Frugal living, contrary to popular belief, can be a ton of fun, if you know how to make the most of a stretched dollar without the need to heat up last week’s soup time & time again. If your current idea of Friday night fun is to burn your whole paycheck in the first hour, buying drink rounds for all of your mates, you need to get a life.
Relating being drunk to having fun is not only kidding yourself but also a very expensive habit, that can quickly turn into a serious debt problem.
Frugal is the new kind of fun
While you got smashed at the bar ogling chicks with long legs, others got their act together with frugal themed Friday nights. The best part of their transition is the fact that these guys love the new way of spending a weekend evening with good mates while saving money for a better lifestyle.
If you think about it, there are a lot of ways one can spend a night out (any night as a matter of fact) without needing to spend any money (or very little indeed). Somehow we have lost the meaning of being social. Instead of engaging into meaningful conversations, we end up plastered, and scream obscenities at passersby when we finally manage to let go of the bar counter.
Host a game night
No, not a drinking game. I’m talking about old-fashioned board games. Games such as Scrabble and Monopoly. Games nights are fun, cheap and emotionally satisfying.
As long as you provide some nibbles and drinks (or even better, get your friends to bring their own), you should be well armed to have a great night with heaps of entertainment.
Attend a local live music gig
Many local restaurants, coffee shops and bars feature live music gigs from artists who live or grew up in your neighborhood. Attending such an event is usually quite cheap because you can basically suckle the one drink all night while jamming to the beats.
If you feel frisky, you can even hit the dance floor and get a beneficial workout at the same time.
Showcase an alternative movie
If you are sick of watching the same old superficial movies, why not rent an alternative movie from your local movie store? French, Italian, Russian and German movies with subtitles are usually of very high quality, and they will make you think rather than put you asleep.
Invite a bunch of friends and spend the evening watching & discussing the various aspects of the movie.
Head to the park or beach for a yummy moonlight picnic
Who said you had to go for a picnic in the daytime? If you get together with some great friends you can enjoy a night out under the stars (weather permitting of course), while munching your way through the various assorted goodies on offer.
If every person brings something home-made you can end up with a sumptuous selection of food that will feed you all night long. Bring a Frisbee or ball and let loose.
With a bit of imagination a frugal night out is very much possible
As you can see from the above examples, there are many ways to be frugal on a Friday night. You will be surprised at how much fun can be had when looking for better ways to spend a night with friends. Many of these activities will keep you entertained for hours. Frugality is something that should make you proud, not embarrassed.
This article was written by Timothy Ng who is a regular writer and part of the team at Credit Card Finder, a 100% free Australian credit card comparison and application service. Visit the Credit Card Finder website for more information on saving money, or subscribe to their RSS feed for more practical articles.
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These are great ideas! I just got back from vacation with my family, where ideas like this were our sole entertainment. We picnicked on the beach together – and spent next to nothing!