Fun: Worth the money?

For sophomore Lauren Pfister, going to dinner, the movies or bar-hopping seems like fun, until she notices her empty pockets. \nDinner costs $15, a movie costs $8, bar-hopping costs $20, Pfister said. The greater the fun, the greater the cost, she said. \nFun outings can quickly turn expensive, many students said. But the issue isn’t spending money, but when students begin to spend this amount of money every weekend, the money begins to stack up, sociology professor Julie James said. \n“Everyone spends money when going to dinner or a night out, but when the student is neglecting other necessities for this night of fun, that’s when there is an issue,” James said.\nMany students said they spend between $20 to $50 a night for fun. Males spend more money than females, Pfister said. \n“I barely spend my money; none of the girls ever buy alcohol,” Pfister said. “And we don’t pay to get into the bars, because the guys usually cover us. I spend money on clothes more than anything.” \nMichael Connor, a bartender at Kilroy’s Sports Bar, agreed. \n“An average student usually spends about $25 at the bar,” Connor said. “Males spend more than females; they are usually the ones buying a female a drink.” \nPfister said spending large amounts of money wasn’t worth it, but students continued to spend out of habit or boredom. Junior Charlene Nortey agreed, calling student spending a habit. \n“None of it is really a necessity to have,” Nortey said. “You could not buy drinks and only pay the cover charge. When you’re bored and you have it, it’s almost habitual to spend it.” \nSeveral students said the cost of any night of fun is equivalent to the cost of bar-hopping. \n“It doesn’t cost that much for me to go out to the bars or parties, but it costs me at least $50 to take my girlfriend out to dinner and a movie,” senior Kyle Jenkins said. \nBut senior Kasey Schoch said she saw no reason not to spend the extra money if people could afford it, especially if they wanted to take a break from school. \n“It’s the cost of having a good time,” Schoch said.