How to Have an Inexpensive Social Life

If you know me, you know that I try to live a frugal lifestyle.  I don’t know about you, but I spend the most money when I spend time with friends. Hanging out with friends can cost a lot of money.  Whether it is going to the movies, paying covers at clubs, going to concerts, or simply going out for dinner and dessert, it all adds up really fast. Since most of my friends and I are college students, our funds are limited but our fun doesn’t have to be!

Here are my tips on making your social life more affordable:

 1. Use Groupon! Groupon is a website that allows you to buy groups of tickets for different theme parks, attractions, events, or even gift certificates for a discounted price.  I have found Groupons for concert tickets, 5K races, airboat rides, and one of my favorite restaurants! You just need to shop around.

2. Eat in! Cooking with my friends has proven to be a lot of fun and much cheaper than eating out. We go to the grocery store with a specific list of what we need to avoid spending extra on impulse buys.  My friends and I LOVE to have little breakfast parties because the options are endless (and very affordable!)

3. Free events! A lot of cities, schools, churches, or other organizations host free (or very cheap) events throughout the month or year. These things range from different fun workshops to farmers markets to petting zoos to art festivals.  You can google “events in insert your town here” and different town web pages will show calendars or lists of events!

4. Volunteering! Giving your time to a worthy cause is very important so what could be better than doing it with a friend? There are so many cool places to volunteer at, and you and your friends could pick a place or event that interests you! Many animal shelters need volunteers.  Beaches need to be cleaned up. Homeless shelters could always use a helping hand, too! Volunteering is usually absolutely free (and if you’re working at an event, you’ll probably get free food, too!)

These tips have really helped me because I found myself not wanting to hang out with my friends because I always felt a pressure to spent money.  I wouldn’t want to go to a restaurant with them and watch them eat so I just wouldn’t want to go!  All of my friends have been totally on board with my suggestions because they liked the idea of saving money, too!

What are some fun and inexpensive things that you and your friends do?  Is there a way you save money doing some of the more expensive things that you like? Let me know in the comments; I would love to hear about them!