Frugal Brits Prefer a Night in with Friends

We’re frequently sent emails via this blog of potentially ‘newsworthy’ material. Mostly we don’t feel the subject matter would be beneficial or interesting to readers. Occasionally, as attested to by our April 1st post (not sure how many people spotted it was a ‘spoof’?), we feel something IS worth sharing.

The guest post below resonated with us. We’d only recently been talking with friends about the ridiculous amount of money people in this country seem to regularly spend on ‘going out’ drinking and eating. We’re rather frugal in our socialising, but even on our scale we spend a stupid amount each year. Our experiences of living in New Zealand are in stark contrast to this. Most of the entertaining we did and enjoyed was at home – ours or family and friends. People brought a plate and a bottle. Not an empty plate, but a sharing plate (a common mistake of new immigrants!). And whatever you wanted to drink you took with you. Generally for us, that would be Barry’s home brew of course.

Reading about this competition (it runs until 22/04/2018 23:59pm), we thought it sounded like a fun thing to promote. We get nothing in return, it’s just that we agree staying in can be as much, if not more fun than going out. It goes without saying we feel making your own and drinking that at home saves even more of your hard earned cash!

Nothing beats a night in – Search for the UK’s best home bar

  • Brits spending on average £1,300 on going out every year
  • Public would prefer to spend time and save money by socialising with friends at home
  • UK Google searches for home bars are over 70,000 each month.
  • Full findings, graphics and methodology can be found here: https://www.sgs-engineering.com/media/buildabar/index.html

Nothing comes close to a night in spent with friends, which according to new research, is the perfect way to spend a Saturday.

Almost 60% of the UK public have said that having a night in with friends, well away from the busy night-life scene, is their favourite way to spend a Saturday night as it allows for them to be with people they like, but more importantly, save money.

On average, Brits are spending around £1,300 each on going out for drinks and food each year, typically going out at least once a fortnight and spending between £20-£50 on each occasion, leaving their wallets feeling considerably lighter.

The research, by power tool and garage equipment retailer, SGS Engineering, comes as part of an investigation into whether Brits are now moving towards more of a focus on entertaining themselves at home, rather than going out.

It follows a recent analysis of Google search trend data, and sales data of relevant products, which revealed that more and more people are investing in home bars to host parties with friends, with around 71,200 searches on average each month for phrases associated with having bars at home.

Full findings, graphics and methodology can be found here: https://www.sgs-engineering.com/media/buildabar/index.html

As a result, SGS has now decided to create a brand new simple guide for aspiring pub landlords to build their very own bar at home. The guide comes complete with how to’s, an easy to follow step by step picture guide, material information and instructions for people to make their bars.

Britain's Best Home Bar competitions
To coincide with this, SGS is also launching a nationwide competition to find Britain’s best backyard bar, people simply need to send images or videos of their personal home bars to SGS via the entry form on their website (https://www.sgs-engineering.com/help-advice/britains-best-home-bar-competition/) with the winner being offered £200 in vouchers to throw the ultimate home bar party.
Managing Director at SGS, Andy Wyatt, said: “Sometimes going out can be a great way to get together with friends and loved ones, but it can come at a cost and not be to everyone’s taste.
 
“Having events at home can be so much easier and also you’re probably more likely to have fun, you can decide on what to drink, what music to listen to and which people you can have over.
 
“We noticed there were tens of thousands of people searching for guides and plans to build their own bars at home every month. Our guide makes it quick and easy for anyone, regardless of their DIY skills, to put together their own bar, while the competition is a great way of showing how people have gone about building theirs, either way, it’ll be great to see just which one will be crowned Britain’s best home bar.”

Competition Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions for the competition can be found here: https://www.sgs-engineering.com/help-advice/britains-best-home-bar-competition/

Good luck if you’re entering!

4 thoughts on “Frugal Brits Prefer a Night in with Friends

  1. I think it’s sad as well
    We love pubs and hate to see them disappear; not keen on ‘gastropubs’ either
    The recent appearance of micro breweries and their associated bars in many places is welcome
    For some people, especially older folk who may live alone, pubs are the community and a way of getting out to socialise
    A place without a decent pub has no heart!
    In my humble opinion…

    • We love British pubs too Chris. It’s just the extremes when people splash out ridiculous amounts of money on a night out with friends, which contributes to them having to work such long hours to afford such expensive nights out! Having a few down the local is definitely a British way of life and one we enjoy indulging in too 😉

  2. I think this is rather sad. The traditional meeting place for a community is the local pub or church (or both) no wonder pubs are closing down. If one confines socialising to the people one already know how can one meet new people? It isn’t necessary to agree to meet someone in a local pub, just turn up, your friends may already be there or at least someone you know. If not, chat to someone new.

    • Hi David. I totally hear you. However, my response would be people aren’t outwardly shunning pubs or nights out, which are still obviously a very popular means of entertainment and socialising, especially when looking at the amount of money still being sent spent on average on nights out by people here in the UK – dining out is such a huge part of our culture. In regards to those opting to stay in and entertain rather than going out, often people choose to do so for ease (babysitters are not always possible/less need to get “glammed up” after a busy day at work), and people certainly enjoy the comfort of entertaining at home.

      People are definitely experimenting more and more with home brew and creating their own beer and wine at home – which is especially prevalent due to the ever popular trend of microbreweries and more unusual beers, and their popularity amongst people of all ages. And of course products made from purchases off The Home Brew Boat!

      We love to visit a local pub, though aim to spend as little as possible as we have chosen to live more simply and have more time to LIVE. And we have an occasional meal out. But for many people the amount they’re spending on drinks and meals out is causing them to have to work more hours, and have less quality time at home with people. That’s what we see. I for one miss the camaraderie we experienced with friends and family in each other’s homes, and we still met new people when they were brought along. 🙂

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