The most expensive day of your week completely depends on your individual circumstances and spending habits, but I think for a lot of people, that day is Friday. There are many different factors that can influence why your spending would be more on Friday than on any other day of the week and here are just a few to consider:
Food: I’ve noticed that a major source of Friday spending comes from purchasing food. For people who work a typical Monday-Friday job, by the time Friday rolls along, groceries could be scarce. It can then become the day you eat out for lunch, since you had nothing at home to pack. Even if you do have enough groceries for a sack lunch, sometimes you want to eat out for lunch just because it’s Friday. The rationalization can be that you’re bored with what you’ve been eating all week, or that you deserve a treat because you’ve packed your lunch for the first 4 days of the week, or simply that it’s Friday and you want something good for lunch. There are many rationalizations that people can use to justify eating out on a Friday — I know this from experience. I’ve made similar rationalizations about stopping at a Starbucks on a Friday morning. Friday is the day you’ll most likely need a pick-me-up because it’s the end of the week and you’re tired.
Another reason people are more likely to spend money on food on Fridays is that there is a better chance that a birthday or other celebratory lunch will be on a Friday. In this case, you’re either stuck coughing up money to eat at a restaurant or you’re stuck stopping at the store on the way into work to pick up something for a potluck.
And yet a third reason that the food spender sneaks up inside you on Fridays happens to me almost weekly. It’s Friday night, the week is over and the weekend is starting and the LAST thing you want to do is cook dinner. Can anyone say pizza? Or fast food? Unfortunately I can, and have too many times.
Entertainment: Of all the days I am likely to rent a movie, Friday definitely takes the cake. I’m usually tired from working all day and just want to relax and watch a flick. I don’t usually have time to watch movies on any other weeknight and Saturday often involves plans that take the majority of the day, which leaves me with Friday as my movie night. This includes rentals or theatres.
It’s no doubt that Friday nights and Saturday nights are typically date nights, so while the two days may tie in this area, Friday still remains a spendy day. Dinners, concerts, dances, etc. Many of them will be on a Friday and many of them will no doubt cost money.
Stuff: In many jobs, paydays happen on Fridays. What often happens as soon as people get paid? They spend money! It seems to be a mentality that if you have money, you should spend it. This is most often the case with younger people and those who are less financially responsible, spending their money before their obligations are taken care of. However, even if you are disciplined, it can sneak up on you. I have to admit that as soon as I get my newest allotment of spending money, I tend to spend some of it that day.
And then there are the sale-a-holics (I am a self proclaimed one). If you ever look in the Thursday or Friday paper, you will usually find ads in there for special weekend sales and they usually start on Friday. I have to admit that I’ve been lured to stores a few times in pursuit of a sale on a Friday evening. Usually it’s the first time all week that I’ve even had time to go.
Travel: Weekend vacations often start on Friday. You want to get a head start on traveling to your weekend destination so you hit the road on Friday afternoon. My husband and I often travel across the state to visit my family for a weekend and have noticed that the first day of the trip can cost quite a bit. First of all, if you are driving, you have to fill up your gas tank because chances are that after a week of commuting to work, it’s nearing empty. Depending on what kind of car you have, this could be really expensive. Then if you don’t plan ahead and pack food, you have to stop for dinner. Our cross-state drive usually takes 5 hours and driving at night makes us tired, so we usually end up stopping at Starbucks on the way (it’s probably just another excuse for us to go to Starbucks, but it sounds rational to us).
I have to admit that I’ve never really thought of one day being more expensive than another day, but by analyzing my own spending habits, I’ve realized that Friday is really that day for me. It might be a different day for you depending on your schedule or hopefully you’ve mastered the “Friday Complex.” For me that’s where I’ve almost made it through the whole week and just need something to get me through or to help me relax after a long day. I’m working on my “Friday Complex” though and I hope you are working on yours if you have one too. Just remember that it doesn’t matter what day it is, if it’s not in your budget, you don’t need to spend it. A day is just a day and it’s really all in our heads and at the end of the day — and at the end of a week — we’ll feel better (and be better off) if we stuck to our budget instead overspending to fill our Friday desires.
Image courtesy of gisarah
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