What is your entertainment/socializing/dating budget?

[drpassiveincome]

I made a related thread on this earlier. Just want to see where people stand.

So include books/netflix/bars/restaurants/etc.

I try to keep mine at $400/month.

[Shor]

Fluctuates, but, I aim for 150 / mo.
This includes lunches with coworkers, dinner with friends, and eating out with the SO

Does not include internet bill which provides a majority of utility and entertainment at home.
Surplus money in this category tends to go towards things that I want but don't need i.e. pressure cooker, bike gear, people clothes.

[GreenSheep]

People clothes? Want but don't need? Well, I suppose a Mustachian nudist colony would be one way to save money.

[Monkey Uncle]

That's a tough one to get a handle on.  My "recreation/entertainment" line item in my tracking spreadsheet works out to $17.65/mo so far this year.  I don't include restaurants in that ($96.69/mo) because most of the "restaurant" spending isn't really entertainment - it's things like stopping at Ruby Tuesday's while we're on a long car trip, or the obligatory lunch out after a work meeting, or the occasional take-out when the day has been too crazy for either DW or I to cook dinner.  So, I include restaurants in our overall food category.  It also doesn't include alcohol ($54.46/mo - yes, face punch) almost all of which is either purchased at the grocery store or made at home and then consumed at home.  That also goes in the food category.  I suppose I should include the cable tv bill (not sure exactly how much, as it is bundled in with the internet and phone - about $100/mo total).  If you add all that up, it comes to just shy of $270/mo, but I don't consider that to be an accurate representation of our entertainment budget.

[RobFIRE]

I don't buy books, borrow from library (print or ebook, ebook preferred). No netflix or premium TV, have access to premium TV sports through a family account (don't contribute to the cost but do other things in return). Don't eat out much at my own cost as normally get 1 or 2 restaurant evening meals as work expenses during work travel.

Currently have a voucher for cinema tickets which was a Christmas present last year.

Bars: pretty moderate drinker these days with the odd big night out. So £50 a month average for all entertainment would be an overestimate most months. Quite low really, if it were say £150 a month I'd still be fine with it as long as I felt I got good enjoyment out of the events/activities. There are people who spend a lot more but (unless they earn so much that $500 or so a month is trivial) I question whether they get the enjoyment out of the additional spending (acclimatisation etc.)

[ketchup]

$46/mo for internet that includes HBO (and therefore HBO Go) for cheaper than internet-only, $0 for Netflix (shared account), $8.25/mo for Amazon Prime (that we share back to our Netflix friend), and about $100/mo restaurants (roughly once/week these days).  Maybe a movie about twice a year.

At least half of the internet use is for business purposes, so call it $23/mo + $100/mo + $8.25/mo + $50/yr = about $1625/yr in "entertainment".  Life of luxury.

[Rubyvroom]

The hubby and I each get a $200 / month "fun money" allowance that we can spend however frivolously we choose. In the winter months we tend to have plenty left over, but in summer we struggle and often times carry negative balances forward and try to make them up the following months. There are just so many things going on during the summer that friends invite us to that we find we spend more, but we try to average under $200 / month.

This does not include internet or our cell phones which both provide plenty of entertainment. I think we go back and forth on Amazon Prime membership and the cost of iCloud storage for our music. We’re probably not consistent in using fun money for those charges.

This does include any books we want to buy, restaurants, liquor, movies, etc. Hell, I even took an amount out of my “fun money” once to donate to a friend that was having a tough time. Hubby told me I didn’t have to do that, but I try to stay pretty true to the monthly limit for anything that isn’t a required expenditure.

Any other larger purchase that isn’t totally necessary comes out of “fun money” as well, and my husband tries to save up excess from a few months in a row every so often to purchase some fancy gadget for his computer.

So for our 2 person household, $400 / month is what we target. I would say we come in under that more often than not.

[ransom132]

I have a slush fund in which I put in 200$ (this includes clothes, restaurants, entertainment...anything I don't consider a need) and another 50$ goes towards my gym clothing and accessories (this is to replace my gym clothes after a certain time because I tend to abuse them to the point they have all kinds of holes). So in total 250$ goes towards my wants, it's a little bit high (especially since I make 35K$ per year), but there will be a point in time where I will probably lower it at 100-150$.

[Nudelkopf]

I average $350 per month. This covers eating out, alcohol, coffee, dates with the bf,  random stuff I want (e.g. electronics) .. anything that's a "want", really (except clothes).

[Zikoris]

We don't have those exact categories because we don't date, Netflix, or drink alcohol, but including the following as "Entertainment": restaurants, soda/snack foods, ebooks/video games, concerts, movies, symphonies, and ballet lessons, our 2016 average is $154/month for two people.

So about $77 a person, which is enough to keep us pretty busy.

[spicykissa]

I budget $250/month each for my husband and I in an "Other" category, which is partially entertainment/fun stuff (video games, movies, alcohol) but also non-monthly, not-fun expenses--work clothes, car maintenance, haircuts, household items, etc. All our travel comes out of this fund as well.

Our restaurant and grocery shopping expenses are together in a separate "food" category because we eat out way too much (at Chik-Fil-A, Chipotle, Dominoes, etc) as a survival strategy, not for social purposes. We are slowly getting better at cooking and eating at home, though.   

[2Birds1Stone]

Not counting travel/vacation outlay....

About $500/month for 2 people.....some months more some less.

[TheAnonOne]

Not counting travel/vacation outlay....

About $500/month for 2 people.....some months more some less.

You sound like me... we probably spend too much.