My friend spends over $21,000/year going out.

Most people's reaction to that: “OH MY GOD, THAT'S SO MUCH*#%(#%(#%!”

But let's break it down. And see, is it really extreme?

Let's say you go out 4x/week – to dinners and bars – and spend an average of $100/night.

I'm being conservative with the numbers here, since a dinner can run $60/person and drinks could be $12 each. I'm not including bottle service, which might cost $800 or $1,000. (He lives in a big city.) That's easily $400/week.

Now, this guy also makes a healthy six-figure salary, and he's invested quite a bit in his 401(k) and outside investments (including real estate). The key here is that he works such long hours that he's only really free Friday and Saturday nights. And so he goes out. Hard.

In just a couple of years, this guy has saved more than almost any of my friends. But he's also spent more on going out than anybody I know.

And although $21,000 sounds outrageous on the surface, you have to take context into consideration.

For example, look at his spending by percentage: Just for easy calculations, if we assume that this guy makes $210,000/year net, his going-out budget is roughly 10% of his income.

For my friends who make $35,000/year, you can be damn sure that they're spending more than $3,500/year ($67/week) on going out.

But my other friend has a plan and he's decided to spend his money this way.