Cut the costs of a night out

Five easy ways to cut the costs of a night out.

Ever woken up from a night on the town with a sore head and an empty wallet and a burning question that is as painful as it is mysterious: Where on earth has all my money gone?!

Drinks, dinner, cinema, theatre, gigs - they all come with a raft of hidden costs which can unbalance even the steadiest of bank balances.

Here are five ways to avoid these sneaky costs.

Hidden cost 1: Leaving your card behind the bar

Most pubs, especially those that do food, will allow you to run a tab if you leave your card behind the bar. Doing so comes with a number of risks:

Firstly, you may just get carried away and generously invite half the pub to put a round of drinks on your tab.
Secondly, if you don't keep check the bill at the end of the night you might find that unscrupulous members of the bar staff have charged a few extra drinks to your tab. That's bad enough but really corrupt bartenders might actually clone your card. If they copy your card and later watch you enter your pin number they'll have everything they need to start emptying your bank account.

The advice regarding bank cards and tabs is simple: Don't do it. Take enough cash to the pub if you can and don't let your card out of your sight. If you do decide to run a tab, check your bill carefully and pay with a different card than you handed over initially. That way if it's been cloned the fraudsters won't get to see the pin number for the card they copied.

Hidden cost 2: Still or sparkling?

If you go to a restaurant for dinner, chances are the waiter will offer you water before you order your meal. Their aim here is to sell you an expensive bottle of mineral water but ask for tap water instead. If they refuse - and they're legally entitled to do so - then it might be a good opportunity to re-think about whether you really want to eat there.

Hidden cost 3: Cinema snacks

Cinemas charge astronomical prices for soft drinks, sweets and popcorn. Only last night my boyfriend and I handed over about a tenner for a couple of cokes, some popcorn and a trip to the pick & mix. We'd have been much better off buying some snacks on the way and taking a drink from home. Be aware though, that some cinemas don't like you taking in your own food and drink so do it subtly.

Hidden cost 4: Ticket charges

If you're going to the theatre or a concert, the best plan of action is to buy the tickets direct from the venue itself either by phone or in person. If you go via a ticket agency they'll add on booking fees, and sometimes postage fees, to the face value of the ticket. Madonna fans were faced with booking fees of up to £13 for tickets to the singer's Confessions Tour last year - on top of a ticket price of £100 plus.

For cheap theatre tickets it can be worth visiting the venue on the day or visiting a discounted ticket site which lists dozens of special offers, as well as tips for getting hold of cheap tickets.

Here are some of the best sites for discounted theatre tickets:

Hidden cost 5: Travelling home

While I'd always advise people to make sure they get home safely at all costs, it makes financial sense to do as much of your journey by public transport as possible rather than jumping in a cab. However after a few drinks it's easy for the homing instinct to takeover and it might suddenly seem perfectly reasonable to spend £20 on a taxi when you could get the train home for £5.

If this sounds like you, make sure you only take out as much cash as you need for the night - excluding the taxi - and leave your card at home. That way, you'll be forced to get the train.

As well as thinking twice before cabbing it home, think again before popping into the kebab shop for a quick junk food fix. A donner and chips could add another £5 to your night out not to mention 5lb to your waste.

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