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How to Have a Fun Night Out When Youق€™re Broke

Going out is a lot of fun, but when youق€™re broke , it becomes difficult. You may find yourself sitting at home, binge watching programs youق€™ve already seen a dozen times or more. You want to have a good time, but you also want to eat and have electricity in your home. Fortunately, you donق€™t have to let life pass you by. There are plenty of ways to have a fun night out without spending a fortune and sending yourself into financial ruin.

Free Music and Dance Nights

If you happen to live in a big city, you might be able to take advantage of a free music or dance night. There are many hotels or other venues that will host a dance night where admission is free before a certain hour (usually 10 p.m.). If you live in a smaller town, youق€™re not out of luck. Local coffee shops often have open mic nights with no cover charge.

Hit Up Happy Hour

Most bars and restaurants have happy hours, and they offer special deals on food and drinks. In some cases, food and drinks may be as much as half off their original price!آ  Learn the happy hour schedules of bars and restaurants near you, this way when you feel like going out on a certain night, youق€™ll know exactly where to go.

Skip the Bottle

If youق€™re a beer drinker, you may want to consider skipping the bottles and drinking whatever the bar or restaurant has on tap. Bottled beers can be significantly more expensive. If you prefer the taste of cider, most places have at least one hard cider on tap as well.

Get a Pitcher

If youق€™re out with a group of friends, all of whom are beer drinkers, why would you all spend the money on individual drinks?آ  Instead, if you can all come to a consensus on the beer you want, get a pitcher instead.

Eat Before Going Out

Dining out frequently can really ق€œeatق€ away at your budget. Rather than spending the money on a meal, eat at home. Youق€™d be surprised how much money you have left over at the end of the month after not eating out as often.

Share Meals

If you are headed to a restaurant, and want to eat with your friends, ask someone to split a meal with you. Portion sizes these days at many restaurants are huge, and most people find it difficult to finish an entire meal by themselves. Even if you end up buying your own meal, take your leftovers home and have dinner for another night. You may not have saved on that meal, but you will have saved a bit on your grocery budget.

Throw a Party in the Park

If youق€™re looking for something a little different, why not have a party in the park?آ  Find out if your local park has grills and host a cookout. Have everyone bring a dish and turn it into a potluck. Bring some portable games, such as a volleyball, a soccer ball or badminton racquets. It also couldnق€™t hurt to have a portable speaker and hook up a phone for music. Youق€™ll all get some fresh air, enjoy great food and have fun with one another, essentially for no cost.

Tap into Your Inner Child

Remember going mini golfing as a kid? Why not go now? You and your friends can relive the carefree days of childhood and hit up a local mini golf course. Mini golf is usually pretty inexpensive, and youق€™ll all have a great time with some friendly competition.

Scour the Internet

These days, there are all kinds of deals available on the internet. From deals on movie tickets to discounted gift cards for restaurants, youق€™ll be sure to find something for you. You may even find some local free (or low cost) events, such as concerts in the park, movie nights under the stars or food festivals.

Create a Party Budget

It can be extremely helpful to create a budget specifically for going out. While it can be a pain to do so, determining how much you can safely spend each week on going out is a smart move. Just be sure to stick to that budget, which shouldnق€™t be too hard with free and low cost events going on around you all the time.

Going out doesnق€™t have to be a costly venture. With a little bit of planning, you can go out and have a great time, without breaking the bank.