Honestly, nothing saves us more money than having equally cheap friends. I also love what it teaches my kids about money. We spend time with people who have similar values and standards. Here are my ABC's of great friends:
At home. Staying with kids would be nearly impossible without the network of other friends who are also trying to stay at home. We can still have the social interactions without having the huge commute.
Borrowing. It would seem silly to buy a tool when I know that a friend has a perfectly good one. This is reasonable, because I know that our friends would also borrow from us.
Competition. Or lack of it. It is so nice to have Friends that are not trying to brag about jobs or buys that you can't compete with. When they ask, it is because they are interested, not just looking for ways to compare.
Deals. You know you have a good friend when they call and tell you about a deal that they just saw on something you want or need. Nothing says I love you more than "I saved this coupon for your favorite chips for you."
Entertaining. We love to play games. And even more, we love to play games with friends. The double bonus is that we can spend time together and it costs nearly nothing.
Food. Why is so much social time spent around food? Luckily having cheap friends means that they don't mind eating at home, cooking together, or pitching in for pizza.
Gifts. The joys of cheap friends means no pressure to buy gifts that you can't afford. Practical is so much more...practical.
Help. My husband and other Dads formed a co op group that would trade work once a month on Sundays. Let me tell you that us wives encouraged it as much as possible. A bunch of guys coming over to work on a honey-do list. Sign me up! I will make breakfast, do laundry, you name it.
Ideas. We have gotten so many money saving ideas from our friends. We ask them about cheap people to do windows, or fun places to go with kids. We take their opinions seriously, because we know they share similar values that we do.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. If you have more ideas, I would be happy to add them to my list.
At home. Staying with kids would be nearly impossible without the network of other friends who are also trying to stay at home. We can still have the social interactions without having the huge commute.
Borrowing. It would seem silly to buy a tool when I know that a friend has a perfectly good one. This is reasonable, because I know that our friends would also borrow from us.
Competition. Or lack of it. It is so nice to have Friends that are not trying to brag about jobs or buys that you can't compete with. When they ask, it is because they are interested, not just looking for ways to compare.
Deals. You know you have a good friend when they call and tell you about a deal that they just saw on something you want or need. Nothing says I love you more than "I saved this coupon for your favorite chips for you."
Entertaining. We love to play games. And even more, we love to play games with friends. The double bonus is that we can spend time together and it costs nearly nothing.
Food. Why is so much social time spent around food? Luckily having cheap friends means that they don't mind eating at home, cooking together, or pitching in for pizza.
Gifts. The joys of cheap friends means no pressure to buy gifts that you can't afford. Practical is so much more...practical.
Help. My husband and other Dads formed a co op group that would trade work once a month on Sundays. Let me tell you that us wives encouraged it as much as possible. A bunch of guys coming over to work on a honey-do list. Sign me up! I will make breakfast, do laundry, you name it.
Ideas. We have gotten so many money saving ideas from our friends. We ask them about cheap people to do windows, or fun places to go with kids. We take their opinions seriously, because we know they share similar values that we do.
Okay, that's all I've got for now. If you have more ideas, I would be happy to add them to my list.
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What a great list! And all of them so true. I don't actually have a lot of SAHM friends so I am very thankful for the idea swaps, encouragement and camaraderie of my e-friends!
ReplyDeleteLove it!! We live debt free and love hanging with our "cheap" friends too!!
ReplyDeletelove the picture AND the blog....all this time I could have been reading up! Proud of you!! And we like our cheap friends too...
ReplyDeleteopps. I'm anonymous! haha
ReplyDelete