By Frugal Trenches
One of the first things I noticed when I began this downshifting, frugal life was that the vast majority of my friends were fellow professional 20 somethings with big entertainment budgets and in most cases not an ounce of frugality. My first few months on a more frugal budget I found it was very hard to socialize, not because there are not plenty of ways to socialize on a budget, but because my friend's idea of a night or afternoon out was not in my budget. It was quite a lonely experience and made me at times question whether I was on the right path. I then decided that I needed to get more creative, about 6 months on I have a very busy social life, often too busy and while it hasn't come easy with all of my friends I thought I'd share some of the best tips I have for having a good social life while on a budget.
Firstly I began a blog - while most of my fellow 20 something bloggers had bigger entertainment budgets than I did, for example mine is £25 a month compared to many of my 20 something friend bloggers £300-£400 entertainment budget, I did find other bloggers like myself of all ages who I could relate to, who supported me and whom I supported.
Next I looked at ways to incorporate things I love into the budget. I love to read and I wanted to learn to knit. I found out about local book clubs through my library and through those ladies started a knitting club! Now, book clubs if you buy the book can be expensive, the book we are reading this month sells for £13, but I'm pretty happy to use library books meaning the maximum cost for me each month is £1 if I have to order the book from another library in my county. Pretty frugal!
Then I tackled my friends who weren't so frugal. I found out about free activities that were local, I suggested meeting up for walks followed by a coffee out instead of dinner or a movie. I gave activity based gifts to friends so that we could spend time together in something more frugal then a night out. It wasn't always easy, some of my friends who in many ways need to be frugal are most likely to cancel or suggest alternative get togethers when it is something like a walk, or coffee or tea, getting together at a friends house etc. I'm patient, I try to remember everyone is different, I compromise. I wouldn't want my frugality to be a barrier to friendship but certainly use every creative bone in my body to try to find ways to make everyone happy.
Finally I decided one of the best social and frugal activities is volunteering. I have four part time voluntary roles, one requires me to volunteer one evening a week and the other three are once a month roles. In total it works out to about 8 hours a week. Through these roles I've met some great people, had a lot of fun & given back to the community.
It is possible to have a very active and fun social life on a budget. I'm always looking for new ideas so I'd love if you shared some of yours!
8 comments:
I second the knitting group, although those hobbies can get expensive. Eventually you can come across those with similar interests and expand into DIY activities like recycling yarn from sweaters or gardening. My husband has started homebrewing, and we're hoping that will give us a good excuse/incentive for friends to come over to our place and sample his beers -- making a batch is pricey (around $80 for a great beer); on the other hand, that's 50 bottles for less than the cost of a night out for just the two of us.
Playdates with kids are good for families. How about hiking with friends or taking a daytrip by car to somewhere interesting?
The way I socialise with my friends is at the quilting bee and going to the playground in our neighbourhood.
A year-ticket for a family is only €15.00. So it has a great price-value-rating.
Ah, found you Frugal Trenches. ;p
You're right, you do need to become creative in finding frugal activities when your friends are not so frugal. Another idea is to have a potluck gathering. Like me, I provide the place and bbq grill food... everyone else brings side dishes, drinks and dessert. And, its a lot of fun.
I agree that volunteering is one of the best frugal ways to have a great time. The people I meet through the organizations I volunteer with are amazing in their hearts and their willingness to *be* a friend (as opposed to dashing through their own lives) - and interestingly, it seems easier to find common interests.
I am a professional 20-something, and while there are often events that seem to require more money than I want to spend, those are mostly work-related/sponsored. In terms of just kicking back and unwinding after time in a stressful day, the simple things of being home or just visiting for homemade dinners/potlucks with friends seem much more satisfying.
I also agree that volunteering is an excellent way to spend time with friends and meet new ones. Once a month I attend a fabulous pot luck dinner without my husband and children and enjoy all the different foods and great company!
We've also hosted and attended themed pot luck dinners as a family with our friends - it's so much fun!
You know I just had this same conversation with my mum. She told me that it would be hard to live like me 'cause her none of her friends would consider my idea of entertainment "fun".
The way I see it, I think its about balancing out priorities. Making savings in other areas will mean that its within the budget to splash out occassionally on non-frugal activities.
As someone once said to me, being frugal means making well considered choices for yourself and your family.
In some ways, the best compromise between myself and my non-frugal friends is for me to throw a dinner party. Cooking a gourmet meal doesn't mean having to spend lots - often simple, good quality ingredients makes for an amazing dinner.
One of the best meals I've had was pumpkin soup with coriander pesto, served with hot buns straight out of the oven and herbed butter. YUM! (now I'm hungry)
Thanks for all the great responses!
All great ideas and the only thing we do that would add to that is regularly invite ppl to a picnic/bbq with us at a park with good play equipment and lots of room for impromptu soccer or footy games! If everyone brings their own meat and something to share it works out quite frugal for all involved
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