support
- mydollarsandsense
- Oct 24, 2016
- 4 min read
seis
support
October 2016
Debt Check – 23%
No matter how intelligent, successful, or independent I *appear* to be, truth is, I wouldn’t be where I am without my support system of family and friends. Rightfully so, I make it a point to spend time with my support system. Spending time with family is fairly easy for me since:
Holidays happen around the same time every year;
Most of my immediate family resides in Maryland; and
Holidays are free and ours revolve around reflection/fellowship.
On the other hand, spending time with each of my best friends throughout the year can be difficult. Especially when (1) you’re on a budget; (2) schedules are often jam-packed; and (3) not all of your best friends reside in the same state as you. For me, maintaining friendships are costly because my idea of a good time = concert/festival hopping, eating out and traveling! I had to find alternatives to spending quality time with my best friends in order to stay on track with paying off my debt. I stumbled across this site when trying to come up with ways to be social without spending a ton of money. It’s super helpful and categorizes activities based on what your preferences may be (family-friendly, history & heritage, outdoor concerts etc.) And I implemented an annual, budget-friendly best friend event (BFE) for each of them.
**I changed their real names to fictional characters that they most closely embody for privacy purposes; they know who they are ;-)**
BFE #1:
Frances "Frankie" Bergstein
Just in case you don’t know who Frances "Frankie" Bergstein is, she’s one of the main characters in Grace and Frankie on Netflix. Grace is very type A whereas Frankie is the more free-spirited “hippie” one. Watch the first episode and you’ll see exactly what I mean. These two characters represent our dynamic perfectly. Now Frankie and I stumbled across the Global Citizen Festival last year when Beyoncé, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, and Ed Sheeran headlined. The Global Citizen Festival is an annual music festival held on the Great Lawn of New York’s Central Park. Since 2012, the festival has combined music and activism to aid areas around the world plagued by extreme poverty.
Tickets are earned; each action you take earns points that can be redeemed for a chance to win tickets. You can choose from a range of actions — sending tweets, signing petitions, sending Facebook messages and so on. Once you earn enough points, you enter the draw for festival tickets. Every two weeks leading up to the event, they announce ticket winners. And the best part of all this…. Earning tickets to the Festival is 100% free. All it requires is a little time and effort on my end! This is extremely significant when the cost to see ONE major artist nowadays is around $150 and UP (**COUGH ** BRUNO MARS… **COUGH ** MGM Grand National Harbor). So each year I’ll do my civic duty as a Global Citizen and earn my tickets.
Other alternatives for saving money on concerts include live streaming the event (e.g. TIDALX1015, iHeart Radio Music Festival), attending a free concert series or festival (e.g. Jazz in the Garden and Sunsets with a Soundtrack) or purchasing the cheap/lawn seats for concerts if you must be in the building (realistically unless you’re in the first 5 or so rows of the venue, you’re going to be looking at a big screen).
BFE #2:
Maxine Shaw, Attorney at Law
Maxine and I met yearsssss ago when we were still in grade school. Now we’re “all grown up” and mothers (I’m a GODmother…had to clarify that point.) Our annual BFE event focuses on fun for the whole family. Last week, we took our kids to Montpelier Farms for some good ol’ fashioned fall fun! Admission is only $12 per person for their annual fall festival and includes a corn maze, hill slides, a hay ride, plus a WHOLE LOT MORE. We even let the kids pick out their own pumpkin! I know this event isn’t *free* but considering the cost and all the fun activities available, this is well worth the “splurge”.
Other alternatives for family friendly events include the National Zoo (free), Smithsonian Museums (free), Various Discounted Options for the Baltimore Aquarium (Dollar Days, Pay What You Want Day etc.) and of course, The Beach!!
BFE #3:
Valerie Felicity Frizzle aka Miss Frizzle
If you didn’t grow up watching the Magic School Bus, I question the quality of your childhood *smirk*. Miss Frizzle was the GOAT and that’s exactly how I feel about my best friend. We’ve known each other our ENTIRE LIVES (since the womb) and she’s been there through EVERYTHING. So naturally, this annual event is a little different (i.e. lavish) from the others. Dîner en Blanc (DEB) is a worldwide event, spanning six continents, in which people flash-gather in a public space and set up a temporary, chic dining area. The principles of the event are simply that guests dress formally in white; and that they enjoy quality food, wine and good company. This event allows us to bring out our inner “bouge” and be super classy for a night. This also doubles as a GREAT date night idea for you and your significant other. Tickets are around $40 a person and are super difficult to get your hands on unless you know someone who is already a DEB member. If you want to go next year, let me know :-). You can also attend the event for free if you are selected as a host/leader!
Other alternatives for a day/night out include hiking at Great Falls ($10 per car), visiting the monuments in DC (free), Paint Night (About $25/person), and my favorite….staying in and putting on a movie with popcorn and theater snacks!
Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to put Beyonce’s “Get Me Bodied” on repeat…. ♫ Mission three! Got my three best friends :-) Like we do it all the time we gonna do it again (hey) ♫
