Last night I had a (rare) girl's night out with a new friend. And somehow I managed to commit every stupid spending mistake known to woman--except, thank god, I didn't buy any shoes.
First of all, I thought we were both somewhat budget-conscious, so my guard was down. Never let your guard down! I ended up spending $47 on dinner. OK, $52, if you include the $5 I donated to the jazz band. What went wrong? I know the rules for coping with Social Spending Situations.
1) Location, location, location. I picked a pricey restaurant b/c they were having a jazz band, (and another friend was going to be singing). If you're going to pick the pricey place, be prepared to do the apps only strategy! Or (hello) PICK A CHEAPER PLACE.
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2) Set terms. She said, "What do you want to do? Do you want to eat out?" Stupidly, I didn't say, let's just have drinks and apps. I said, "Dmmrruuuh--I dunno! Let's play it by ear."
Dumb-dee-dum-dum. Playing by ear is like playing by Visa. Of course you're going to succumb to the pesto special with garlic shrimp for $24. AGH.
3) Be Your Own Woman. We've all learned not to drive naked and drunk just because our friends are doing it (at least, I hope you've learned that). The grown-up financial equivalent is: Don't order what she's ordering just because you think you have to play along. If she can afford grilled hangar steak, and you can't, then you can't. She doesn't care. Really.
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