A Tab guide to having a cheap night out

Into your overdraft? Struggling to feed yourself on Sainsbury’s basics?  Fear not!

We’ve put together THE definitive guide to lowering the costs of every student’s favourite habit: the night out.

Buy your ticket in advance

Big events at clubs often release tickets in stages, with ‘early bird’ tickets selling at a lower price. Some events will have up to five stages of ticket sales, each costing more than the last so it makes sense to get tickets as quickly as possible.

The only down-side is this does mean having to plan in advance for big nights out, but if something else does come up and you don’t want to go anymore, you can often sell your ticket for a profit.

Prepare food before you go out

Avoid the temptation of a doner kebab and cheesy chips after a night out and have food prepared for when you get in. You’ll avoid the morning regret that comes from eating something disgustingly unhealthy, and you’ll have something to look forward to on your journey back.

Mmm…I can smell the toasted peanut butter sandwich already.

Pre-drink…HARD

Obvious one here as drinks are always cheaper in the supermarket than the club.

Get so intoxicated at pre-drinks that buying drinks in the club will be a second priority to throwing your best shapes on the d-floor.

Look for special deals and do not forget the ‘clearance’ section at the Co-op; even if the beer cans are dented, it still tastes the same.

Get a mate to cover your taxi fare in exchange for a drink

As taxi rates are usually fixed and drink prices vary, get your mates to pay for your taxi fare in return for buying them a drink in the club.

Here you can select the finest piss on sale for a much lower cost. They get a drink and you save money! WIN-WIN. (Not for your mate’s liver, of course).

‘Forget’ cash

“Oh man, forgot to go to a cash machine, can you cover me?”

Get you mates to cover your entry to the club, or taxi, for ‘mistakenly’ not having any cash on you. Hopefully they’ll be too drunk or feeling shit the next day to remember that you owe them a fiver.

Choose the pub over the club

If you haven’t got your heart set on going to a particular club, then maybe it’s worth trying a night out at the local instead.

Not only do pubs have no entry fees, their drinks are generally cheaper too, plus you don’t have to be subjected to the latest cheesy chart-toppers and can actually have conversations with people (if you’re into that sort of thing).

Be sure to lurk around ‘the baller’

Establish in your group which of them is most likely to be throwing their money around, either because their parents have just wired them a substantial amount of money or their student loan has come through.

To celebrate their new-found wealth, they’ll want to be seen splashing the dosh on rounds of jagerbombs and bottles of bubbly and it would be rude not to take advantage of this.

Flirt with the bartender

Is there a hottie behind the bar? Or are you just getting desperate for a drink?

Either way, a successful attempt at charming the man/woman serving you drinks could help change your single mixer to a double for no added cost.

Make friends with some heavy drinkers

See a ‘cool’ looking group of party-goers who are constantly getting a round in? Get chatting to them and they might decide they like you enough to buy you a few drinks. Just don’t come across like a creep.

PULL!

If you are confident enough and think you have the looks, pulling can be an easy way for getting free drinks. Even if they turn out to be a creep, it’s easy enough to give them the slip once you’ve used them to help you get slightly more intoxicated…completely free of charge.

Jog home (unless you’ve pulled of course)

Why waste £15 on a taxi home when energy drink is still flowing through your veins and you’ve consumed over half the recommended amount of  daily calories alone in alcohol? Instead, take this opportunity to get some exercise.

After all, it’s been scientifically proven (possibly) that everyone runs faster when drunk!