My month long sabbatical from spending (at least for the most part) is giving me the opportunity to really reflect on the issues revolving around expenses and saving. This week we’ll examine a significant outside force: your friends.
Keeping Up with the Joneses and Mooching Off Them
Last week I found myself at both ends of the spending spectrum due to friendships. On Thursday, a good friend from out of town came for a visit and put together a dinner party to catch up with a handful of people. I knew the restaurant wasn’t going to be cheap but let it ride because it was a special occasion.
And boy, did I learn a lesson the hard way. The trip to the restaurant knocked $26 off my entertainment budget, and going out afterwards cost another $12. Instead of speaking up about maybe finding some cheaper alternative (like doing happy hour instead of a full-on dinner) or curbing my own spending, I just kept quiet and stayed pace with everyone else.
Friday was a polar opposite of Thursday. Two friends were getting married, which was great for my wallet even if it was a big hit to theirs. I got dinner, drinks and dancing all for just being a good friend and showing up.
Friends Can Be a Money Burden or Blessing
The two experiences above serve as a perfect backdrop for a discussion of how friends influence your spending and saving. There are definitely two sides to this coin, both in the effect that your friends can have on your money habits as well as the effect you have on theirs.
Interesting enough, a 2006
study by the UK’s NS&I (National Savings and Investment) found that 44% of 16-24 years olds in Britain said their friends influence excessive spending. This is by far the age group most influenced by their peers. In the case of our money, it definitely seems as though we that get wiser as we age.
Maybe even more telling is the fact that 24% of those 16-24 said that peers should have an influence on spending habits, but only 11% said the same about saving habits. This leads me to believe, along with my own experiences, that we are much more comfortable with discussing expenditures with our friends opposed to ways to save.
It’s clear that our friends have an effect on our financials, especially the college-aged set. But that doesn’t mean its all negative.
An easy fix for those who are over spending: start speaking up about saving more. Yours friends will continue to be enablers if you don’t let them know that you’re trying to save more. Anyone who’s a real friend will be completely supportive and sensitive to the fact that you can’t afford to spend money you don’t have.
In fact, friends can powerful resources for saving. When people team up to keep each other accountable for their spending, they’re more likely to be successful. Surrounding yourself with people who have the same goals and perspectives as you can only help you budget better in the long run.
You can also save by getting your friends together for group deals. Websites like
Groupon.com offer savings and coupons through a sort of bulk buying method. If a certain number of people agree to pay a certain price for a product or service everyone gets to benefit from the special pricing.
Now get together with your friends and see what other ideas you can come up with. Have a few ideas of your own already? Share them in the comments.