Sure, having a good time and going out is fun and all, but sometimes I enjoy staying in and saving the money that much more. Plus, even if I do go out, I always find a way to limit my spending (i.e. sharing food with a friend, only getting a appetizer, drinking only water, etc.) You can always find a way to be thrifty.

Agreed! Sometimes it can be more freeing to hang with your friends on the couch watching movies and snacking than any fancy dinner-n-drinks night. If you save those nights out, they become more special anyway.

never something i wanted to do
sometimes if i don't want to do it anyway and it will end up costing me a lot i turn it down because i'd rather my money go to something i'll enjoy
but i would never not hang out and do something i was eager for because of money (except maybe a trip, cuz my friends tend to go south a lot and i can't always take time off and afford that...but i guess, again, it's not that i can't afford it but would rather spend 1000$ another way)

Sometimes I do decline invitations because I know it would get to pricey. I enjoy cooking at home with wine, food and dessert. At times ordering something moderately priced on the menu doesn't compute when all the folks dining want to split the bill evenly and I don't want to look like a cheap ass so I just decline.

I was invited to the melting pot on Friday night and I may go because I have never been but I try to limit nights out because with my friends it gets pricey.

Absolutely. I am always the one suggesting we eat a meal at home or just play games or watch movies instead of going out to a bar. None of us are looking to meet new people so what's the point of going to a bar and paying over priced beer and not being able to hear people talk.

I need to be careful about what I spend so I can't accept every invitation I get. Once though, my best friend's boyfriend invited me and my husband to a surprise outing for my BFF's birthday and only at the last minute did he tell us where we were going and how much we were expected to chip in. We spent $300 and I was furious. If you know an event is going to get pricey, you really need to tell the attendees!

I just weigh the cost versus how much I want to do something. I will spend on something for someone close to me, or a trip I really want to take - but I won't go out some nights for an event I don't really care about or if I don't think the fun to cost ratio is worth it.

I live about an hour from my best friend and she constantly guilts me about not visiting her more. She doesn't like to cook so a visit often involves dinner out in addition to the gas money to get there. I do still visit her, but not every weekend as she would like. She changes the subject when I invite her to visit or to meet half way.

Yeah, of course. Going out to dinner or drinks all the time isn't an option when money's tight. Not that I haven't blown all my money on booze before, but I try to learn from my mistakes

Definitely, especially if it is an event I really don't want to go to the money helps tip the scale toward a no.

Yes.

I really like being around good people. But when the drinks start flowing, people buying people drinks, it can get expensive fast.

Most definitely especially with certain friends. These particular friends have a nasty habit of inviting people out to dinner at some place swank then not having enough money to pay for dinner for everyone or even pay for their own dinner and cocktails. Our rule amongst our group of friend is the person who invites treats. So unless its a mutual decision by all to go to dinner and agreed upon before hand, the person who does the inviting does all of the paying including tips.

When those invites come from certain friends I turn them down flat.

Yes, but more often than not we turn it down as my best friends bloke is a douche, and my beau cant stand to be around him. Which is really hard

yes - i've turned down going out with friends because i couldn't afford to go out or i couldn't afford to go where they were going and it's hard. i've found that sometimes friends don't realize how others live - and i have friends that had more stability than i did at some times because they lived at home. i would always come up with excuses though for why i couldn't go because no one wants to say that they can't afford to go out.

I've had to in the past... not so much recently... now that I'm more settled... and less frivolously spendy

I live in Las Vegas, where a drink can cost around $15, so a lot of times I have to think long and hard about it. Also, you factor in parking (valet or otherwise), and you're looking at $60 for dinner and drinks.

My friends and I usually stay in - we're doing margarita night this weekend since it's cheap and we can all drink and not have to worry about a designated driver, or Strip traffic, or finding the car. Plus, when we do go to the Strip, everyone usually wants to go to multiple casinos, and let me tell you they are way further apart than you think!

absolutely.

A cousin of mine was having a birthday celebration for a non-milestone birthday that cost $30-something per person, so at first I RSVP'd no for me and my husband since I was gonna be unemployed soon. But then my mom was so sweet and offered to pay for me and my husband. So of course my husband and I went, and it turned out to save us even more money since it was at a music venue, and we bought tickets for a concert at the box office thus saving all the Ticketbastard extra charges.

DarlingDA--I like the socialize at home idea! It can be cheaper, depending on what you do. I have a group of cousins who like to get together and eat at some restaurant or go to the movies every week and I have to turn them down a lot. My pride won't let me tell them it's money though, so I just tell them I'm busy.

When I am totally broke and a friend invites me out for something that costs money I tell them straight forward "I can't, I'm broke" as horrible as it is half the time they say they will cover me. With good friends this becomes a circle and we always have someone to hang out with, despite our money problems.

No, I haven't had to turn down any social invitations because of money issues. I am lucky enough to have friends who are in the same boat as I am...we are college students on a budget so when we go out we make sure to go someplace where we don't have to spend a lot of money to have fun. One of the best nights we have is our bi-weekly coffee night. We each spend $2-5 on our coffee and then we spend a couple of hours talking outside of the coffee house.