You want to have a life, but you don’t want to go broke doing it. We understand. How can you be responsible and save for your future while still having a decent social life now? How can you spend less money going out, but still spend time with your friends? Believe it or not, it is doable with a few simple strategies.
1. Find the freebies. There are a lot of activities you can enjoy with your friends without spending money on food. Do your research and you just might find a killer happy hour with free appetizers at a bar you like, a special community art walk downtown featuring free wine, cheese, and desserts along with meet and greet time with local artists, or a networking group meeting that offers free tapas. The possibilities are endless!
2. Be a homie. We mean that in the actual “home” sense, as in plan a night of fun at home. Your living room doesn’t have to be boring! Host a BYOB game night or watch an actual game on television (as in professional sports). Got a great outdoor space? Why not make it a BYOM (bring your own meat) grill-fest, instead? Your non-meat eating friends can bring the side dishes, you supply the non-alcoholic drinks and the grilling supplies. Voila! It’s party time.
3. Drink responsibly. Set yourself a drink limit and have a friend hold you accountable. Spread your alcoholic drinks out by having a glass of sparkling water in between cocktails. This will not only cut down on the amount of alcohol you consume, which can tend to make you spend more than you plan, but you’ll stay hydrated and feel the effects of your night out much less the day after.
4. Be a designated driver. To save even more, don’t drink at all and offer to be the designated driver for your friends provided they cover your gas cost. You can still go hang out and have fun, but you won’t spend any money on alcohol, and your friends might even thank you by paying for your food.
5. Stay local. Vacations and trips with your friends can be fun, but pricey, too. Look for local events you can all enjoy together for free or little money. Especially during summer, there are free concerts and theater in the park, hikes, bike rides, local parks (think frisbee golf or football and a cooler), lakes, rivers, and those tourist attractions close to home that you’ve always meant to visit.
That’s just five of the many ways you can have a fun social life with your friends without spending all your money. With all the money you save using these tips, you can save for a vacation, pay off a debt, or buy that thing you’ve always wanted for cash. That’s smart money management, and you can have fun at the same time. Look at you, adulting!