Socializing on a Budget
Earlier this week, I setup a Formspring account for both of my blogs and, while I have only received one question so far, it’s one I have promised to answer before…
How do you retain your social life/stay sane from you hardcore budgeting? I have student loans and try to put money in savings every pay check, but it’s not always what I wish I put away. How do you stay frugal and social?
First of all, you should know that while, yes, I hang out with my friends a lot, I don’t do a lot of the typical social things that some twenty-something’s do. I don’t go out for dinner or drinks and it’s rare that I even go to a movie. Instead, I go for coffee or a drive to the beach, and more recently, my friends and I have started going for walks, runs, and hikes together.
But something I have been doing with my friends for years is watching our favourite shows together. For example, one of my girlfriend’s and I love the show Supernatural. (I know, we are dorks… but the guys are hot!) Every Friday night, she comes over to watch a new episode. Sometimes we’ll split a $10 bottle of wine, and sometimes I just make tea, but we always end up chatting for a couple hours, as well as watching the show. To me, that’s a great Friday night.
During the summer, I have a reason to socialize with my Big Brother friends up to 3x/week! But we always get together on Thursday’s (eviction night) to watch, catch up, gossip, etc. Again, sometimes we’ll have a few drinks, other times we’ll just split a bag of candy… (I know, bad!) I used to have Bachelor/ette Monday’s with another girlfriend, and Hills nights back when it was on… it sounds silly to say that I plan my social life around television but, the fact is, we all watch the shows, so why wouldn’t we watch them together?
The other thing my friends and I do is get together for a couple BBQ’s each month where we all bring whatever we want to eat/drink. We don’t make the hosts supply anything (except maybe ketchup/mustard 
) and some of us drink and some of us don’t. If it’s nice out, we’ll setup a volleyball net, and rain or shine, we are lucky that the hosts have a hot tub. Again, if I can say I spent my Saturday night eating dinner and hot tubbing with friends, I’ve got nothing to complain about.
Do you remember how I got into debt? I was living a lifestyle I couldn’t afford. I went out for dinner and/or drinks 1-2 times/week and basically just pretended that my credit cards were cash. If you read my blog before, you might remember that my weekly spending reports included anywhere from $40-120/week on take-out/alcohol. I can’t afford that! At least not if I want to pay off my debt… now, you might see me buy pizza ($15) once/month and, if I drink, I opt for a $10 bottle of white wine. I don’t restrict myself from all fun! But I just enjoy different things now.
When I was completely maxed out, something finally switched in my brain. I don’t feel bad telling friends I can’t afford a night out and, honestly, I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not going. I’ve done my fair share of partying… what’s important now is spending quality time with my friends and family, watching my friends’ kids grow up, and just enjoying every day that I have.
Hope that answers your question. 
You are doing everything I want to be doing! I usually spend at least $40 a week on take-out/alcohol and it has to stop! Unfortunately, I don’t watch too much tv…but I love the idea of going for walks and hikes with friends. Great post!
Haha, it’s probably better if you don’t watch too much TV… but the idea is to just share interests w/ friends. Rent a movie a bunch of you have been wanting to see, cook a meal none of you have tried before, hike a mountain together, etc. All it really boils down to choosing the people you want to spend time w/… and then it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it’s together.
That really hit home and I’m glad that you have decided what’s more important to you vs. going out and wasting countless dollars on food and entertainment.
I’ve had (and am still paying off) all the “fun” I once had… glad you liked the post.
Love this!! A few of my friends and I do the same and recently I’ve been lucky to date a guy that likes to watch movies, go for motorcycle rides, or eat $1 ice cream. Hockey season was a real turning point for this stuff…I had to put my foot down with friends and say I couldn’t go to a pub for every game so we started doing potluck dinners instead. I bought one case of beer that lasted me throughout the entire playoffs! Overrall it was still a bit pricey but WAY cheaper than eating/drinking out for every game.
I don’t think I went out once, during the playoffs… mind you, I’ve been paying off a crazy amount of debt, so I just didn’t include it in my budget. Buying one case of beer is a brilliant idea!
I like that your social activities are budget AND diet friendly. Two birds with one stone : )
I’m trying!
I love this. It’s going in my link round-up next week!
Thanks, Clare!
My wife and I go to the beach with friends, how others over for dinner, or go to bbq’s at friends houses, because it is a cheaper way to socialize. No overpriced alcohol and food. Just good food and friendships.
Love that.
If I lived within driving distance to a beach, my social life/entertainment would be set! Great ideas for enjoying life without spending a lot of money. Luckily, my friends all seem to be in money saving mode for one reason or another (weddings, debt, etc…), so we all encourage each other to lead a frugal lifestyle.
Same. Many of my friends discuss their finances and we are all pretty honest about what we can/cannot afford.
This is definitely a hard thing for me when I’m trying to cut back and I have to say that bonding on the couch, at your own house, cooking together, etc. is definitely one of the best times—it’s just bridging that gap when it’s a newer friend that’s a little tricky.
With newer friends, if right off the bat you ask them over for a BBQ or over for a glass of wine, it immediately lets them know that you are the kind of person who enjoys hanging out at home.
I have pretty much given up going out with my girlfriends except on the rare occasion. It’s been very tough because my hubby and I are very social people. We’ve instead started asking people to come over or encouraging our friends to host game night or BBQs. When I do go out to eat, I don’t like to drink alcohol with my food so that saves on some of the bill. Unfortunately, hubby loves to have a drink with his dinner so it’s a wash.
Good job on being able to still spend time with people you care about and not having it cost a ton.
Oh, hubby…
haha.
Yea, I never go out w/ my girlfriends anymore… but I love having people over for cheap wine nights! It’s all about finding a balance.