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My last few Monday posts have been a bit heavy and serious, so today I thought I’d talk about something a little lighter:
Beer and Movies.
Well, to be completely accurate, it’s more about my weekend spending relating to beer and movies.
My house is a convenient central meeting point for my brother-in-law and his two best friends from high school. A couple of times a year they meet at my house, go out, and have a great time together. I’m always invited to come with. The first few times I felt a bit out of place, but I know them all well enough now that it’s always a good time.
The NCAA college basketball tournament is traditionally one of the events that brings them together, and this year was no exception. This past weekend, they converged on Rochester, MN for a day of beer, food, basketball, and high school worthy shenanigans.
11am: The three amigos arrive. My brother-in-law had purchased a $16 bottle of specialty beer for us to sample as we kicked off our day. As we all raised and toasted our classes, it felt a little like we were in some weird remake of “The Hangover.” I was waiting for someone to give a speech that referred to us as a wolf pack, but it didn’t happen.
11:30am: Vonnie dropped us off at our first destination which was a small tap house bar and grill that had 50 beers on tap, catering to a quiet crowd looking to try some new beers. I looked at the menu of beers, none of which I had ever heard of before. Being much less of a beer connoisseur than the others, I took some friendly ribbing. The cook didn’t arrive until 3:00 and we were hungry. So, we were one and done here. We looked for our server to settle up, but one of the amigos took care of the check on his way back from the bathroom.
Sweet, free beer!
But this meant that I would likely have to buy a round later, which concerned me. It’s much harder to control how much you spend when you have to buy a round of who knows what in the future.
12:30pm: We arrive at a much more traditional bar and grill which is fairly busy with basketball watchers. After having just had a beer that was very dark, heavy, and unlike my normal taste, I needed to switch it up a bit so I ordered an ice cold hard apple cider. By the time lunch and a few more beers went by, someone noted that the bar had become quite crowded and loud. It was suggested we return to the quiet tap house that we started at. The server dropped off all four bills, which were quickly scooped up by my brother-in-law.
YES! Free beer AND food!
Unfortunately, I was now becoming concerned with what kind of bill I would have to pick up when my turn rolled around. The stakes seemed to be getting larger.
3:00pm: Back at the tap house, I told the bartender what kind of beer profile I prefer, and asked him to pick one for me. He poured me a glass of “Dirty Bastard.” It seemed like an interesting choice, but I actually liked it. By the time this round was done, one of the amigos had to leave as his wife was picking him up for some preexisting evening plans. He threw a twenty down in front of us and bid farewell. After four-plus hours of drinking we decided we needed a break and seeing a movie would be a good idea. This was a relief to me, because after a number of unfamiliar dark, heavy beers I felt like I may have had a loaf of bread spontaneously forming inside my stomach. I jumped at the chance to take my turn and pick up the bill. After applying the the $20 left on the bar and adding a tip, I only had to pay $15.
The lone amigo that had not yet picked up a bill stated that he would be buying the movie tickets.
4:00pm: Since we were definitely in no shape for driving, my wife picked us up accompanied by my son and we all headed to the movie theater. Phones came alive accessing the internet as we tried to agree on a movie. We finally settled on “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone.” To the chagrin of the unpaying amigo, my wife bought the matinee movie tickets for her, myself and our son for $16.50. Then we headed towards the concession counter where we proceeded to shell out another $16.50 for snacks.
To say that this movie was horrible would be giving it too much credit. I have never, ever walked out of a movie, but I considered walking out of this one. About an hour into it, I turned to Vonnie and (I think) whispered, “Pssst. Guess what? This is a REAL movie!” She busted out laughing, then replied, “We PAID to be here!”
We couldn’t stop laughing. It was the best part of the movie. Seriously.
6:30pm: After dropping the my brother-in-law and the remaining amigo back downtown, my wife, son and I headed home. My stomach, still filled with the now seemingly appropriately named Dirty Bastard, was not agreeing with me.
Reflecting on my day, we spent $33 for my wife, son and I to see a really bad movie. While we couldn’t control whether the movie was any good or not, we almost never buy overpriced snacks at the theater. But, at least we were in control of our spending at that point and purchasing them was a conscious decision. During the first part of the day I spent $15 for a long afternoon of fun with a group of guys. But I didn’t feel in control of my spending, as the tone was set early that we would be taking turns buying for each other. I really had no idea when my turn would come up to pick up the next bill, or how much it would be. I could have easily ended up with a bill that was more than what I had wanted to spend. What would I have done?
What would you have done?
I see your dilemma, but think that sometimes socializing with friends, a few drinks and good food trumps the budget in this case. Say you had declined to join them and stayed home? Saved some money, sure, but life is about living and it sounds like you had a fun time. And the “Dirty Bastard” made me laugh, out loud.
I did have a great time, and things truly turned out just fine ($15 for the beers I drank and the food I ate was WAY cheap). The dilemma I was having throughout the day was that I had an amount I wanted to stay within, but I may not have much control over whether I stayed in bounds. If I was buying all my own things, I could gauge price and frequency of ordering things – but when you just swap buying rounds for everyone it’s kind of a free for all. I’m curious to know how other people would handle such a situation – sounds like your opinion is that having a little fun may be worth going a bit over budget if that’s what happened – as long as it’s not TOO much?
This post is so funny Travis! And this line made laugh out loud: “My stomach, still filled with the now seemingly appropriately named Dirty Bastard, was not agreeing with me.”
I know now, to completely avoid Dirty Bastards 🙂
I know you spent money you didn’t intend to, but this day is one for the history books, and it sounds like you had a great time for only $33!
I’m glad I could make you laugh, MacKenzie. 🙂 I actually came in way under budget since the round I paid for (really only a partial round) was inexpensive. I just didn’t like being in 100% control of what I spent – I would have felt like a jerk if I would have asked for others to pitch in, but I wouldn’t have been happy with going over budget either. Although after that many beers I probably wouldn’t have felt bad until the next morning. LOL.
Hey, the NCAA tourney lasts only a couple weeks each year–enjoy, I say! I think you kinda signed up for whatever payment terms unfolded when you went out with these guys. I think if it were me, if say one guy were eating and drinking a lot more than me, I’d try to ask him to cough up a little cash when it came my turn to pay. But that would be tricky, no doubt.
Enjoy we did, Kurt! That’s a great point, Kurt…..although I think I “signed up” for the payment terms when I accepted the first round being purchased by someone else. Had I stood up then and said I preferred to pay for my own stuff then I could have been in control….but who does that? I could only imagine the kind of crap these guys would have given me – they probably would have force fed me beers and insisted paying for them all at that point. Hey, wait a minute…..lol.
OH, the flashbacks to yesteryear!!! I have to say: it must’ve been one baaadd movie if you were buzzed and still hated it. :-). As for me, I too would’ve probably chalked it up to money well spent with family and friends. Good thing you only have to do it a couple of times a year. 🙂
It doesn’t always end up this way, other times we end up paying our own way too. But yeah…..that movie was HORRIBLE. Thanks for reading and your comment, Laurie!
Love the allusion to “The Hangover” – how apt. Great post!
It’s one of my favorite movies, Tony – glad you liked the post!
I have been in this scenario before and as said, I will break my budget for a good time with friends. It doesn’t happen often, so I will splurge here.
That’s certainly a personal decision, Grayson – but that’s assuming that you have the funds available to splurge and go over your budgeted amount? What happens if things are tight enough that you have exactly X amount of money to go out? Maybe if things were that strict I’d just choose to stay home. What do you think?
I really identified with this post. I have been in that situation too many times to count in my various girls’ night situations. For me the issue is not only the ‘peer pressure’ of paying but also the influence the adult libations have on my generosity. After a few glasses of wine I am like Oprah, handing stuff out to everyone in the bar. I have found that being extremely up front about my budget in the beginning of the evening can save me more than one headache the next day.
Note to self: next time having wine with Suzanne, check under my chair for a prize (like Oprah). LOL. In all seriousness, having that budget number in your head as you walk out the front door is a great idea – thanks for sharing!
We have our spending limits but $33 for a night out doesn’t seem to bad for me. I know we are mindful of being frugal but sometimes spending to enjoy the experience of your friends is worth it.
You’re right, Kevin – what I spent that day (especially the $15 for the entire afternoon with the guys) wasn’t bad at all. It was the unknown of taking turns picking up tabs at different places that made me feel a bit uneasy. It sounds like you would have just dealt with any overage you may have spent if you were put in that situation?
It depends on the people I am with 🙂 What I usually do in a night out of drinking is not get to take my debit/credit card and only take a small amount of cash with me. This takes away the temptation of spending above my limit.
That’s a great plan, Kevin….I wonder if (given the scenario I put forth) you’d almost have to make it known to your friends that you would need to pay your own way as you have a certain amount your willing to spend.
Sometimes splurging with friends is just the way to go. We spent $30 on Mexican food this past weekend because we went out with friends and ordered two very yummy meals AND tea (we usually get water), but we had a great time, the tea was delicious, and the food was perfect. It is what it is…
As long as you have the money to “splurge” right Crystal? I love Mexican food…..it’s hard for me to not splurge when I walk into a Mexican restaurant. 🙂
Been there. What I do is keep cash in my pocket (not credit or debit cards) and pay as you go, don’t wait for the tab. Bars and restaurants like running a tab for you because your more likely to order more/spend more when your not handing over cash each time you order another round.
Its easy to see in black and white (or green and white) how much money you have to spend when you only carry cash, and when that is gone, its gone. After a few beers its easy to say “Sure lets have another” when you have a tab running… but if you reach in your pocket and there isn’t enough cash to cover it, you know you’ve reached your limit.
Great idea, Lynsey – it allows a person to keep complete control over their own spending, and the removes the awkwardness of trying to get your tab before someone else pays for it!