Have a happy new year’s on a budget

It’s the most over-hyped and under-delivered event of the whole year. Especially if you’re doing new year’s on a budget.

By Matt Hopkins

With all the unnecessary hassle of NYE comes the overpriced activities and beverages that really punctuate the night, especially if you’re group of friends want to head into the overcrowded bars and clubs of the city.

While pretty much everything is going to cost you something – a symptom of the cold, cold world we live in – you can get away with doing new year’s eve on a minimal spend if you keep it clever. So, plan ahead, know what you’re doing and get ready to party in style.

Be the designated driver

I know, not a good start, but you are contributing to other people’s happiness in a way that can only be viewed as heroic. The IOUs you’ll accrue with your friends will also be a fabulous start to the year.

If you’ve got the chutzpah, you could even make some money by charging your friends a small premium for your service. Have fun with it by demanding that they call you El Capitan all night.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Find a house party

Walk outside at around 8:30pm and listen carefully. You should by this time feel the vibrations of loud music and the cheers of many intoxicated people coming from the nearest house party.

If you hear nothing, you live in a very boring neighbourhood.

Hone in on the party and approach cautiously. If it’s an open house, get in there and make some friends. If it’s not, ask them politely if you can join in, but try not to be a pest about it.

If they say no, move on to the next source of yahooing drunkards and repeat. Who said new year’s on a budget wouldn’t be fun? Cough.

Or try this: 9 ways to have a big night out with little spend

Have a house party

This one has the potential to be expensive, but not if you’re a party-savvy go-getter like myself.

Get your friends to pitch in for party supplies and secure any valuables. If you have a back yard, that’s even better!

Invite your pals around on a BYO basis and crank some tunes. As long as nothing expensive gets broken, you’ve gotten away with a reasonably cheap party without even leaving the house.

Just be sure to watch out for pesky interlopers crashing your party (see above).

Keep it low key

Let’s face it, NYE is an overrated celebration where we abuse our bodies as much as possible, all for a mere ten second countdown and a hangover that Charlie Sheen would be proud of.

When it comes down to it, we’re just partying for the clocks.

Some of the greatest times are the ones where you don’t have to try and as a bonus, you won’t have to deal with the ridiculous crowds of the general public.