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At the request of The Washington Post, four Washington area residents in their 20s or 30s agreed to keep a spending tally over two to four weeks in October and November.

"What surprised me was how much I spend on food I don't eat," said Styles, who kept tabs on his spending for two weeks. Late-night eats alone cost $49.08.

Alcohol was his other big expense. Styles is 6 feet 4 and weighs 250 pounds, so by his own admission, it takes a lot for him to feel the effects of drinking. Even trips to the liquor store to stock up for a night of watching football at a friend's house set him back $71.06.

Murray was surprised by how much he spends on friends. It's the price he is willing to pay for being a self-proclaimed "cruise director."

"I float freely between social circles, and that definitely adds to my social costs," he said while sipping beer at an Arlington bar during a Festivus celebration in December.

Murray makes about $90,000 a year, puts the maximum he can in his 401(k) and has about $20,000 in savings. He has a $400 car payment and pays about $1,000 in rent.

During his first week tracking expenses, he spent $201.30 on dinners and drinks with friends. There was the $14 pitcher of beer for friends at a bar on U Street NW, $29.56 on a birthday dinner and $16.14 for snacks to watch a football game at a friend's house. He spent quite a bit on himself, too, buying a $659.34 Xbox 360 Elite bundle with Guitar Hero II and Halo 3. He spent $154.38 on fun during the second week.

He also travels frequently. He recently paid about $4,600 for a cruise on the Queen Victoria for himself and his brother. Yes, he acknowledged, if he cut back on trips he would probably own a house by now. But he'd rather see the world than own a home.

Craig Smith, 23, also considers himself a social butterfly.

From Oct. 26 to Nov. 26, he spent $144 on alcohol and $20 on cover charges. Another $100 went toward Saturday night dinners with friends, $40 at the shopping mall food court and $60 on lunches after basketball games with his buddies. Another $325 paid for dates with his girlfriend.

His most shocking discovery? "Why in the world did I spend $112 on Baskin-Robbins?" he asked while sipping bottled water at Caribou Coffee. "On sundaes?"

Smith is a legal analyst making $36,000 a year. He has about $2,000 in credit card debt and $7,000 in student loan debt. He has no car payment and lives rent-free with his mother in Springfield. He has been able to tuck away $13,000, which means he doesn't feel so bad about going out five or six nights a week.