A month of honest spreadsheet tracking reveals where the extra pints actually go
I Tracked Every Penny of My Sunday Roast Pub Crawl Budget and Here’s What Happened
Sunday roasts are basically a religious experience for me, but they can absolutely wreck your budget if you’re not careful, especially once you factor in the inevitable extra pints that seem to appear whenever I’m sat in a cosy pub with good company. So I decided to properly track every penny across a month of Sunday roast outings to see whether my habit was as financially reckless as I secretly suspected.
Setting Up My Tracking System
I kept a simple notes app running throughout each Sunday, logging everything from the roast itself to drinks, tips, and even the bus fare getting there, because I wanted the full honest picture rather than just the headline roast price.
Week One: The Baseline Reality Check
My first Sunday came to nearly twenty-five pounds once everything was added up, which felt higher than I expected given I’d only had two drinks. Turns out those “just one more” pints add up faster than I was mentally accounting for.
Week Two: The Budget Pub Discovery
I switched to a slightly less trendy pub further from the centre and the difference was remarkable. Same quality roast, genuinely lovely gravy, and I saved nearly eight pounds compared to week one just by walking ten extra minutes.
Week Three: The Friend Group Effect
Bringing friends along complicated things because suddenly there’s rounds to consider, and I definitely ended up buying more than my fair share that week. Worth noting for future budget tracking: social pressure is a genuine line item.
Week Four: Finding the Sweet Spot
By my final Sunday I’d figured out my formula: smaller local pub, one drink with the meal, and skipping dessert since the roast itself is usually filling enough anyway. Came in at just under seventeen pounds, my best result all month.
What I Learned From This Entire Exercise
My monthly Sunday roast total came to just over eighty pounds across the four weeks, which sounds like a lot until you consider it as my one consistent weekly treat. I’m not giving it up, but I am definitely being more intentional about which pub and how many extra pints sneak onto the tab.
If you want the full spreadsheet breakdown or fancy some pub recommendations that won’t destroy your bank balance, swing by bigsmokebrokecom where I’ve got the complete rundown waiting for you. I’ve also started keeping a running list of which pubs do genuinely generous roast portions versus the ones charging a fortune for what amounts to a glorified snack, because that distinction matters enormously when you’re trying to be sensible about spending. Worth knowing before you commit to a regular Sunday spot.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/