Going out for an evening to eat, drink and be merry has less of the ‘merry’ attached these days, according to the findings of Mint financial services, which says that the cost of leaving the house to socialise at night is rising and putting Britons off doing so.

The cost of an average evening out has risen by up to 15 per cent since 1996, meaning only half as many people go out to eat or drink as they did a decade ago, with just three in ten (31 per cent) young adults doing so now, compared with six in ten (61 per cent) then.

The affluent and extravagant lifestyles led by celebrity socialites has been blamed in part for the growing debts of the younger generation of Brits, who have been known to take out loans and borrow heavily on credit cards to fund a lavish social life.

However Jerry Toher, the managing director of Mint, said that young people were now becoming savvier about their finances and budgeting more appropriately.

“We know from our research that a major reason for people to entertain at home is to control their finances,” he said.

“It seems that clever spending is fast becoming a priority for people but without compromising on having fun.”

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