AIBU to think student DS spending £50 on his nights out is ridiculous?

[OwlBabiesAreCute]

Maybe my age but I used to go out with £5 - into a club for free, couple of halves of lager, 10 fags. Admittedly a good few years ago!

DS (2nd year of uni SE England) says he cannot go out with less than £50 for drinks in the pub, then admission and drinks in a club. And possibly an Uber home after.

He does have a job but is saving that money for when he goes back to uni.

AIBU to think this is not a typical amount that uni students / teens spend on a night out?

YABU - £50 is a normal amount and you have no idea of the true cost of a night out

YANBU - he's a student with limited income and should therefore limit nights out / spending

@kelsaycobbles maybe some folk don't want to scrimp every time they go out. If he's earning and managing his money fine, I don't see the problem.

The OP's son is in the south east.

I just asked my son who has just finished being a student in Leeds. He says between £30 and £60 a night.

@MargotBamborough
The clubs round where I lived at student age are still those prices...
Corp in Sheffield is 1£ entry and 60p drinks. 1.80 for a blue pint.
There's plenty of others places like this in the UK!

It depends.

When I was a student, if you went to ‘normal’ places, sure, you could rack up the equivalent of £50 in today’s money. But there were loads of student-only bars, and drinks were dirt cheap there. As in, fraction of Wetherspoons cheap. I swear, they must have been selling at not much more than cost price.

Most students stuck to the student bars for that reason.

In the South East, where the OP's son lives?

If I go into London for a get together with colleagues I can quickly go through £40 in a pub from 18:00 until trad closing time at 23:00. Add a bit for a burger and £50 it is.

And that's before trains/taxis etc.

OP, at the risk of sounding rude, have you been living under a rock?

When you took a fiver out that was presumably decades ago, long enough that you have had a marriage and children since.

How much did you think it costs for a night out? Serious question.

I drink lager and I’m lucky to find a pint anywhere that costs less than £4. Cocktails are minimum £8. Taxis and ubers are a fortune, then you have entry fees for night clubs.

My student clubbing days were early 00’s and I used to go out with a tenner as a vodka and lemonade in the local pubs would cost £1 for students. You now wouldn’t get a lemonade for £1.

Tbh, I think it also depends on how often he's doing this and whether or not you're giving him money.

£50 on one big night out a month is pretty frugal

£50 on a night out every week is excessive

I never got any financial support from my parents at uni, so what I spent my money on was none of their business. However, if you are supporting him financially, then you've got a right to be annoyed if he's spending £50 per week on nights out.

He should defo be having a few cheap drinks with his mates at home, then hitting the cheapest student bars and walking home together or getting the bus.

I've always had a soft spot for cocktails but felt bad as they were the expensive choice - these days loads of places do 2 for 1 on them but not on other drinks. I resisted getting one last time we went out and got 2 double rum and cokes, cost me £17.50. Wished I'd spent the tenner on two cocktails!

@MargotBamborough

I've never been to a town, where these places don't exist!

I've never been anywhere they do exist!

How often are you travelling to different areas of the country looking for 60p drinks??

Even when I was a student almost 2 decades ago this wasn't remotely normal or common place.

Yeah, in Bristol 15+ years ago I'd say it was £5-10 to get into a club and £3 a drink in most student venues.

Oh god blue pints shudders at the thought of the blue pint hangover 😅

I remember being a student in Leeds and £10 all you can drink. Actually. I lie. I don't remember much of those nights at all.

When I was a student two decades ago, a half of soft drink was 25p and a spirit plus mixer was £1.40. **

** This was in student bars. Real
world bars were much more expensive.

There's a life outside of what you know... up here most students do not 'live in the city', the cities aren't all that big and far, far, far too expensive.

When I was in uni I only knew 2 people who lived in the city, one was disabled and in assisted housing at the other side of the city from uni right on the outskirts and the other was from a rich family and grew up in boarding school then somehow managed to get in the student halls (which there weren't many of and where huge waiting lists for).

Omg Corp! That brings back memories! I was at Sheffield Uni circa 2005 😂

That’s why pres exist! We didn’t really do pre- pub drinking in the 90s as it wasn’t as pricey to go out.

YANBU that it’s not a normal amount. It’s so cheap. How does he get to have a decent night out on only £50? Are you up north?

Fully agree. People have their own priorities and what they like to spend on. Anyone complaining about it when it doesn’t directly affect them should mind their own business.

@Sissynova

Often! I'm adding to a discussion that I know plenty about

I live somewhere cheaper than the SE and I (if I were to go on a night out which I don’t because I’m an antisocial weirdo) would expect to spend at least £50. Whether he can afford that and therefore should be going out is a different thing entirely

I swear I don’t leave the house these days without it costing me £100 🙈