This is just crazy...how much is spent on beer???

[sk!mom]

WOW!

Do people REALLY go around telling people "you are spending too much" on things. Lucky for me my friends aren't that judgemental.

Seriously!! Some people apparently have really nosey friends.

I wouldn't even stop to add up how much we spend on alcohol. No one has a drinking problem and we are debt free so there's no issue. We spend little on beer but love wine and DH loves to bartend at home. A great drink is even part of my Thanksgiving planning- we will have delicious grapefruit margaritas for brunch.

To the OP, there may be an issue if the beer drinker's wife has a problem with his spending but in my view unless they are in financial trouble and she's completely frugal then she should leave him alone. Nitpicking isn't good for relationships.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Seriously!! Some people apparently have really nosey friends.

I wouldn't even stop to add up how much we spend on alcohol. No one has a drinking problem and we are debt free so there's no issue. We spend little on beer but love wine and DH loves to bartend at home. A great drink is even part of my Thanksgiving planning- we will have delicious grapefruit margaritas for brunch.

To the OP, there may be an issue if the beer drinker's wife has a problem with his spending but in my view unless they are in financial trouble and she's completely frugal then she should leave him alone. Nitpicking isn't good for relationships.

I agree!

 

[derricksonb]

I suppose it's all in perception as to what one considers excessive spending. I admit it. I'm a beer guy. I love the flavors of different beers and love trying new ones. What I hate is that it can become a very expensive hobby very quickly. As of late some of the guys in my neighborhood have started brewing our own beer. Start up costs for the equipment is pricy, but the results are outstanding.

My first bottling yielded 3 cases (72 bottles) of 11% Bitter at a total cost of $33.66 or $.47 per bottle.

My second bottling yielded 2 1/2 cases (60 bottles) of an 8% Cherry Wheat at a total cost of $35.19 or $.59 per bottle.

 

[dfchelbay]

Just curious, OP, don't you have any vices?

Scrapbooking, coffeeshops, shoes, greeting cards, gadgets, travel, purses, smartphones, golf, photography, video games, getting nails done, etc., etc.,

none are ESSENTIALS but most of us (barring a financial setback of course) blow a good $1000 a year on a little something that makes us happy.

So his vice is totaled weekly in THE "grocery bill." Sure, it is high, but if it keeps the restaurant bill low, lets the guy chill after a hard day work, for $3/day that's not so bad.

I'm a thrifty gal myself... clip coupons, buy on clearance, etc., etc., but you know what, sometimes I'm in the mood for a Starbucks. If I can afford a little luxury that will make me happy, so be it. Yes, the coffee at home is cheaper, no I really don't need a fun nail polish, but we all deserve to lighten up once in awhile.

What budget (if not THE GROCERY BILL) do your little luxuries/vices come from?

I'm not judging them at all, I was merely shocked at how much a bottle of beer costs that's all. Over a dollar for such a small bottle, especially when you buy it in bulk like a case. I just had no idea that it all added up to so much per month...that's all I'm saying.

 

[akcire]

WOW!

Do people REALLY go around telling people "you are spending too much" on things. Lucky for me my friends aren't that judgemental.

My husband and I were asked by the couple to help them get their spending under control after they took out a $95,000 personal loan to pay off their credit cards. The wife was pregnant and they did not know how they were going to afford the kid, despite a combined income of $175,000.

So, no, normally I don't care or pay attention to what others spend. In this case, the husband is my husband's best friend and they handed us a years worth of their bills and asked for help. The funniest thing was I did not even know how much a pack of cigarette's cost, I had to ask him.

 

[dfchelbay]

I dont see where this is a problem unless the kids are going shoeless and the heat has been turned off. Really. This isnt part of there grocery budget. Its part of there beer budget. I spend more than than each month for my phone/internet/cable bundle. Different choices for different people.

LOL...I like that...the beer budget.

 

[dfchelbay]

WOW!

Do people REALLY go around telling people "you are spending too much" on things. Lucky for me my friends aren't that judgemental.

No. My friend was telling me that she sat down and added up the costs herself for what she and her husband were spending. SHE was complaining to me...I never said anything to her about it, other than I had no idea beer costs that amount. She was more complaining that they never really paid any attention to how much was being spent. I was just a listener to her situation.

 

[bigmama67]

Well, we do homebrewing and make a batch a month...we probably spend about $40-$60 per 5 gallon batch (which yields about 8 to 9 six-packs). We only drink one beer a night each (sometimes not even that), unless we have friends over, so we have a stash. We occasionally buy microbrews too (we are "beer snobs", LOL). So three a night seems like quite a bit to me and I'm a beer lover...but to each their own.

 

[pearlieq]

If it were my DH, I would not be thrilled.

 

[dfchelbay]

I suppose it's all in perception as to what one considers excessive spending. I admit it. I'm a beer guy. I love the flavors of different beers and love trying new ones. What I hate is that it can become a very expensive hobby very quickly. As of late some of the guys in my neighborhood have started brewing our own beer. Start up costs for the equipment is pricy, but the results are outstanding.

My first bottling yielded 3 cases (72 bottles) of 11% Bitter at a total cost of $33.66 or $.47 per bottle.

My second bottling yielded 2 1/2 cases (60 bottles) of an 8% Cherry Wheat at a total cost of $35.19 or $.59 per bottle.

That sounds really cool.

 

[tlbwriter]

No. My friend was telling me that she sat down and added up the costs herself for what she and her husband were spending. SHE was complaining to me...I never said anything to her about it, other than I had no idea beer costs that amount. She was more complaining that they never really paid any attention to how much was being spent. I was just a listener to her situation.

So, now that they realize how much they're spending on beer, did they say they're going to change that?

 

[AndreaDM]

This is funny because it just came up on a money board that I frequent. It seemed the average spent on alcohol per household was about $2000 a year which seems about right for us. Of course, we're not buying Bud Lite either. That figure includes what we drink when we go out to dinner and what we consume at home. Just Sat. night we each had 2 Christmas Ales, O so good and we can only get it a few weeks out of the year. Those cost $5.50 each, so $22 of our tab was for beer for one meal. We may do it again tonight! Of course, we buy more than we drink because I like to have a full wine rack and stocked bar in case anyone comes over, or if we're invited to someone's home I can grab a bottle of wine from the rack to take over. We have very few other hobbies and we enjoy fine wine and craft beers, so until our kids are shoeless, we won't be giving it up.

 

[Kay1]

I wonder if she couldn't save by buying the suitcase-size box at Costco or Sam's?

 

[budbeerlady]

I would say $3 a day isn't very much. It might sound like it but in MI we have a huge "sin" tax so that seems low to me. A 6pk plus deposit will run you $7.65+. Add a pack of cigarettes to that at $6.49 and you are running $15ish a day. Its up to people how they want to spend their money, they can get a 6 pack a day or blow $40 on a bottle of wine at a nice dinner.

 

[jenm2878]

This is funny because it just came up on a money board that I frequent. It seemed the average spent on alcohol per household was about $2000 a year which seems about right for us. Of course, we're not buying Bud Lite either. That figure includes what we drink when we go out to dinner and what we consume at home. Just Sat. night we each had 2 Christmas Ales, O so good and we can only get it a few weeks out of the year. Those cost $5.50 each, so $22 of our tab was for beer for one meal. We may do it again tonight! Of course, we buy more than we drink because I like to have a full wine rack and stocked bar in case anyone comes over, or if we're invited to someone's home I can grab a bottle of wine from the rack to take over. We have very few other hobbies and we enjoy fine wine and craft beers, so until our kids are shoeless, we won't be giving it up.

Just a little side note. I just noticed that you're from the NE Ohio area - we're west siders. Christmas Ale is so tasty! Every year we would go with a group of friends to the tapping, and it was so hot and crowded. This year we bought a 1/6 keg of Christmas Ale and had everyone over for a tapping at our house. It was alot of fun! We recently discovered rimming the glasses with cinnamon sugar. (like you would with a margarita) It really adds something extra to it!

 

[AndreaDM]

Omygosh, we just discovered the cinnamon-sugar rim Sat. night too, so good! Who would have thought?! We're a little south of you, near Canton. My DH would just die if I could get my hands on a small keg like that, probably too late, huh?

 

[mikehn]

Its pretty clear there aren't too many budget minded folks on here

 

[AndreaDM]

Its pretty clear there aren't too many budget minded folks on here

HUH? If it's within our budget then yes, we are budget minded. I clip coupons like a fool, color my own hair, drive an 8 year old paid off car, but life is too short to drink cheap beer! Trust me, if I could find a coupon for beer, I'd be all over it!

 

[Acklander]

Goodness, I hope no one adds up how much I spend on chocolate each year, that could be embarrassing

I'm a firm believer in all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

 

[mhsjax]

HUH? If it's within our budget then yes, we are budget minded. I clip coupons like a fool, color my own hair, drive an 8 year old paid off car, but life is too short to drink cheap beer! Trust me, if I could find a coupon for beer, I'd be all over it!

for me, I would much rather have my hair professionally done than drink beer, but that is me.

I t seems, and I am not judging, but from other posts as well, that it really hits the fan around here when anything negative about booze is brought up.

For me, life is too short to drink beer at all, YUCK. Now a good margurita.(can't spell that one) and all bets are off.