Question answered: old friends
I was asked another question to my Formspring account:
So do you still keep in touch with friends from your high-spending days?
The answer is yes and no. I do stay in touch with my old friends, but there are two distinct differences: 1) we don’t talk about money unless they specifically bring it up, and 2) I’m not around as often anymore. This is partially because I don’t live in the same city, but also because I can’t justify spending money on the things that they like to do. Good for them if they can work it into their budget and can afford it, but going to the mall, grabbing beers, or heading to the bars/clubs are not priorities in my life anymore.
Whenever I go home, I will grab a coffee with a friend, go for a walk or a hike, or do something relatively low-cost. That’s not to say that I don’t do anything that costs money – a few months ago I did a high ropes course with a friend for $40 + tax. And I usually go out for lunch with a few friends when I’m home as well. I just make sure that it’s worth it for me, and that I can justify the cost. Over the past few years, I’ve really gravitated towards friends who live the same sort of lifestyle as me – and that’s only natural.
I’ve talked about it before, but I try extremely hard not to judge my friends who don’t have the same personal finance goals as me. Everybody is different, and everybody has different priorities in life. If someone chooses to spend their 20′s and 30′s living it up and will work (extremely) hard later in life to make up for it – then all the power to them. But at the same time, it’s hard for me to relate.
I’m at a point in my life where struggling with debt is behind me, so I don’t feel like I am at risk to fall back into a spending pattern. While I was getting out of debt and my immediate goals didn’t align with the lifestyle my friends were leading, I had to distance myself from them. Yes it was hard, but it was what I wanted and it was what was best for me. Thankfully I had close friends who understood how much it meant for me to get out of debt, and those people are still closest in my life.
Hearts to everyone in the PF community.
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Ditto. Granted, I am traveling most of the time because my workplace keeps changing but I love that the people I am closest to, are supportive of me and my lifestyle. For the most part anyway…
I'm happiest that BF and I are on the same page for almost everything.
My recent post Is your weight affecting your salary
Ditto. Granted, I am traveling most of the time because my workplace keeps changing but I love that the people I am closest to, are supportive of me and my lifestyle. For the most part anyway…
I'm happiest that BF and I are on the same page for almost everything.
My recent post Is your weight affecting your salary
This is the single biggest challenge to me getting, and staying, debt free. As a single man, most of weekends are spent with a close group of friends at a pub, bar, someone's house drinking a large amount of beer. Tried not doing it, and I end up either bored or sitting home alone.
It's about finding different ways to have fun while living within a budget – not cutting out every social activity and ending up bored or alone. If your close friends spend most of their time drinking on the weekends, perhaps you can suggest a group activity of going on a beer tasting tour. There are some at local breweries around here for only $10. Or you could brew your own beer to cut down on the cost of alcohol. Other suggestions are volunteering to be the night's designated driver – that way, you can still be with your friends, just without the cost … or trying to think of other people in your circle of friends who might be interested in cheaper activities.
When it comes down to it, getting debt free means having to sacrifice some of the things that you're used to doing. Because chances are, those things are what got you into debt in the first place.
This is the single biggest challenge to me getting, and staying, debt free. As a single man, most of weekends are spent with a close group of friends at a pub, bar, someone's house drinking a large amount of beer. Tried not doing it, and I end up either bored or sitting home alone.
It's about finding different ways to have fun while living within a budget – not cutting out every social activity and ending up bored or alone. If your close friends spend most of their time drinking on the weekends, perhaps you can suggest a group activity of going on a beer tasting tour. There are some at local breweries around here for only $10. Or you could brew your own beer to cut down on the cost of alcohol. Other suggestions are volunteering to be the night's designated driver – that way, you can still be with your friends, just without the cost … or trying to think of other people in your circle of friends who might be interested in cheaper activities.
When it comes down to it, getting debt free means having to sacrifice some of the things that you're used to doing. Because chances are, those things are what got you into debt in the first place.
I really don,t regard myself as having been a big spender, a disorganised spender yes definitely but I don,t own the types of clothing jewelery or car which you would imagine a spendthrift would own. My finances are the result of very bad business choices made by my Hubby and years of illness again my hubby,s. So I hav,nt had to avoid mixing with big spenders, my friends all are aware that we now earn more money than we have earned in years and are still trying to dig ourselves out of our debt, and they are all very supportive.
My recent post Week 4 of my 5 Week Pay month- My Snowflakes
I really don,t regard myself as having been a big spender, a disorganised spender yes definitely but I don,t own the types of clothing jewelery or car which you would imagine a spendthrift would own. My finances are the result of very bad business choices made by my Hubby and years of illness again my hubby,s. So I hav,nt had to avoid mixing with big spenders, my friends all are aware that we now earn more money than we have earned in years and are still trying to dig ourselves out of our debt, and they are all very supportive.
My recent post Week 4 of my 5 Week Pay month- My Snowflakes