How much is your entertainment budget and what does it include?

[buildingmore]

How much do you set aside for your entertainment each month? What does this include? Do you place your cable TV as part of entertainment? Do you count going out to dinner as entertainment? I'm curious what all you include in your entertainment budget?

[LittleMissSplendid]

I don't have a budget for entertainment nor do I count tv service or dining out as forms of entertainment. For budget purposes I treat them as separate things. In the past I've tried to budget for this and it never worked because I would often want to do things spur of the moment. Now I just wait until something sparks my fancy, confirm I have the funds, and then make the purchase. I also make use of discounts via my student ID or early bird specials whenever possible.

What kinds of things do I consider entertainment? Theater, ballet, museums, art galleries, live music, day trips out of town, charity functions, comedy clubs, cultural events, food & wine tastings, sports, movies, singles events, hiking.... and I'm sure there are many more things I do that are not coming to mind right now.

[JulieAlbright]

$100 for Entertainment. We usually buy a few DVDs/Blu-rays every month but I mostly shop on EBAY used for those so that's about $20. We use it to buy books too, but I 99% use the library for reading material. Otherwise it's rare for us to spend all of it. We're kind of boring I guess but we have a really nice backyard with a pool that is our favorite hang out spot.

Sometimes we let it accumulate for awhile and then we'll do a day trip somewhere to a museum or whatever. I really don't enjoy movies in theaters so maybe only one a year of those.

We also have a restaurant budget which is also $100 normally. If I know there's something like an anniversary dinner etc in the month we budget more.

Direct Tv is also budgeted separately. So are vacations and travel.

[Leo]

Around $100 per month and I roll it over. The reason is we might want to buy a $250 sports event ticket this month and not spend any more money for few months.

I include any attraction, theme parks, sports, concerts, museums, festivals, basically any events which requires a ticket or entrance fee. I will also include other things like video games, bowling, gambling, or any indoor or outdoor activities like skiing. We don't really go to movies or buy DVDs/music but this should be included as well.

I seperate it with Travel, for me its like going to cruise or vacation and we have to save for this in order to afford it and to really plan it out. Cable TV and Internet is not Entertainment and I put it in Utilities/Household (Internet is need and Cable TV is want in my opinion). Eating out is in Food category.

[krantcents]

My entertainment budget includes $250 per month for dining out, $300 for discount movie tickets (2 years worth) and cable bill $90 per month (includes internet service). Please note that I max out my 403b, IRA & Roth IRA. In addition, I have enough savings to retire which I did once when I was 38 years old.

[NetSkyBlue]

$7.99 for Netflix

$20/mo to "Entertainment" budget line item, about half of that goes to a once-yearly Sirius XM subscription. I don't listen to it that much, but my husband does. The rest goes to occasional redbox movie rental, or a very occasional night to the movie theater. Maybe 2x a year.

$65/mo for "Hobby" which is usually buying yarn to knit/crochet with, or equipment for the bicycle.

$40/mo for "Eating Out" which is kind of a cross between entertainment & food.

We don't have cable TV, or do any spendy activities. My husband wanted to a canvas painting class recently, so that was a Christmas present and came out of the "gift" budget.

[MKKShah]

I don't consider Cable TV entertainment. It's more of a necessity for me.

But here's my Entertainment budget breakdown:

Movies - $25
Alcohol - $40 (including in home alcohol or bar with friends)
Dining out - 100
Starbucks - 25 (yes I consider this entertainment as I spend time reading there)
Golf - 10 (only in summer but comes out to $10 per month)
Ski - 30 (only in winter, but averages out to $30 per month annually)
Misc Ent - 25

Total: 255 per month, and I am occupied at all times.