Planning to go out for a couple of holiday drinks between now and New Year's Eve? Make sure you bring some extra cash.
A new report finds a sharp increase in the cost of wine, beer, and mixed drinks -- if you are going out -- for the 2015 holiday season.
Bar Drinks Costlier
This is the time of year many of us belly up to the bar for some holiday cheer. But that cheer is getting expensive, according to a report on CNN/Money.
It says:
- Prices for mixed drinks are up 51% since 2003.
- The price of wine is up 44%.
- The price of beer is up 42%.
The report blames the resurgence in high-end cocktails, the continued growth of red wine, and the craft beer explosion.
Craft beer can cost 50% more than a bottle of your Dad's old Miller Light.
Ditto for Grey Goose vodka, as opposed to no-name vodka many people used to drink without questioning it.
Trendy Bars Cost More to Build, Maintain
So from the doesn't that stink file, the high cost of the high life.
CNN/Money says many people want to drink in trendy new restaurants these days, not local dive bars.
If you were hoping for a dollar beer, followed by a 50 cent cup of coffee, you'll say doesn't that stink?
All that trendy furniture, lighting, exposed ductwork, and 60 inch TV displays everywhere costs money, and it's reflected in the price of your drinks.
The good news is that the cost of supermarket wine has barely increased: You could buy a $10 bottle of wine a decade ago, and you can still buy a $10 bottle of wine today.
And that local dive bar, where you can see decades of cigarette smoke stains on the ceiling, and the vinyl barstools are cracked from thousands of people planted there over the years?
No price surge there, either.
Whatever you buy, drink responsibly, and don't waste your money.
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