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

I really need to know how he can do all that on only £50. You’re insane if you think that’s unreasonable given it includes club entry and an Uber home, he must be hardly drinking anything.

Are you aware that two drinks and a pack of tabs is easily 20+ quid these days?

£50 is a cheap night out!

£50 does seem a lot - London ?

Many students would club on a student night which according to the student room could be 5 to 15

Many students would have a drink before and go early for cheaper entry

Couple of drinks - 10 to 20 again venue depends

So with a taxi and everything at the upper end , yes 50 , but many students will manage to have a good night out on rather less

Sounds like a cheap night out to me. You do realise the prices of everything has risen since your nights out

you sound a bit ridiculous comparing current costs with when you could go out for a ‘fiver’. That must be decades and decades ago…things have moved on

We used to share taxis and split the cost. If he has a few mates living in the same area this might be cheaper than the bus/train home, and buses are no use if they stop running at 2am and they are out until 3 or 4.

I agree with the PP saying both your statements are true.

£50 is quite cheap for a “big night out” including pub club etc

However, if he has limited funds then he shouldn’t be having many of these nights. Most of my student social life was drinks in each others’ rooms or in the student bar (crap drinks and decor but cheap!). We’d only occasionally go out to a club, and generally didn’t buy many drinks there having pre loaded elsewhere. And everything was in —staggering— walking distance.

Some web research

Sounds like 50 is a average for a student night out in London whereas 20 to 30 is much more normal elsewhere

Fits with what my student DD found - she had a shock when she went to visit a friend in London

It also depends on who the child makes friends with - dd is like me and spending 50 on a night out would be a very rare thing even now I work. Others seem to spend far more ( with no extra happiness it seems) and then complain they are broke

Oh dear, do you give him 10p so he can treat himself to a bag of sweets too? 😁

Sorry but you're completely out of touch.

Op may be out of touch but as far as I can tell unless he's in London £50 is also excessive - your post reads like you think £50 is normal and ok

£50 doesn't go far these days but they could make it cheaper - instead of going to even Wetherspoons regularly they could drink at home then go out to the club later. Or go to the Student Union bar first which is presumably cheaper than Wetherspoons. That's what we used to do in the 1990s. Hardly ever bought a drink in a club and we used to go early while it was free entry and just dance and drink water. Was fully sober by the time we went home.

50 a night for pub followed by club plus some money for uber back home/accommodation sounds right.
Do you really expect him to have that for 5 or 10 quid?

He is working and saving, so seems responsible. There is no harm in having some fun with friends along with a job and studies. That's what your 20s are all about. I am impressed that he is so well planned about his future and his night outs😎

i’ve just asked my DS what he spends on a night out clubbing at uni in Sheffield which varies from £20-£30, and a night out at home (small town in south west, no club available) which is £40-£60. DS is 20 and just off to his summer job stacking shelves in retail. Sheffield is really good value for students.

I used to manage on £30 with no taxi home. I think £50 sounds what is to be expected these days, people probably spend a lot more than that.

OP, would you say to your child that it was ridiculous spending 90p on a bar of Dairy Milk and that when you were a child you only used to spend 15p?

You do have some understanding of how inflation works, right?

Apparently not unless in London

The data is out there - most students do not spend £50 on a night out - most students get 2 nights for that

I’m nearly 40 and would still have spent £15-£20 on a cheap night out as a student if it included clubbing and a taxi. I think you may be looking back through rose tinted glasses.

£50 is low tbh. 20 years ago when I went out clubbing, I took about £40 with me. This covered: taxi into town (shared), a jug of cocktail and shots at wetherspoons (when jugs were a fiver, and 4 shots was also a fiver), bus to club, club entrance (£1.50), drinks at the club (£1.50 each), and a cheeseburger from the dirty burger van.
These days it's a miracle if I spend less than £100, and that doesn't even involve clubbing.

I think that's pretty normal. But students should use public transport. And he should be paying for that from his earnings, not any money you give him

Student nights out in Leeds. Nowhere near a £50 night.

Of course it will.

A shitty one bedroom flat where I am is £150,000. He would need a 10% deposit, of £15,000.

So if he didn't go on 300 nights out he would be able to save £15,000.

Maybe because back then there were no cheap taxis like uber, also maybe it was a bit safer to walk alone drunk middle of the night.

What's the harm in a little bit of fun? He is working and studying in uni. Seems like a responsible kid/young adult.

Why we need to compare him to another era's youth? Usually benchmark for normal for youth is their generation, friends and peers not parents.

Admittedly a good few years ago!

Sounds like it might have been around 1992!!

Just asked dd, she says about £30 unless they are having a meal which is probably more than we spend but seems about right. I don't understand the uber thing though, we walked or took buses, and I mean walked an hour home. Dd says they took the bus, only took an Uber occasionally and 4 shared