To ask how much your household spends on alcohol

[LimeLemonOrange]

DH and I are arguing about how much is reasonable to spend on booze each month.

He drinks, I don't. So to help me work out if I'm being unreasonable I'm asking how much you spend (and for how many drinkers) so I can understand what's reasonable.

Also he smokes, vapes and smokes weed and those all add up as well. I just see it all as a huge waste of money.

We spend something like £70 on booze a month. Maybe £15-20 a week.

Too much .

We both like our wine. DP is into wine in quite a big way. I also like beer, and there has never been a better time to be a beer geek. And then there’s the whisky...

Fortunately, we can afford our treats. Good quality booze is delicious, and we enjoy it.

£0 only adult in household. I don't drink, smoke or vape. I eat far too much chocolate though!

I think the amount as a percentage of income is probably more telling. That also gives you a clue as to whether your writing courses are a fair deal for you or not. Ours works out at 0.8% of our monthly income, on wine. I very rarely drink, the rest is DH. My indulgence is Diet Coke, on which I spend 0.4%. I will be presenting findings to DH when he raises an eyebrow on the Aveda shop I now feel entitled to do

A big fat zero. Since 24 Jan 2020. Long may it last - I’ve cleaned out& restocked my wardrobe, & cleared my debt (more importantly!)

Yes.

On average maybe £10 a month. But this will be about one nice bottle if wine a year plus the occasional beer/cheap wine for cooking. I will personally spend a bit more socialising (I mostly only drink expensive whisky) but that’s not really a household expenditure and socialising involving alcohol is a rare occurrence (especially in these times).

Since lockdown, nothing. And as far as I’m concerned that will continue.

What other people spend is irrelevant. They have different priorities and budgets.

You say it's affordable to you, so it's not like he's spending the mortgage and bills money on booze and I'm sure that you buy some things that he sees as a waste of money.

The fairest way to do it is combine all your income and pay all your joint essential costs out of that, so housing, bills, food, travel, child related costs, pensions, savings for annual and irregular expenses like Christmas, holidays, insurances, replacement of white goods, car replacement and repairs etc.

Then whatever you have left after all that is covered, you split 50/50 to spend how you like with no judgement from the other. If he spends all his on booze and fags, that's fine. If he runs out of money before the next month, he does without.

Zero...we don't drink

£10 a week (1 bottle of wine. a week and a bottle of tequila once every 6 weeks or so). I like a margarita now and then. I don’t always drink my weekly bottle of wine. I don’t smoke. I have a Haagen daas habit though 😂

We put 40 a month into naked wine and then we order q case when we've got 80 or so in there, usually costs around 100 every couple of months. Recently it's every month with lockdown. Also spend 40 a month on a craft gin club. Plus going out, now we're allowed back out. We like a drink as you can tell

Do you feel like you don't have much in common with your dh op?

About £100-150 a month depending if we are in or out. We get a craft gin bottle delivered every other month at £40, and I usually pick up a couple of bottles in the supermarket.
Rarely drink wine but keep about a dozen bottles in anyway.
Dh likes IPA when he isn't drinking gin.

Around £100 a month for two adults.

I don't drink much at all.
A £20 bottle of craft gin I bought three months ago still nearly full.
Dh on the other hand around probably £250 ish on alcohol and tobacco a month sometimes more

That doesn't come out of household budget though it comes out of his personal money.

He earns more than I do not that it makes a difference but when he has a moan he's trying to save for stuff etc I just remind him how much he spends.

Being on furlough for three months my savings depleted due to some emergency things that came up so I'm trying g really hard not to waste money.

My downfall was brekkie out on my day off followed by buying random shit I don't need. So lockdown put a stop to that and long may it continue

Sounds like you are the go-getter and he's the taker?

£10-£15 a week depending on our plans. I'm now pregnant so probably about £5 a week on a few beers for DH.

Does nobody in here ever go to their local pub? Order wine with a meal out, go to the local town or city for a night out?

It really feels like this thread is dominated by those who never drink and isn’t in anyway reflective of real life amongst the people I know? £100 a week for a couple is pretty low in our circle if you actually add everything up. A bottle of wine at a restaurant is going to be £20 plus. A pint on a night out is a fiver. Decent whiskey or brandy could be £10 a go.

Plus drinks at home. I relay don’t think this thread is a proposed cross section. Seems more like it’s bringing out all those who look down on people who enjoy a drink.

Loads on other threads go on about how much Gin and Prosecco they drink, yet on here people claim to be buying a bottle of wine a month between two of them?

DH and DS who is 19 have a beer with dinner every Friday and Saturday night. So about 15 a month. I’m a very light drinker this isn’t a I’m so worthy comment it’s about my not liking alcohol due to stepfather being an alcoholic.

We do have a lot of alcohol in the house, my ex work colleagues and DH colleagues give wine as gifts for end of projects etc a lot. Plus DH Dad was an accountant and didn’t drink spirits only beer and wine and he was constantly being given whisky as a gift from clients. I use it all in cooking. Try a small glass of port in bolognese if you get the chance.

Does nobody in here ever go to their local pub? Order wine with a meal out, go to the local town or city for a night out?

Very rarely. Rural, no babysitter, opportunities are limited, and involve driving.

Does nobody in here ever go to their local pub? Order wine with a meal out, go to the local town or city for a night out?

Very rarely. We've had 2 takeaways since March, haven't been back to the pubs since they reopened. Even before then, we went in maybe a handful of times per year. The restaurant we like is quite expensive so it's a rare treat to go.

Given I rarely go to the pub or eat out. (pre Covid). I find most drinks/meals over rated and very expensive for what you get. I can cook much better meals at home and drink nicer wines. I am so often disappointed in the quality of wine served in pubs.

I worked in hospitality for years so I do know about overheads etc but I also know how many businesses cut corners to save money.

I love drinking at home, can choose a really nice bottle of wine for about the same price as a medium sized glass of wine in a pub. Maybe if I lived nearer better pubs and restaurants I would go out more but so often I have been disappointed when drinking/eating out.

We spend a decent amount on alcohol (£50 ish a week) and just enjoy drinking at home. My DH had a crowd of mates round last night to drink in the garden, I do the same with my friends ... suits us

We both drink spirits and have the occasional bottle of wine. We each go out for drinks with friends maybe once every 1-2 weeks. I would say its about £100-£150 a month.

@Givenupno I enjoy a drink but I'm a single parent and I don't earn much so I can't afford to spend £100 a week on alcohol! I don't like wine so I don't have it with meals. I can't afford expensive alcohol, when I go on a night out I just have the house vodka!

It's cheaper to drink at home so I do that more often.

150pm but I would spend less if money was tight

Also he smokes, vapes and smokes weed and those all add up as well. I just see it all as a huge waste of money

Is it that you're tight on cash, it's effecting his parenting or your relationship, or you just see it as a waste? Did he do this before you met, did you hope he'd change or after having kids?

I ask because alcohol and weed should NEVER be to the detriment of parenting or family finances. But I think it is unreasonable to expect a partner to stop if they drank or smoked before you met, just because you're not into it.

Though sometimes one grows out of it and the other doesn't, this can be a problem, when you're not growing together