Tips for cheap weekends

[Mushroo]

I’ve fallen into the habit of buying food and drink pretty much everytime I leave the house.

A typical weekend might be:

• A couple of drinks on a Friday night (c. £30 for me and DH.


• Saturday might be a long walk with a picnic, but buying coffees / snacks £20 or so for both of us.


• sunday - out for a meal £90

Im burning through cash and I’d like to cut down (although I genuinely love eating out and it’s what I like spending money on, so don’t want to cut out completely).

When I meet friends that will always be for drinks or a meal as well.

this is going to sound so stupid, but how
do you spend the weekend so you’re not spending £20 each time you leave the house? What activities do you do? There’s only so many walks to go on…… I don’t have a garden so that’s not an option, and I work from home so I need to get out for the change of scenery.

For context early 30s, no kids, live near a city.

Take coffee and snacks with you, eat before going out for drinks, look for other activities for Sundays? To be honest we are like you but I have been taking the thermos out for a while

If you are meeting friends , can you take it in turn to host ? So the cost is just taking a bottle of wine with you

My friends and I take it in turn to host a games night- you could equally each make one dish and come together. Picnics are fine but pack it from the stuff you have at home. Quite frankly got out every other week to eat, cook more, maybe theme your dinners at home.

I don't think spending £20 on a Saturday is too bad so if it were me, i wouldn't be looking to cut that down.

If you don't want to cut the eating out then can you go somewhere cheaper? £90 seems a bit expensive for 2 of you on a Sunday, I am sure cheaper options will be available.

Oh that's a lot. Sometimes I take my Aldi iced coffee 😅 with me. But we do eat out a bit. We go to fairs etc and just buy coffee. I buy dinner sometimes on a Sunday but not in a restaurant but a local shop that sells a roast for £6 so it's not that much more expensive than making my own.

It's the meal out on Sunday that's standing out as the big cost.
If it's the alcohol can you go to a BYOB place?
If it's the food start trying main course only- starters are a fortune these days.

Thank you - I think the problem is the food and drink has become the activity iyswim.

maybe I need to take up knitting or something…

I think you can still do it but look at cutting back, not cutting out.

So for walks we'd tend to bring our own coffee ( we prefer the taste as well) and buy some treaty cake from Tesco or the bakery beforehand to share. I'm all for bringing my own lunch since we treated ourselves to sandwiches in the Lake District the other weekend and they were slathered with margarine ( boke).

Friday night at £30 isn't bad if that's what you enjoy- a night at the cinema would cost roughly the same.

The meals out - start picking restaurants carefully and use vouchers like itison sometimes. I find it's the extras like coffees and starters that bump up the costs.

Look for different activities to do on the Sunday, if you’re near a city most museums/galleries are free to enter and you can easily spend a couple of hours having a look around & then make dinner at home.

Eat out every other Sunday or go somewhere that does a Sunday deal like 2 main courses and a bottle of wine for £50 and don't order extra.

Go to galleries, museums, exhibitions, craft fairs etc on a Saturday instead of just eating.

Meet friends at a time that’s after food. So meet later in the evening after you’ve had dinner at home, or. I’d afternoon after lunchtime.

It’s summer now. If you need to do food, go for a picnic. Have a day when you don’t drink alcohol or buy rounds - make it a short night out with just 1 drink each. Choose where you go so it doesn’t cost the earth.

Can you get some friends to join in saving cash? Always easier if others doing it too and tricky if spending habits differ wildly in the group. At least agree to abandon buying rounds and just pay for what you have so there’s more control.

And stop buying food and drink for yourself when out if alone. There’s no social element there so just take your own with you. Then if if you spend when out with friends it’s not so bad.

What about a budget for the week of socialising and keep it in cash. When it’s spent, it’s gone and you have to go home.

And yes to going to people’s houses - not for takeaway but a film and a bottle of wine and some crisps. Take it in turns to host.

Have a weekend where you don’t go out and just save the cash.

Honestly, leave the purse at home.

I was also in the habit of popping to the shops or getting 'bits' every time I left home.

Now i just take a water bottle with me, snacks/packed lunch and an emergency fiver.

Planning is key, I think. Easier to just order in/eat out when there's no dinner ready at home or ingredients bought in advance.

Easier to pay to go somewhere like the cinema or a show if you haven't planned a cheap/free day out earlier around the weather/travel arrangements etc.

In summary, being organised and not taking your purse out with you is my best piece of advice!

We all need a few little treats in life so I wouldn't aim at much less on the Friday or Saturday. It's the Sunday £90 that's a killer. If you aimed at £30 on Sunday drinks and tapas? 0r £60 once every 2 weeks you would be saving £60 a week on your current Sunday spending. £240 on a four week month. Huge and you could still do the other things you like doing as you did say you didn't want to totally stop 😊

Posh picnic instead of the usual Sunday meal out? Use all the bits you already have in the fridge/cupboard to make a grazing board. Take your own crockery etc. Pick up a cheap bottle of prosecco/champagne for £6-12ish and a tub of strawberries. Saving £60 minimum... if you can find a nice spot in a park/near a river/lake you can make it a bit of an experience too.

Refillable water bottles plus one of those little concentrated squash bottles saves a fortune on buying soft drinks, especially in the hot weather.

Supermarket for a box of own brand magnums or cornettos for a £1 instead of a fiver from a takeaway - you can always find someone who will appreciate the spare one(s)!

Vouchercloud/meerkat meals vouchers etc. often have offers in chains valid on a Sunday. Or maybe go midweek instead?

But that's what she's asking!! What else are people actually doing that's free/cheap, instead of just a walk or eating/drinking out??

Yeah, and going to a gallery museum is a different activity that’s free and doesn’t involve spending £90 on a meal??

Make a roast at home. Invite friends round and get them to bring booze/dessert. Much cheaper than going out.

I think you could easily carry on with the same activities but just spend less

Drinks on a Friday, £30 seems quite reasonable but maybe do this every other Friday and on alternate Fridays have a bottle of wine in the garden through the summer

Picnic on a Saturday, £20 again not too awful in the grand scheme of things but for 2 people does seem a lot of food..? A meal deal is only £3 each and you can get a Costa coffee included in this

The £90 for dinner out on a Sunday though is extortionate. Go to a cheaper restaurant or if you aren't willing to do again go alternate weekends and the other weekend cook a nice meal at home

Thanks all some good tips! I think my weekends just often feel a bit empty and I need to proactively make plans.

I think a lot of it is prices increasing everywhere! So for example, we looked at going to a nearby city for the day, but the train was £30 even with a railcard, and that’s before anything else!

I think I need to plan the whole month out, and spend money decisively, rather than the current impulse frittering we’re currently doing.

We have no kids either and a lot of our disposable income is on food and drink out and about too. But I do work part weekends so it’s not every weekend. I stopped buying the odd coffee when on a walk and it’s summer so I take a water bottle.

ive just cut back rather than cut out. Less trips for meals out maybe every other week, we had a weekly takeaway habit cos of lockdowns. That’s gone now so it’s maybe once every two weeks. If we were out on Friday, I wouldn’t go out Sunday ( unless separately meeting friends) I’d alternate the Sundays maybe or choose cheaper places to go as it’s quite spends for a weekly habit. Stopped calling in the shop for extras and use why we have from the weekly shop.

im definitely for not cutting out things and enjoying life but lots of us can probably reign some things in a little which all makes a difference.

Oh I used to love eating in restaurants, coffee out, but it's not sustainable. I spent lots of money this way. What I would advice you, is to set up nice environment at home. Who said you can't have nice cheese board and red wine at home? Rent a movie on amazon prime etc.? 😊I noticed we spent so much money going out with friends to the pub. It's definitely cheaper to meet up at home and still have fun. For this Friday I have planned some wine, cheese, crackers and "Top Gun" with husband.

The most important rule that I adhere to is to eat well at home before going out for a walk. Then you will not be constantly tempted to buy something delicious. And I also carry a thermos with hot tea or coffee with me in the cold season. This is much more economical than buying it in coffee shops. Have you thought about it? As for entertainment, there is a large number of free ones. Learn a lot more about financial planning and saving with the help of the website thefinitygroup.com . It may be useful to you.