FEBRUARY 2, 2026 – As you know, good rest matters, like it matters a lot, and when you’re in the military, it just feels like you’re working around the clock, right? So when you do have free time, you probably don’t want to just lie around on your phone, or maybe even want to step away from screen time. Instead, you probably want to go out with some friends, right?
But at the same time, here, a night out on the town can go one of two ways. Either it’s actually fun, like the kind of night that feels smooth and easy and makes the next day feel lighter, or it turns into a pile of mini regrets that hit in waves (which is insanely common, too). What regrets? Well, money, the “why did I eat that”, “why did I drink that”, wasting time, catching a cold, well, the list could go on and on, really.
But you should go out, and you should have a good time, but it’s more about preventing it from getting messy and leaving you with a whole bunch of regrets. But, how can you pull that off?
Just Decide what Kind of Night You Want Beforehand
Well, just because your buddies want something very particular doesn’t mean you have to be dragged along. If they want to go hard at it, well, just don’t go with them; it’s honestly as simple as that. But it still begs the question, though, what do you want?
This sounds obvious, but it’s the difference between a good night and a chaotic one. Because if the plan is “let’s just see,” then the night becomes a constant decision loop. Where to go next. Is this place good? Why is the line so long? Should we wait? Should we leave? Should we get food first? Well, it honestly doesn’t take too much, for like half the night is spent outside staring at phones. So pick a vibe before going out, like you actually need to be decisive here.
Keep Your Spending From Getting Out of Control
Yes! This is mostly where regret comes from actually! So, overspending rarely happens in one big moment; it happens in little bites. Okay, so think about it for just a second here, usually you can expect this to be something like one rideshare, then another. One cover charge. One round, then another round. A late-night snack. A convenience purchase. Alright, you get the idea here, but you can probably see for yourself here that it’s a lot, right? All of this adds up.
It’s better to have a more soft budget for all of this as that can better control your spending, like going to a venue that you know for a fact fits your budget (just check Google maps first as a lot of people will show menus), some venues have bar service, and that can at least reduce waiting times (like lines), and it also helps in lowering the chance of ordering extra drinks out of boredom too.
Don’t Borrow Tomorrow’s Energy
What exactly does this even mean? Well, a night out doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Tomorrow still comes. If the plan is to stay out until 3 a.m., drink heavily, then eat questionable food, then sleep for four hours, it’s not just a fun night; it’s also signing up for a rough day. Seriously, don’t do that to yourself.
End the Night with a Clean Exit
Well, if you leave feeling like garbage, you’re probably going to go to bed feeling like garbage. Meaning, that you’re going to wake up feeling like garbage. So that basically means avoiding absolutely anything that makes you feel like garbage.