New Year's 2012 is right around the corner, and with a year that’s been so vastly expensive in terms of…well everything you can imagine, it seems like everyone’s scraping the bottom of the barrel for any kind of cash that they can spare just to get through the month. I know what you’re thinking: “How am I supposed to ring in the New Year with the proper debauch that I am famous for, when it’s been a beer and burgers kind of year?” Don’t fret! The solution is out there, and apparently we’ve been told about it for years and years by our elders.
Since the inception of fiscal responsibility, this bit of monetary magic, called “a budget,” has been something that people with children and “financial responsibility” have used to keep from going into the red and keeping those mouths fed. The question is, how can something so foreign apply to our
New Year's Eve adventure? Well it’s rather simple, really.
Basically, the deal is as follows: You must first figure out how much money you have in your bank account or how much you are willing to spend on the night (whichever is greater). Next, you must come to a consensus on what EXACTLY you are going to be spending that money on (i.e. dinner, drinks, clothes, cover, cabs, etc. etc. etc.) Put those “costs” into a spreadsheet and push a few buttons, and voila! You know exactly how much you can spend on each thing without having to take out a loan from your friend (or worse, your date) by the end of the night.
The more you plan and itemize REALISTICALLY (which is, of course, the key word), the more suave and situated you appear to be, and the less embarrassed you are by the end of the night. Stick to the plan and everything will be A-OK, so they say. Here is a sample, of one of these “budgets” for a typical
New Years extravaganza.
Okay, so you’ve saved about $500 for the evening. Not bad at all! That should cover all expenses right? Let’s find out.
New Clothes for the Night:
Blue button up shirt: $60
Black Skinny Jeans: $90
Skinny Tie: $40
Grand total: $190
Okay, now we look good, and we’ve spent a little more than 1/3rd of our “budget.” Now comes the meal. Dinner for two including drinks and appetizers at a moderately priced Sushi Restaurant = $90 average including tip. At this point we’ve spent $280, a bit more than half of what we have to spend on the night, and we haven’t even left for the evening’s big event.
Now for the party.
Many clubs offer an all-inclusive cover that provides nearly unlimited drinks for a nominal fee. For our purposes, the venue that we have chosen charges $90 per person plus a $20 tip per person drinking. There are two of you, so that’ll put you back a cool $220, bringing your grand total of money spent to an even $500, which is EXACTLY how much you planned on spending in the first place. “MASSIVE WIN!” you think to yourself coyly as the guy next to you is rifling through his pockets looking for the cash that he would have already been prepared to drop had he done a budget before he left the house!
Like any night out, things happen unexpectedly so you can’t account for every single detail of your wild night. That means try not to leave the house with EXACTLY $500. Throw a couple of singles in your back pocket for an emergency. If worse comes to worst, you’ve covered all of the big stuff and are left with just the minor elements that a few Washington’s can probably handle.
Thanks to us, you now look awesome. You’ve had a great meal, all of your drinks have been taken care of, you’ve found somewhere incredible and impressive to ring in the New Year, and best of all you won’t have to worry about how you are going to explain to your date that you need to borrow her credit card for the next round! As long as you stick to the plan, and show a small amount of restraint, you can’t possibly go wrong OR go broke!