Monthly charity challenges are fast becoming regular trends in the UK, and one of the more recent ones, Dry January, is going without alcohol for an entire month. For some this may sound like an easy proposition, but us Brits do tend to enjoy the odd tipple now and again – you may even drink more than you realise.
However, it does seem like our enjoyment of the odd pint is starting to be challenged, with ‘Sober for October’ and ‘Dry January’ becoming commonplace. There are even trendy ‘dry bars’ popping up in the more fashionable areas of London and beyond. Whether you’re tempted to give up drinking for a whole month or not, you may be surprised at how much money you could save over the course of a month.
Do a Dry Month Take the plunge and give a dry month a go. You may have done three weeks’ worth of Dry January already, and if so – well done! If not, then don’t fret. You can do a dry month whenever you want to, and sometimes the fact that everyone else isn’t talking about it can help. The money that you can save by not drinking can add up surprisingly fast. For instance, if you drink just 5 pints of lager every week, you could save around £70 in just one month!
Plan Ahead When you’re in the middle of giving up drinking, invitations to the pub can seem to come from everywhere. Try to plan your nights out in advance so it doesn’t turn into an impromptu trip to the local. Instead of going out with your friends as you usually do, you could avoid temptation and host an evening in instead. If you can’t avoid going out and about, make sure you have an excuse not to drink – be the designated driver or only take a little cash with you so it’s harder to ‘fall off the wagon’.
Put Aside Drinking Cash Each time you would usually go out drinking, try to think how much money you would usually spend on alcohol. Put aside this money so you can see just how much you could save over the course of the month. At the end you can use this towards debt payments or something that you’ve wanted for a while but haven’t been able to afford. Physically holding this money in your hand provides an excellent incentive to either cut back on drinking or at least be more mindful of what you spend on non-essential things in any given month.
Plan Your Dry Spells If going dry wasn’t as hard as you thought and you’ve ended up with more cash in your pocket as a result, then you may want to plan to have dry months more regularly throughout the year. It’s important to plan ahead for these, however, as events like sunny bank holidays, birthdays and Christmas can make going dry very difficult indeed!