These days it’s easier Keeping Up With The Kardashians than keeping up with our social lives in this cost of living crisis.

How often have you found yourself groaning to yourself when your friends say things like,

“Harry’s birthday party is tomorrow. We’re going to his favourite restaurant in the city” - $55

“I got us tickets to see that new band…we have to go!” - $250

“Let’s head down the coast next weekend, I’ll start looking at Airbnb’s.” - $150 (and that’s excluding food, drinks, petrol!)

You want to go, but you also don’t want to be spending so much just to hang with your friends.

And you might be asking yourself, ‘can I even have nights out, or have hobbies if I’m trying to save properly?’

Um Yesss! 

At the end of the day, spending time with friends and loved ones, and doing the activities that you love is important for your wellbeing.

But it can feel like your money goals and your social life constantly move in opposite directions, like Buzz and Woody when they first meet.

But Flux Fam, we can change that.

Start by talking to your friends…honestly

Tell your friends why it’s important for you to cut back on spending. It may feel like a tough conversation at first, but good friends will understand and support you.

Reassure them that you still want to spend time together, and suggest less expensive activities.

And there’s always a good chance that someone in your friendship group is feeling the exact same way about money too.

You could even take things up a notch and find an accountability buddy. 

Let each other know what money goals you’re working towards, and check in frequently to keep each other accountable.

Set yourself a social budget:

Social life hack 101: Can’t feel bad about overspending when you’ve got a budget.

Look at your total income and expenses, and how much money you can allocate to your social life without compromising on your money goals.

It might even help to open a separate transaction account that’s purely for fun spending, and deposit a portion of money into it each time you get paid.

That way you can spend whatever is in that account guilt free, without having to do any mental maths to work out how much you’ve spent.

From there, it’s about getting creative with how you can stick to that budget. 

With going out, think: happy hours, using deals on bars and restaurants, finding discounts through coupons.

There are apps that can help like Groupon, EatClub, Cash Rewards and more.

And if you want to get into the nitty gritty about how to budget your "fun spending" check out our Budgeting Academy here.

Find the frugal ways to have fun

Have you ever gone out for an expensive, but not-so-great dinner, for a friend you’re not even that close with?

And so you come home kind of regretting the whole night.

Want to socialise with your friends? Have a potluck dinner or a cooking night with your friends at home.

It’s sunny this weekend? Organise a picnic.

Grab a coffee and go for a long walk in a new neighbourhood. And if you’ve got kids or a pet, take them too.

There are plenty of ways you can have an awesome time on a budget. 

And when you know what you’re working towards with your money, you can set yourself up to have fun while progressing towards your financial goals. Win win.