we're old, tired and lazy. Usually we have lunch and then a matinee and it probably costs $60. (probably once every other month)

Once in a great while (a couple of times a year) we'll actually go to the theatre and those evenings are expensive. If I'm going to leave my house and get dressed up, I'm going to buy good seats. Usually a dinner and theatre evening is around $350.

 

[jaysonsmom]

Wow, no wonder everyone has so much to spend on bling. We eat out about 3-4X a week on average...due to my work schedule. On weekdays, with the kids we eat at family friendly chain restaurants like Souplantation, Red Robin etc, and spend $30-60. When we go somewhere fancier on weekends (sushi,korean bbq) etc, it's about $100 a pop.

If by night out, you guys mean date night, dh and I usually catch a show (stand-up) and dinner and spend $150 ish. We usually do this about 3X a year only.

 

[amc80]

We rarely eat out. With a 19 month old, it's just not fun. Occasionally, DH's parents will babysit for us. We can usually go to dinner OR a movie, and will generally pick a movie. That usually ends up being $20 for the tickets and $20 for snacks (really, popcorn = dinner). About twice a year we do something fancier (our anniversary and Valentine's Day) and that is around $100. When we can manage a real dinner (but not "fancy") out, we try to hit up sushi. Our favorite place is all you can eat, and comes to about $50 including the food, drinks, and tip.

 

[eh613c]

We go out with the kids once a week to casual/kid friendly restaurants. It usually costs us between $40-$60. About twice a year, my husband and I go to a fancy restaurant and it's about $150-$200. For the most part I cook. DH brings his lunch and I make lunches for the kids. When I take the kids out (eg zoo or museum), I bring our lunch and snacks.

 

[iLander]

People spend a lot to eat out, and it's so expensive now, it just irks me.

Used to be, the four of us used to eat out for $40. Then that became $70. Now it's $80 or more.

And the food hasn't gotten any better.

I will splash out on restaurant week, for an excellent meal. Then it's a $200 for four, but since the meal would usually be $400 plus, and it is TRULY excellent, gourmet, food, it's worth it to me. But that's only once a year.

We don't drink, because it seems stupid to me to pay $40 for a bottle of wine that's $18 in real life. But, again, I once had a $400 bottle of wine and it was the best tasting thing I've ever had. Worth it.

I don't like spending middling money for middling food. But I will big spend money for awesome food. Problem is, every chef thinks he makes awesome food, and most really do not. If I could FIND awesome food for $200, I would buy it every week.

Apparently, I need to eat in 1978.

 

[ame]

We don't really "go out" a whole lot. Neither of us drinks. We go to a nice dinner once every few weeks, but we do go out in general to a few meals a weekend just because we're both trying to just "get DH out of the house." He works from our home, and he works a lot of hours, so we do the best we can to have meals on weekends out of the house anywhere from junky cheap food to a nice meal of $25 a plate. The latter is less frequent.

 

[dk168]

I always have a good meal on my birthday, usually on my own, to be followed by a show of some sort, may be a bit of shopping in between, depending where I am (usually in London).

DK