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

Well I used to go for a night out with £20, predrinks at home first. £20 in 2003 (when I started uni) is £40. And I am pretty sure it's generally cheaper for girls to go out than boys because (1) they drink less and (2) they have drinks bought for them.

Depends on how organised he is. DS1 drinks before he goes, then gets train/tube to London one way, don’t know exact cost but say £10. Club is a big student night and £5 if booked in advance. He drinks little alcohol once in, say another £10. Then a night bus home, think they are about £3 could be wrong. So minimum spend about £30 being very frugal + pre drinks.

He’s at uni in the East Midlands and that is cheap. £4/5 to get in clubs and drinks for £2/£2.50. Cheap/shared taxis back too.

£50 is cheap !!!
He works it's HIS money how he spends it isn't any of your business anyway .
You're showing your age £5 wouldn't even get you an uber let alone a drink surely you aren't that blind to the price of things these days that you think he could have a night out on less ?

Drinks cost £3 -4 for coke or lemonade, £5-9 for pint and cocktails £7-12. Even a bag of crisps will set you back a sometimes more. People cant afford to have a quick drink after work or class these days so it tends to be a case of fewer nights out with more alcohol. Having a meal while out could add £20 .

I dont drink alcohol and a night out would cost me £25 before food or transport.

I haven’t been able to find reliable data, and some of the data that is available is very contradictory.

https://lbndaily.co.uk/amp/liverpool-offers-one-cheapest-night-students/ this is one from 2021, and it is worth noting prices have gone up a bit since then. It found Liverpool to be one of the cheapest nights out.

Of the two SE England cities listed, one had an average cost of £37 and one of £42. You can likely add a 5er for the increases since 2021 - so he’s basically spending the average for a student.

This one though is more recent, and shows Liverpool as the most expensive night out (which, intuitively, seems absurd) and has significantly lower amount than the 2021 survey.

https://thetab.com/uk/2022/08/16/these-are-the-university-cities-where-students-spend-the-most-on-a-night-out-russell-group-268330

Personally, I find that one dubious given that Liverpool must be one of the cheapest cities in the country.

What data are you using?

YABU and ridiculous 😂

I should also note that the first survey, which provides a breakdown of costs, seems to assume that students have a grand total of one drink on a night out.

I should also note that the first survey, which provides a breakdown of costs, seems to assume that students have a grand total of one drink on a night out.

Many do only have one or even no drinks whilst out. Lots of us have explained they do pre-drinks before they go out.

But the survey doesn’t account for any spending on pre-drinks. I’d assume they are not free?

I’d be very surprised if the average amount a student has to drink, on a night out, including pre-drinks, a pub and a nightclub, is one drink.

Just doesn’t seem plausible, and even then the average cost of a night out is around £40-50 based on that survey.

Even 15 years ago I could have easily spent that. SE uni aswell. Got to factor in the kebab on the way home.....drunk hunger hits different

Small glass of wine in my local £8.20
so x4 = 32.80. Uber £8.00.
would leave me a tenner, not enough to go clubbing - he’s doing ok.

You are a bit silly if you think you could do a night out for £5 in the U.K. these days especially as a student (assuming he lives in a big city). £50 is fairly reasonable. Nights out are expensive nowadays. Bit ignorant to give it the whole “back in my day” chat as if it’s relevant now considering you were his age I'm assuming somewhere about 30 years ago?

I spent that on a night out at uni abs I'm 40 this year. Sounds completely normal to me

Obviously you have little understanding of the. Cost of living. £50 for a night out is actually quite frugal most students would spend nearer £100 for a decent night out. Your DS is clearly managing money fone to be able to do this on £50. The average Uber for a 20 minute journey home is £25 plus the average cost of a pint is £4 and drinks at a club usually more expensive. Average admission to a night club £5 so if they did two pints at pub and a following 4 at club plus admission your talking at least £55 so I'd say £50 is more than reasonable. That's without factoring into the 10 fags you would have bought when you went out years ago. Which would now cost two e as much because they don't sell tens and cheapest ones are £9-£10 then what if they want a kebab on way home yet another £5-£10. Yes your defo been unreasonable

You’re being unreasonable to think it should be cheaper than £50.

you are not unreasonable to not want to fund his nights out though. Every so often is ok, but it’s not your responsibility to pay it regularly

No my DD will go out and make one drink last hours, rarely eats out and walks everywhere. If he wants to spend £50 he can spend his wages. That's crazy.

Totally possible to do it for less
they have pres at home
then go to clubs with cheap admission currently fav one is £3 before midnight !
have maybe 1 drink or get 1 free !
walk home
probably £10 and £15 if you include a subway on the way home !!

however it depends what others are doing and whether you have access to cheap clubs or student nights ( this is also SE England but not London )

You don't get much for £50 in a pub these days, especially on a student night out, to be honest I'm very impressed he's getting into a club and getting an Uber back too for £50...I's say he's very prudent

Once you include the ride home that sounds fair. He’s not getting rolling drunk for £50.

Im surprised that people are saying this is what they spent on a night out over 10 years ago. I graduated just over 10 years ago and very rarely spent more than £20 on a night out. I was out 5 nights a week so couldn't afford to spend more! We drank at home first and then a few drinks whilst out.

I don't go clubbing anymore but never spend £50 on a night at a pub now either.

Exactly, although if he has a job and he’s not spending the OP’s money then it’s his business

£50 is cutting back on a night out imo

I came of age in the late 00s and would never spend less than £20 down the local pubs so I’d imagine spending £50, presumably in a city, some 15 years later would be very easy.

Depends where he's going. If it's Uni/campus nights out then it's cheap as anything. I used to take £10-£15 out with me on Uni-hosted nights out.

If he's going out into a club or bar in the real world then £50 is pretty conservative.

Wow where is he that he can have night out including entry to club/drinks/and uber home for £50!!!! That's sounds cheap to me 🤷‍♀️