How to Save On Alcohol: Dizzy Deals
Alcohol can be an important part of parties, casual get-togethers, or even just relaxation at home. Beer and pizza go great with football, and sometimes a glass of wine at the end of the day can really help the stress melt away.
Alcohol can be expensive though. You have probably asked yourself, how can I save money on alcohol, so that I can enjoy a glass of champagne for a celebration without breaking the bank? If you really want to save on alcohol, then you're in the right place. We are here to help!
Before you can find the best way for you to save on alcohol, it is important to make a budget. You don't know how much you can spend on alcohol until you make a budget, and once you know how much you can spend on alcohol you can decide how much you have to save on alcohol. Then, once you have your budget ready, you can look at our tips and see which ones best fit into your budget and lifestyle!
Make a Budget
Before you start working on cutting out expenses, you need to make a budget. It is important to know how much you earn and how much you need to cut. I personally like to make my budget in an Excel sheet. This way I can color-code different categories, such as income, expenses, and miscellaneous. Miscellaneous is where I allocate money towards having fun. Under miscellaneous, I put things that are not bills and may not regularly go out of my account every month, such as going to the movies or eating out. This way I can still have fun but am aware of how much I can and should spend.
The first step is to collect all of the information about your income and expenses.
income
Whatever money you make every month at your job should be put in your list of income. Money from your birthday or Christmas does not count, since it is not a regular amount of money you get every month.
expenses
Then, once you have your monthly income calculated, it is time to calculate your monthly expenses. Monthly expenses may include things such as rent, Internet, electricity, water, insurance, gas, and groceries. (The price you spend on groceries will slightly change month to month, but I like to put groceries under my regular expenses, since I know I will need to spend a certain amount of money on groceries.) If you use a streaming service like Netflix or Amazon Prime, this should also be included.
Once you see how much you bring in every month versus how much you put out every month, you can determine how much you need to start saving. The important thing is to prioritize your spending and make realistic goals. Prioritize your expenses by spending your money on what is most important to you, but be realistic in your goals. If you do not make realistic goals, then you will not be able to stick to your budget or reach your financial goals.
1. Drink At Home
If you are eating out with friends, you may be tempted to order a couple of beers; however, alcohol can be overpriced at restaurants and bars. It could be a good idea to save on alcohol while out and only buy beer while grocery shopping. If you tend to buy a lot of alcohol while grocery shopping, then you should try to save on alcohol while grocery shopping.
One great way to save on alcohol while grocery shopping is to take advantage of offers. Whether you are a coupon clipper or just see the advertisement of deals while walking through the supermarket, there are regularly good deals on almost every product. Next time you are at the grocery store, look out for current deals to save on alcohol.
2. Buy Alcohol On Certain Days
"According to the shopper-rewards app Ibotta, consumers pay 9% more for a beer on Saturday than on Monday and 6% more for wine than on Tuesday." This indicates that it would be better to buy beer and wine at the beginning of the week, rather than on the weekend. Though this study reported that the reasoning behind the increased spending per bottle of wine and per 6-pack was actually because of consumer behavior, the results still ring true.
According to the study, consumers who purchase their alcohol on the weekend - for instance, on the way to a party - are more focused on convenience than savings. In this way, it is helpful to be aware of what you buy and why in order to save on alcohol, rather than just buying something because it is convenient.
3. Prioritize Happy Hour
If you are going to buy alcohol while out rather than at home, then look for restaurants and bars with good happy hour specials. This way you can save on alcohol and enjoy time out with friends - without having to clean up your home after the party!
Depending on what the happy hour specials are, you might get good deals on drinks you already love or have the chance to try something new. Just keep in mind, drinks that are on special during happy hour will still often times be more expensive than if you just bought them from a liquor store.
Spend Wisely With the Billry Shop.
4. Pitcher Vs Glass
One great way to save on alcohol is chipping in with a few bucks to share whatever your friends are buying, instead of just buying your own drinks. If you are out with friends, consider sharing a pitcher rather than buying glass after glass. Typically, a pitcher is a better deal than the equivalent in glasses of beer. This will allow you to save on alcohol while creating camaraderie with your friends or colleagues.
Plus, you won't have to get up as often to order.
5. Bottle Vs Glass
If you are drinking wine at a restaurant, you may be tempted to order a glass of wine - or two - rather than order an entire bottle. You may prefer one glass at a time because you think it will be cheaper, but in reality, a bottle is a better deal than getting four glasses (similar to the pitcher of beer example above). Because of this, if you know that you will drink a few glasses or are drinking the same wine as others at your table, ordering a bottle instead of a glass each could help you save on alcohol.
6. BYOB
Some restaurants even let you bring in your own wine bottles to enjoy with your meal. If you know of such a restaurant, then you will definitely save on alcohol by bringing in your own bottle rather than buying what they have in the restaurant. If you bring your own wine, it also ensures that you will have something you know you will enjoy, without having to pay for an expensive bottle of wine out and then being disappointed. Always make sure to ask in advance, to make sure that the restaurant is okay with you bringing in your own alcohol.
7. Join a Club
If you enjoy alcohol, like trying new things and want to save on alcohol, consider joining a club! There are many beer of the month and wine of the month clubs that you can join, where you get to try a new beer or wine every month. This is a great way to try different brands on a budget.
They often even have other goodies in the monthly box, which can be fun. If you don't drink much per month, then you could allocate your "drink of the month" to whatever you get from your club, which will also help you budget your alcohol expense and save on alcohol.
8. Try a Different Brand
Everyone has their own preferences, but some are more costly than others. While you should not completely give up on your favorite brand, you should also not get stuck on just one brand. In order to save on alcohol and reduce your grocery shopping expenses, you could try purchasing cheaper brands sometimes.
Instead of always buying your favorite type of beer or wine, you can choose the cheaper, generic brands most of the time, and then just buy your favorite brands on special occasions.
Besides, trying new brands of beer and wine can be fun. You never know. Maybe you will even find a brand you like even more than your current favorite!
Most popular Beers in America - data from 2020
9. Buy In Bulk
If you enjoy drinking a certain type of wine, it could be cheaper to buy in bulk; some grocery stores offer a deal if you buy a certain number of wine bottles.
You could even buy boxed wine instead of bottled wine, in order to buy more bulk at once. Boxed wine is also easier to carry, which decreases the risk of dropping and breaking a bottle.
If you buy in advance, then you could save on alcohol and never worry about running out of your favorite wine while binge-watching your favorite show on Netflix.
10. Duty-Free
If you or someone you know is traveling by airplane in the near future, see if you or they could grab a bottle of your favorite wine or liquor while at the airport. If you buy alcohol at the airport, then you are buying it duty-free, or tax-free.
Plus, if you buy alcohol at the airport, you do not just save on alcohol, but you also have more variety of options sometimes, since you do not have to worry about the alcohol being imported to your own country.
11. Coupon (And Rebate) Apps
There really is an app for everything! There are apps that have coupons, give you money back after scanning your grocery receipts, or even to find locations near you with great happy hour deals. Most supermarkets also have their own apps now, so you can directly download coupons for alcohol from your preferred supermarket, as well as use your alcoholic purchases towards their rewards program. If you are interested in a way to save on alcohol, there is an app for it and you should download it now.
12. Ask For a Discount
It never hurts to just ask. You never know what you might find. Many grocery stores have weekly or bi-weekly coupons, so if you are not sure if there are any deals, then ask someone who works there if there are any current coupons or deals. Therefore, maybe if you're interested in a particular seasonal beer and the next season is already starting, you could ask for a discount on the seasonal beer, since the store is trying to get the old seasonal beer out of stock to make way for the new seasonal drinks.
13. Mail-In Alcohol Rebates
Rebates can be a hassle, but they can also save you money if you are patient and take the extra time to mail them in. Keep your eye out for these rebate tags on alcoholic beverages at your local supermarket or liquor store.
If you do find these rebate tags, then you should still look around and see if there are cheaper options; some rebates may not really save you enough money to be worth it if you still end up spending more in the end than if you had just bought a cheaper drink. Plus, it is important to check the expiration date on the rebate. Some rebate tags are left out past their expiration date, which means you won't get money back in the end anyway.
14. Don’t Drink At All
Ok, this one is obvious and you’re not here to hear this, but we think you should consider. Drinking alcohol especially “binge drinking” can be highly damaging to the body. If the body consequences of consuming alcohol doesn’t scare you, this article about the spiritual consequences might do the trick:
The word “Alcohol” comes from the Arabic “al-kuhl” which means “BODY EATING SPIRIT,” and gives root origins to the English term for “ghoul.” In Middle Eastern folklore, a “ghoul” is an evil demon thought to eat human bodies, either as stolen corpses or as children.
The words “alembic” and “alcohol,” both metaphors for aqua vitae or “life water” and “spirit,” often refer to a distilled liquid that came from magical explorations in Middle Eastern alchemy.
Now that might be a bit overboard on the cautionary tale, but certainly worth a pause to consider the consequence-side of consuming alcohol. After all, a real dizzy deal is one that doesn’t cost you anything.
Not drinking in the first place is always the best deal around!
Conclusion
Alcohol can be expensive, especially when you go out. As you can see from the tips above, just making small changes in your behavior can help you save on alcohol. You don't have to abstain from enjoying alcohol with your friends, but you can make smart choices that help you save on alcohol. Whether it is purchasing your alcohol mainly from a grocery store or liquor store or just buying a cheaper brand of your alcohol of choice, there are many ways to save on alcohol.
Depending on your alcohol preference, you may have to pay more anyway. If you prefer gin or whiskey, then it will cost more then the cheapest brand of beer or wine you can find. In this case, you can save on alcohol by either abstaining from alcohol or from cutting expenses in other areas of your life. You could negotiate your bills or cut out unnecessary expenses. For example, you could buy the brand of alcohol you prefer, but maybe, in order to balance this in your budget, you may have to cut out a trip to the movies or a fancy dinner out with friends.
The most important thing to do when trying to save on alcohol is to weigh all of your options. Look at all of the brands available, compare prices, look for deals and offers, and decide what is a priority to you. Consider opening a savings account, as well. It is a great way to start saving.
If the most important thing for you is having your specific brand, then your best bet may be buying in bulk or searching online for deals through online marketplaces, such as Amazon or eBay. There can be many deals online that help you save on alcohol and include the convenience of getting your product shipped straight to your door.
Alcohol can be a source of fun, but you shouldn't let it be a source of woe. Use these tips to save on alcohol, so that you don't have to worry about fitting alcohol into your budget. Balance is key.