What are the chances of being able to be social when you are poor?... maybe better than you think.

So I have spent the last six months being a tad on the anti-social side. This means that instead of hanging out with friends I have been spending pretty much all of my time in my room or with my AMAZING nephews. Now I realise that may sound slightly pathetic to an outsider and maybe it is, but the invitations to go out just seemed to be a huge waste of time. Not that I accomplished anything by sitting by myself at home but in my head, it was some much needed down time. So I have recently decided to semi-reenter the social seen. I'm not sure why it all the sudden appealed to me (okay maybe I am) but now I am faced with a rather significant dilemma and that would be my lack of funds. While my friends enjoy some rather random inexpensive activities there always seems to be a common theme, food. Whether it be grabbing some food on the way to watch a totally random 80's flick, or grabbing some ice cream after a totally random 80's flick there is always some spending involved. While that may seem like no big deal to most okay all of my friends, the constant "nights out" are whittling away at my already low bank account. I have a few rather amazing friends who are willing to pay for me but that doesn't do well for me in the self-respect aspect of life and pretty much always creates moments of awkwardness so rather than spend many more nights trying to scrape together change for a side salad I have compiled a list of amazing, free/cheap, food free, and most of all random activities that are sure to make any night with friends a little more exciting and a little more affordable.


Random Crap #2


1) Go for a walk.
-Our 8 o'clock walks were some of the best times of my life.
2) Pick a TV show you all like and watch it together.
-Maybe a little harder with mixed company but there is always some random rerun on
that anyone can appreciate.
3) Hang out at the book store.
-I had never really though about this before but a few weeks ago we spent several hours
at Barnes and Noble. One word... AMAZING!
4) Visit a free museum.
-So St. George isn't the best place for museums but on occasion the college with have an
amazing art show and there is always one night free.
5) Go for a hike.
-There are some amazing hiking trails in the St. George area and pretty much all of them
are free. Why don't we take advantage of these?
6) Pick a hobby you all like and do it together.
-Maybe back in the day my friends and I taught our guy friends how to crochet and we
would all spend hours together making amazing things for each other.
7) Go fly paper airplanes.
-Way more fun if you have a homeless man to run to the bottom of the steps and collect
the airplanes after you throw them and if you're lucky, he will bring you an apple.
8) Boardgames.
-Kind of lame but there are some pretty amazing board games out there.
9) Tour houses.
-Pick some amazing houses that are for sale and set up a tour. You may have a few angry
real estate agents on your hands but at least it's free.
10) Have a bonfire.
-Always an amazing time (unless everyone else there is married). Take advantage of
bonfire season while you still can. Having a friend with about a million pallets in their
backyard is a big help.
11) Create your own scavenger hunt.
-So random but make a list of the most ridiculous things and make a rule that you can't
get out of your car, it is truly amazing. Maybe one of the things on our list was a five
dollar bill so when we were done we treated ourselves to an ice cream cone.
12) Head out to the D.I.
-A regular activity in my circle of friends, it never fails in it's amazingness.
13) Carve something.
-You may need to but a watermelon or a pumpkin for this one, or you could go find some
amazing walking sticks in the woods and whittle them into something amazing.
14) Watch a movie.
-Super simple but amazing none the less. Just make sure that people are aware that by
"watch a movie" you mean "talk while a movie plays in the background". But maybe
that is just me.
15) Bust out toys from the good ol' days.
-Why not pull out your old Nintendo, Lego's, Pogs, or any other amazing toy from your
childhood. It may seem lame but a little nostalgia can do wonders for the soul.
16) Fly a kite.
-Windy days may be limited but take advantage of them when they arrive.
17) Go on a picnic.
-Invade your parents kitchen and make some picnic food. Then find an amazing park or
other shady area and have a picnic.


I have done at least of of the activities listed above and have thought about doing all of them. I'm sure there are a million more things to do but it is 1:30am and I still have to do my homework. What did we learn today? That even though you are poor you can still be social. You just need to take charge of your social circle and convert your friends to new ways of socializing.


Random Gal