Friendship is all about giving and receiving. Because of that, it's easy to do something to please your friends and regret it later because it makes a dent in your wallet. And fact is if you have friends who are spendthrift, chances are you may acquire that habit. Once that happens, you'll never save cash. Supposing something were to happen that required you to fork out cash instantly? Wouldn't you be forced to borrow? And once you're in debt, getting out of that rut can be quite difficult. Word of caution: if you have friends who like shopping it would be best to avoid them or cut them out of your lives because they are not a good influence. If you must go out with them, then leave your bank cards and your wallet at home. p.s Ever spent money you didn't plan to when you were out with friends?
I have never had this issue for me, because if I don't feel like spending money then I won't even go out with them in the 1st place. And if I was already out with them and I think that I don't want to fork out that much cash, then I will also not spend or I will just make an alibi to go home. I'm too old now to be affected by peer pressure.
I think the same argument could be made against people who are tight with their cash though too, that they shouldn't tag along to events which they know are going to be expensive then be the dead weight of the group because they don't want to do anything that involves spending any money. It's fine to be thrifty but with that should come some common sense and consideration towards those around you. A friend of mine in particular chooses not to work full time or pursue any sort of career, he's been taking odd jobs here and there for several years now, and bought a dirt cheap house for $2,500 that he lives in - and just barely scrapes by each month. He wanted to go on a vacation a few years ago to Atlantic City, and invited a few of us. Here's the thing though, I have to use up my vacation time, that I earned, to go on this trip. I don't plan on taking a 9 hour bus trip to Atlantic City, then get there and do absolutely nothing, because it involves spending money and he doesn't want to spend any. All he wanted to do the whole trip was walk around the boardwalk and just stare at things. Any time the rest of us suggested going out to dinner somewhere nice, or catching a show, or whatever, he shot it down. So because *he* can't or doesn't want to spend money on any of these things, then the rest of us can't do it either otherwise he's going to lay a guilt trip on us for ditching him. I'm sorry, but that's some major passive aggressive BS. If I work harder than him and consequently earn more than him, then things that I do to treat myself from time to time may be well out of his budget but they are well within my own. He may not ever consider buying a bottle of cologne for $50, or a pair of dress shoes for $90, but if I do those things he makes cracks like I'm living beyond my means when in fact I am not - those are only a small percentage of my income and are well within my personal budget. It often times sounds more like he's just simply jealous of those of us in his life who are working harder than him and can afford things he cant. By his logic, anyone earning the median income in the US is a "snob" to him.
I mostly agree with the post above... Being smart about your money is one thing. Being a cheapskate is a totally different thing. And if you're so afraid of being influenced, what does that say about you? There's a time to save, and there's a time to live life. I think it makes more sense to put it this way: "Don't have negative people in your life." Having positive people around can actually help you make a buck...
Choosing the right set of friends not only will save you cash, it will uplift you, set you on a right path in life, whilst choosing the wrong set of friends, will more likely than not leave you with a sense of regret, a slight chance of an early death and much more tragic things, a good set of friends is better than, a good parent, if I may be excused to say that, let me justify that, people are generally more inclined to rely on friends and or associates for advice and opinions, than they would with their parents, so for that reason, I say, If you have a good set of friends, you are likely to not be led astray, as you'll be getting good advice both from your home and your friends, friends are more important than we all think, and that is why we drop and add friends as life progresses.
Well that's true, but since I have a serious goal to accomplish, I do my best to recover the money I've lost by getting more online jobs. I try not to deprive myself. Even when I'm not with my friends, just all by myself, I always tend to spend money contrary to my plans. Although this happens more when I'm with friends, no biggie, though. That's why we're friends in the first place. We're working adults, anyway, so money's not such a huge issue.
