Avoid Overspending At The Bar With These Simple Tips

The lights, the music, the conversation, maybe even dancing — whether it's spent at a swanky restaurant or a club, a night out in town can be a lot of fun. It's an exciting way to hang out with friends and an ideal way to unwind after a long day or week of working hard. However, it can also be an expensive venture, especially when you order alcoholic drinks.

According to some estimates, the markup on liquor at bars is generally between 400% and 500% because, for alcohol sales, these establishments aim for a profit margin of about 80%. As a result, a single cocktail can cost $15 or more, which can add up very quickly after just two or three drinks. And you can't forget about leaving your bartender a tip. Fortunately, there are ways that you can avoid overspending and paying such high prices for drinks when you go to a bar.

A lot of people get a hankering for a burger or fries when they drink alcohol, and there's a reason for that. Alcohol temporarily increases serotonin production, a hormone that affects appetite, mood, and sleep. While some cocktails have fantastic fast food pairings, you can stave off food cravings and save more money at the bar by eating at home beforehand. Best of all, eating before drinking slows down how much alcohol gets into your small intestine at once so that your body can process it better.

You could consider this pregaming, but not in the traditional sense of having an alcoholic beverage or two before going out. Unless you have a designated driver or a car service, it's never safe to drink before you get behind the wheel. Instead, you want to pregame with foods that contain a combination of carbohydrates, fat, and protein to prepare your stomach for what's to come. A burger and fries or a bean and cheese burrito with vegetables are classic meals that have the ideal nutrients for slowing the digestion of alcohol. If you have a more sophisticated palate, have a piece of salmon with roasted asparagus and rice pilaf.

It's just good financial practice to create a budget for each of your living expenses — housing, utilities, and groceries, the latter for which you might look for cheap ingredients on a tight budget. How much you spend enjoying entertainment, including restaurants and bars, should be part of your budget, too. So, before you go out for the night, it's helpful to set a spending limit.

You can further reduce the possibility of overspending on drinks by only carrying your spending limit in cash and leaving your credit cards at home. Then, you really can't spend more than what you have. Also, it's not always easy to track how much you're spending while drinking alcohol, so consider paying for each drink individually. This way, you have physical evidence of your spending in your pocket, and you'll always know how much money you have left for your night out.

On top of that, be mindful about only spending your cash on your own drinks. You might have an impulse to buy a round for your friends, but, even if you're only out with a couple of pals, the cost can mount quickly and leave you with fewer drinks to enjoy.

One of the most obvious ways to save money at the bar is to visit during Happy Hour when select drinks are served at reduced prices. While Daily Meal has ranked a dozen chain restaurant Happy Hours to help you choose the best spot, this discount period typically only lasts through the early evening. If you prefer to stay out late, you'll need beverages that are regularly available for a cheap price.

Beer is the best option because it can often be half the price of cocktails and wine, especially draft beer, and you can order it by the pitcher and split the cost with friends (though you may occasionally want to make an exception for the chain restaurant cocktails you have to try at least once). If that doesn't suit your tastes, though, you can still order wine, though do so by the bottle instead of by the glass to save money. Like with a pitcher of beer, you can split the expense with friends so that you all save money.

If your palate is set on cocktails, there are still a few ways to avoid overspending. Always look for daily deals, and don't be afraid to ask your bartender for a cheap option that suits your preferences. Instead of top-shelf liquor, ask them to make your drinks with house spirits — aka well liquor, a more cost-effective option. Also, avoid drinks made with more than just a few ingredients because each ingredient has a cost of its own, raising the overall price of the cocktail. Long Island iced tea, which typically contains five liquors and liqueurs, is one expensive cocktail you should always avoid at bars.

Just because you're at a bar doesn't mean that you have to indulge in alcoholic beverages. You can order non-alcoholic drinks instead, and these can be an excellent way to pace yourself between each round of beer, wine, or cocktails to avoid a hangover the next day. Choose from club soda, seltzer, classic soda, lemonade, or whatever else you like from the regular drink menu.

If you still want the feeling of drinking an alcoholic beverage without the alcohol, ask the bartender if they have any zero-alcohol beer, cider, wine, or spirits for you to try. Get acquainted with the best and worst non-alcoholic beer brands so you have an idea of what to look for.

The bartender can also make you a trendy mocktail drink, a version of a cocktail that tastes similar to the original but doesn't have alcohol in it. Like with regular cocktails, this option is only cost effective for mocktails that require just a few ingredients to make. Some of the best non-alcoholic drinks to order at a bar include an Arnold Palmer, a no-tequila sunrise, a virgin mojito, and a Shirley Temple. You could even ask for a glass of juice, such as cranberry or orange juice, topped with a fizzy ingredient, like club soda or sparkling water.

Sometimes, the fun of going to a bar is trying out different drinks so that you can find a new favorite (or a few). When you're on a budget with limited cash in hand, though, the number of full-size beverages you can try will be restricted as well. That's where a tasting flight comes in handy.

This kind of order includes samples of different drinks — generally beer, cider, or wine — that are served in small glasses in a special carrier or on a wooden board. Beer and cider flights usually include three to six pours of 3 to 5 ounces, while wine flights include four to six pours of 1 to 3 ounces. While tasting flights aren't common at chain restaurants, they're pretty common at breweries, brewpubs, vineyards, and wineries. Some locally owned restaurants offer tasting flights, too, including miniature cocktail varieties.

When you implement these tips, you should have no problem avoiding overspending at the bar. Best of all, you'll be able to enjoy your evening out without worrying about breaking the bank.