So I went out on the town (just a mixed pub/ dance bar) last night for a girlfriend’s birthday party.  This is probably the first time I’ve been out on the town for a loooong time.  I think I know the reason why I don’t go out partying that much (other than the fact that I feel old compared to the 21-year-old girls wearing next to nothing)…I’m cheap and it’s expensive.

Though going once in a while (I’d say once to a few times a year) is budget-reasonable.  I had fun! =)

Here’s the breakdown of what I spent:

• Cover charge $10
• Coat check $6
• Drinks my friends and I $30 (four drinks, working out to be about $7.50 a drink)
• Tip for the bartender $3
• Taxi ride home $12

Total cost of a night on the town $61.

I used to go out almost every weekend when I was a young-un’ in college.  Now I realize how much money I burned through back then!  Yowza!

Here are some tips to help you make sure you don’t spend more than you want, even under the influence of alcohol.

• Bring only the amount of money you budgeted for your night out.  No more (because it will go “poof!”.  Trust me on that one)
• Don’t bring your credit card
• Don’t go out with so many friends (buying rounds for everyone is not easy on the pocket book)
• If you’re a guy, make sure she’s somewhat interested before you buy her a drink (unless you want to be a good samaritan, of course, because even if she isn’t interested, she’ll still accept a drink from you)

Readers, how much do you spend roughly when you go out?  Am I “on par” with the national average in regards to the amount spent on a night out? =)  Is it safe to assume guys will spend more because they are buying drinks for the ladies?

Alright, so onto some link lovage.

• Financial Samurai makes a good point- Only the Poor or Super Rich Say Money Can’t Buy Happiness
• The Financial Blogger gives some great tips on how to fight the rise in interest rates (in Canada) with your portfolio
• Andrew Hallem talks about why beating the market doesn’t add to his confidence
• Deliver Away Debt focuses on the debt snowball
• Little House ponders whether renting is a financially viable option
• Rainy Day Saver talks about marriage and managing finances (very important- everyone around me is getting married left right and centre!)
• Credit Card Daily has this AWESOME personal finance comic going on- check out his latest edition
• Single Guy Money talks about what he would do if he won the lottery

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Welcome to the Part Series of the Financial Cleanse.  Guaranteed to detox your financial-bowels to a better and more money-savvy you!  (I’m kidding about the guarantee, but I did use these suggestions for a more money-savvy me!)

Sometimes it can be really hard to cut back on spending.  Sometimes you may wonder where the heck the $100 you took out from the ATM went (no, it didn’t go missing, you spent it, remember??).  Sometimes you wonder why you don’t have enough money to spend on the things you want to spend it on.  There’s a way to fix this.  Here’s how:

To lose weight, one suggestion often used is to start off by writing down exactly what you’re eating.

Keeping a diary will help you realize the bad stuff you’re putting into your mouth, and allow you to reflect on when you made that decision and why, thus helping you stop eating that junk food.  Kind of like in that show The Last Ten Pounds, where the personal trainers dump a huge bag-full of crumbled muffins and pastries on your kitchen table to make you realize how many muffins and pastries you’re actually consuming.

The same strategy can be applied to purging your expenses.  Just try it for a month and see.

Write down EVERYTHING that you spend your money on. Then add these up at the end of the month.

Briefly go through each entry and see whether it was money well-spent or not.

If it wasn’t money well spent (for example, those daily lattes) then think about a way where you can cut down on that spending.  Sometimes, our lives go into auto-pilot mode, and you don’t really realize what you’re spending your money on.

I have a notebook that I recorded in since I was 17 of the various items and experiences that I spent money on.  Some months I am better at documenting my spending than others.  Nowadays you could just input your expenses into your iPhone or iTouch with a free budget calculator app, which makes it 100x easier to track your spending (though it can make it more difficult to find the history).  It’s actually quite amusing to glimpse back at what I was spending my money on way back when.

Readers, do you usually record what you spend your money on?  Do you find doing this helpful?

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