You Can't Afford to Do What Your Friend Wants to Do, Money Matters Between Friends, Part 5

Here's part 5 of our series on a Kiplinger's piece on money matters and friends. The issue for the day from Kiplinger's:

Problem: You can't afford the activities your friend wants to do.

Solution: A true friend won't want to drive you in debt just to spend time together. Put your heads together to think of things you enjoy that don't cost a lot of money. But speak up, or else he may not know you're struggling.

This is solid advice. I applied it early on in my career and it saved me a ton of money. We were all just out of college and had (what seemed like then) all the money in the world. My friends wanted to got out every night and blow a ton of money and I eventually told them I needed to cut back a bit. Then the others said they did too -- so we started getting together doing other, less expensive things together (like playing basketball, meeting at one person's house to watch movies, etc.). The times together were just as fun (if not more so) and we spent a whole lot less.

How about you? You ever been in this situation? What did you do?

Click here to read part 6 of this series.

Click here to read part 1 of this series.

Comments

[Kira]

I think a lot of people just don't get very creative about what they want to do, and end up doing things that cost money because it's easier. I find that the people I enjoy hanging out with the most, are the people who are cool with just staying home and watching a terrible movie and talking through the whole thing. I don't feel as comfortable with people who always want to go out and go somewhere or spend money to do something, because then it seems that we never actually get to talk to one another. We end up not being as close of friends.