Sometimes keeping up with friends earning significantly more than you can be difficult. Maybe you have a professional job, but your best friend from high school is an entrepreneur or lawyer, earning more than double your salary. You still want to hang out, but you definitely can’t afford to do everything he/she does. People who have more spending power often choose to eat at expensive places, drink at pricey bars, and take fancy vacations.
We’ve all seen that episode of Friends when Joey, Rachel, and Phoebe have to confront the rest of the gang about their weaker financial status. If you haven’t seen the episode, there is a part where Rachel, Joey, and Phoebe order just soups/side salad because they can’t afford anything on the menu at a fancy restaurant. However, they don’t want to decline the dinner invitation because the dinner is meant to celebrate Monica’s recent promotion. It plays out pretty funny in the episode, but it may not be as comical if the situation involves your real- life. No one wants to say they can’t afford to go to a certain place, especially when it’s to one of your really good friends. Here are some tips to help you find ways to hang out with your ritzy friends without going bankrupt.
Potluck It
If your friends like to eat out relatively often, try to plan a pot luck or more intimate event at home! You can send out email invitations to a group of friends. Cook the main dish, and ask friends to bring sides–Or even split up the main dish items. You can suggest doing this monthly, so you won’t have to host each time. This could be a great way to save money! Plus, it can be more fun and intimate to have your friends over (rather than just going to a restaurant each time).
Traveling: The Early Bird Always Get the Worm (or the Deal)
If your friends like to take fancy vacations on a regular basis, it may be tough for you to keep up financially. Everyone deserves a bite of the good life, so try to plan trips early! Check websites for early deals on vacation packages. You may also find good last minute deals, so check those as well!
Groupon and Mailing Lists
We do all like to dine well, but you don’t have to feel guilty every time you do it. Look for deals in your city on a weekly basis. Groupon features deals by city. Also, if you sign up for restaurant mailing lists, they usually send you gift certificates for your birthday. If they are too stingy to do that, they’ll at least email you specials of the week/month. Emails about food can NEVER be spam, right?
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Alvina Lopez is a freelance writer and blog junkie, who blogs about accredited online colleges. She welcomes your comments at her email Id: alvina.lopez @gmail.com.
8 Comments
We do pot lucks with our friends and they work great. Everyone always brings such awesome dishes we end up exchanging recipes.
For years and even now, everyone offers to bring something to parties. It makes it easier to host a party, barbecue or dinner. You always have the option of turning it down.
I run into this problem with lunchtime at work. The last two weeks we’ve been out at a client near a little historical downtown area. The food is great, but each lunch costs at least $12-13. I ate a lunch from home one day, but it really takes away from being part of the team. However, the rest of the team has been working here longer than I have, thus definitely earn more than I do.
I also find free events that everyone can enjoy. 😉
Great ideas! I hosted a casual get-together for a bunch of my girlfriends in the neighborhood, and since everyone asked what they could bring I suggested either a bottle of wine or an appetizer. It was such a fun party, and we had plenty of food and drink. In fact, when I put everything away I ended up with two more bottles of wine than I started with – ha!
Sometimes just telling your friends about your financial constraints is enough. Thanks to lifestyle inflation, I might make more than most of my friends, but I also spend a lot more! So I find its often me that does less than they do.
@Justin – That’s a good point – but I definitely think if you mention to friends you’re saving money and find a less expensive alternative, they normally play along. 😉
We love house parties. They are the frugal person’s best friend. People bring what they can afford and everyone has a good time. We have a group here that comes from all sorts of income levels and people bring what works for their budget at the time. A couple people got laid off recently, so obviously, they go the more frugal route.