A night out while traveling always starts innocently. It’s like, “just a couple drinks,” “just one cute place,” “just one night.” And then the next morning, the bank app is opened with one eye half closed, and it’s basically a financial jump scare. You just wanted some adventure and entertainment, you wanted some balance, you just wanted a good time overall, but it’s unbelievably expensive, like what gives here?
Really? Hopefully you don’t go through this, but if you have, then you know it’s a giant gut punch. Like, what were you thinking?! Because big city nightlife has a talent for making money disappear in tiny bites, and somehow it never feels expensive in the moment, it just feels like, “oh sure, that makes sense”, until it very much does not. If you’ve felt that once, well, you’ll never forget
Decide What Kind of Night it Is
Well, if you don’t, basically, that night is going to make some decisions for you instead. This is the first problem. A lot of overspending happens because the night has no plan. It starts with “let’s just grab a drink,” then someone says “this place is dead,” then it’s “let’s go somewhere better,” then it’s “wait, that place has a line,” and now it’s midnight and the group is just ping-ponging around like it’s a competitive sport.
Well, if you’re going in a group of people, this is usually how it goes. If it’s just you and one other person, then the chances of this whole ping pong thing get a bit smaller.
So instead, it honestly just helps to pick a vibe. Do you want it wild? Calm and proper? Just try to give it a theme. And if something feels like an experience, it can actually save money, because it replaces the constant hopping. Something like jazz cabaret nights can do that, because it’s entertainment and atmosphere in one place, not five different stops with five different tabs (and not needing to hail a bunch of taxis either).
Remember, Hungry People are Easy to Exploit
Okay, this sounds maybe a little crazy, but it’s true. Hunger makes people weak. Hungry people will pay a lot for fries in a heartbeat and justify it like it’s normal. Oh, and that’s why you should never go into a grocery store when hungry either, that very reason! Just have a proper meal before going out, because yes, your standards can get really low when hungry.
Don’t Let FOMO Drag You into Mediocre Places
Hunger will make you waste money on mediocre food, but FOMO will make you waste money on basically anything else that’s mediocre. Anyways, FOMO is expensive. FOMO is what makes travellers pay for “the famous spot” even when it’s not actually that good. FOMO is what makes people get bottle service they don’t even want, just because it sounds like a story. FOMO is what makes people stand in a line for an hour, then still pay a cover charge, then still buy overpriced drinks, then still say “it was fine.”
So a better rule is this: if it doesn’t feel exciting enough to justify the cost, skip it. Seriously, skip it, there are so many great nights out in every major city that don’t require being rinsed financially.
