EatCheapEatWell
  • Home
  • SHOP
  • Life/Budget/Household Stuff
  • Food and Meal Blog
  • About
  • Home
  • SHOP
  • Life/Budget/Household Stuff
  • Food and Meal Blog
  • About

Budgets and Peer Pressure

11/12/2015

 
Resisting Consumerism to Achieve Financial Independence
People would probably not choose to drive as a passenger with someone who constantly breaks the speed limit and makes them feel unsafe in their car, or with a passenger who urges them always to drive aggressively or faster than the speed limit, risking an accident or a ticket.

Yet people will often surround themselves with friends and acquaintances who push them to spend way more money than they should.
​

It's a fact that it can be very difficult to sustain any kind of disciplined savings plan if the people you hang out with happen to be much more affluent than you are or simply unwise about their spending choices.  ​
I remember vividly traveling through Spain and the south of France in my college years with a friend who had oodles of money to spend, while I was on a shoestring budget. The situation led to disagreements about how we should spend our time. I sought out cheap or free ways to see the cities and towns we visited, while she wanted to do it up proud. 

She simply felt I was being a stick in the mud when I could not go along with her ideas for fun.

It was very stressful, and actually led to a serious strain in our relationship over the course of our three weeks on the road. 

And I know several students who come from poverty and ended up struggling with the affluence all around them at college and the expectations to spend money they simply didn't have. Sadly, some of them have found the strain and sense of being an alien outsider too great to bear and have ended up dropping out of school.

The truth is if we want to meet our budget and savings goals, it’s extremely helpful if we hang out with people who share similar values, or are at least supportive of them. And it's extremely difficult if we socialize with people who want to spend, spend, spend. 




An Example of Negative Peer Pressure and Your Bottom Line

These days, a very real case in point is eating out.

​Somewhere along the line, it seems to have become the norm to go to a restaurant when friends get together, instead of just gathering at someone’s place as was more typical in the days of my youth.


Or friends will insist on going to a bar for several hours, instead of just going out for one drink at happy hour. And it’s not at all uncommon for people to do this a couple of times a week or more.

With sit-down restaurant meals averaging $25 per person, and drinks at bars costing $5-8, that can easily come to $140 per month, or $1680 per year.

And that’s for a conservative estimate for one person. Double that amount to more than $3300 if it’s a household of two. Carry that out over 5 years, and we're talking $16,000! That's a lot of money to spend on forgettable restaurant meals and drinks. 

That's the kind of expense that wreaks havoc on the budget of the average earner. It’s simply not sustainable over time, and can cost dearly in terms of savings.

It takes a strong character to be able to stand up to peer pressure, but it is essential to do so for your own financial well-being.

Some Alternatives to Try Instead

There is no shame in saying to friends that you cannot afford to do something, such as going out, or that you’d prefer to do something else. For all you know, they may be feeling the same pressures and would welcome the chance to spend less.

Try suggesting some of these alternatives to expensive meals or drinks in restaurants, bars, or clubs:
  • Recommend getting together at someone's apartment, or hanging out in a park somewhere.
  • ​Watch a movie from your DVR together instead of spending $10-$15 for the cinema.
  • ​Meet for a drink for Happy Hour and enjoy lower-prices on drinks, and sometimes free food.​
  • ​Skip the drinks altogether when you go out to eat - they're major profit makers for restaurants with their huge mark-up. 
  • Stick to one single drink, instead of multiples for major cost savings.
  • Order from the appetizer menu instead of the dinner one. 
  • ​Go out for dessert or ice cream instead of dinner. ​
  • Or  just meet for coffee instead of a big meal.
  • ​And breakfast is always a cheaper option than dinner. ​
  • Research free or lower cost things to do in your area.  It's quite easy to do with all the internet resources available now.  

And if your friends cannot or will not understand the concept of spending less - or even spending nothing at all - when you get together, then it just might be time to consider seeking out different companionship.

Or learn to like your own company.  

​There is always that. 
Resisting Peer Pressure on Your Budget

Comments are closed.
    Follow Me
    Picture
    PictureMy "boys" and me

    The Author

    Hi, I'm Nancy Maje Gillis, and I hope to help you find ways to live more cheaply and mindfully to  help you get through this uncertain COVID-19 time  so that you have less stress and more money in your pocket.

    Archives

    November 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

    Categories

    All
    -12 Kitchen Sanity Savers
    -20 No-Effort Ways To Save Big At The Grocery Store
    -2 Travel Hacks To Save Money
    -4 Basic Grocery Store Hints
    -4 Ways To Find More Savings In Your Budget
    -5 Basic Money-Saving Steps To Take Before Hitting The Grocery Store
    -5 Things To Consider In College Aid Offers
    -7 Simple Shopping Strategies That Save
    -8 Easy Ways Anyone Can Save At The Grocery Store
    -8 Tips For Budget Travel
    -9 Helpful DIY Hints
    -9 Steps To Finding A College
    -A College Degree For Less Time And Money
    -Adjusting To Life On A Budget
    -Benefits Of Eating Like You're Poor
    -Budget Basics
    -Budget Busting Bottled Water
    -Budget Eating For Good Health
    -Budgets And Peer Pressure
    -Budget Worksheet
    -Christmas Tree Watering Hack
    -Cleaning Products And The Environment
    -College Money Matters
    -Cooking In Quantity For Savings
    -Cooking Sprays - 4 Reasons To Avoid Them
    -Cooking Your Way To Health And Savings
    -Costco Savings Myth
    -Cut Utility Bills With This Easy Hack
    -Deli Department Savings
    -Dirty Dishes
    -DIY Yourself To Financial Independence
    -Eat Real Cheese And Save
    -Finding Ways To Pay For Your Next Vacation
    -Food Budget And Portion Size
    -Food Savings For Small Households
    -Frugality Pays Off
    -Gardening To Save Money
    -Healthcare And Our Budget
    -Helps For Getting Yourself Organized
    -Hot Weather Energy And Money Savings
    -Household Matters
    -How A Frugal Lifestyle Saved Us From Ruin
    -How To Build A Nest Egg
    -How To Choose A College Major
    -How To Save On Your Housing Budget
    -How To Stay Within A Food Budget
    -In Praise Of Peanut Butter
    -It's Not How Much You Earn That Matters
    -Keurig Coffee Pod Alternatives
    -Kitchen Gadgets Worth Owning
    -Laundry Savings
    -Lessons Learned From Mom And Dad
    Lessons Learned From Mom And Dad
    -Living Within Our Means Is Not Enough
    -Local Produce Bargains
    -Magic Sinks
    -Marketing Traps In Recipes
    -Microwave Hacks That Save Time And Money
    -Mom's Multivitamin
    -Myths That Contribute To Food Waste
    -On Gratitude And Humility
    -Organic Food As A Necessity
    -Parenting And Budgets
    -Pet Money Saving Tip
    -Pets And Your Budget
    -Pressure Cooker Introduction
    -Put Gas Money Back In Your Pocket
    -Romance On A Budget
    -Safe Food Handling
    -Save $668 Painlessly
    -Save On Your Wintertime Heating Bill
    -Saving BIG On Toilet Paper
    -Saving Money Is About Spending Choices
    -Saving Money On Wire Transfers
    -Savings And Opportunity
    -Saving Your Way To Financial Freedom
    -Savvy Grocery Shopping
    -Scams That Cost You Money
    -Snack Savings
    -Soap Savings
    -Starbucks Hacks
    -Successful Strategy For Meeting Personal Goals
    -Sugar In Our Food
    -Take-Out Food Alternative
    -Tax Savings
    -Tax Scams And How To Avoid Them
    -The 50-30-20 Budget Rule
    -The Real Cost Of Take-Out
    -Time To Rethink Those Holiday Traditions?
    -Tips For Sticking To A Holiday Gift Budget
    -Tips To Save On Fruits And Vegetables
    -Valentines' Day On A Budget
    -When We Have Too Much Stuff
    -YouTube Can Improve Your Bottom Line

    RSS Feed


Home

SHOP                              Life/Budget/Household Stuff               

              Food and Meal Blog             About                      

Copyright © Nancy Maje Gillis 2015-2025