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Ok….friends…you gotta love em’, right?!
But…when it comes to them wanting that jingle in your pocket…are they friends or foes to your wallet? Why is it that the most casual of acquaintances depend so dearly on your appearance to one of their Tupperware, lingerie party, Mary Kay type events? It starts out with a seemingly sweet invite to their house for a glass of wine and after you accept with gratitude, then….bammmmm….your ‘friend’ informs you that 20 other people will be there and you will have such a fun night viewing skimpy lingerie!
Excuses?!
Uhhhhh….now what do you do? Your head is swirling and your mind is spinning out of control trying to figure out how to get out of it?! You are thinking….but but but…I don’t wear skimpy lingerie! I don’t want skimpy lingerie! I can’t afford lingerie that will end up wadded up in the back of a drawer.
What You Really Want
I want my old worn out sweatshirt and sweatpants. I want to wear that one curler I wear on top of my head….I want my nice thick coat of night cream on my face when I sleep…I’m trying to save every extra penny for the vacation I’ve been dreaming about. How do I get out of this? How does this happen to me time and time again? Why am I always getting tricked into someone’s side hustle? An excuse….I need an excuse….and then…I vow to never get tricked again….Do I have to become a hermit? Can I help my friend out and not spend money? Because…I really don’t have extra disposable cash… Excuses …let me count the ways…
We really want to see our friends succeed but sometimes we can’t afford to part with our hard-earned money. Here are ten good excuses that people will understand. We’ll also look at ten ways that we can help them without spending money. Then finally, how about some good side hustles that will actually benefit our friends. Let’s get going!
EXCUSES… that are truthful and not offensive:
- Honesty. I wish I had some extra cash but I really don’t.
- My New Year’s resolution is to save.
- Every extra dollar I have is going into my ROTH IRA.
- My emergency fund is at zero.
- I am paying down credit cards with every extra dollar I can spare.
- I am saving all that I can to travel back home for a visit this year.
- My husband and I are on a pact to save.
- I’m saving for a new car because mine’s about to die.
- I am saving so that I can try my hand at investing.
- I am minimizing and purging and not bringing anything into my house.
A HELPFUL hand…that doesn’t include spending money:
- Let me help you write the invites.
- Let me contact some people for you.
- Let me help with your party errands.
- Let me come over and help you clean for the party.
- Let me watch your kids during your party.
- Let me come over and help you cook.
- Let me come over after and help you put everything away.
- Let me come over and smooze with your friends and make them feel welcome.
- Let me offer my party dish ware.
- Let me write down the orders and you concentrate on selling
SIDE HUSTLES that pay and BENEFIT your friends:
- Offer your services to drive people to the airport.
- Offer your services to pet sit.
- Offer your services to babysit.
- Offer your service for house cleaning.
- Offer your services to run errands.
- Offer temporary storage if you have the extra room.
- Offer to sell their homemade goods on your etsy store.
- Offer tutoring your expertise such as a language.
- Offer house sitting and garden care.
- Offer to pick up or drop off kids at school.
- Offer to help as a handyman/woman.
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Become more savvy when it comes to your life and finances? You’ll love these!
- 100 Money Saving Ways to Keep that Jingle in Your Pocket
- Be the Keeper of Your Money. Tips for Savings and Retirement
- How to Cut Costs at Restaurants, Tips From a Former Waitress
Save It Don’t Spend It
In life, only count on the money you have personally saved. Every other pot of money is beyond your control and may not be there when you need it. A great way to grow your money is through a Roth IRA. You can learn everything you need to know through the likes of a Brokerage company such as TD Ameritrade. Feel free to read up or speak to a representative….it’s 100% free and they are beyond kind and understanding even if you’re new to the financial world.
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Find a Side Hustle for Yourself
My dedicated side hustle is blogging. Blogging is a fantastic hustle because it permits you to be in control of your destiny. The time and effort you put in will generate great rewards. It’s possible to start a blog and start making money right now.
If you and your friends are looking to save and earn money, you can work at it together! Blogging can be lucrative and if you are driven, it can be a stay at home job. Many sites and blogs have more than one contributor. For instance, food blogs are incredibly lucrative! 5 mama’s cooking, is a lot more recipes than 1! Working together, you can sometimes achieve much more than all by yourself. Blogging options are endless; it can be yours alone or a collective large group can contribute.
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Have you been cornered into a friend’s side hustle recently? Was it the guilt that got you to spend your cash?
I’d love to know what happened! There are endless ways to help our friends get further in their lives without emptying our pockets. When you open your heart instead of your pocketbook, I promise that you will be loved!
If you missed part 1 of my money saving tips get them here 100 Money Saving Ways to Keep that Jingle in Your Pocket. With over 100 new ways to save you’ll get that green feeling in no time!
Find me on Pinterest. I’m an active pinner and share content to help you improve your life and finances. If you’re looking for a free Tailwind Tribe try The Rising Damsel’s brand new one: Promote Your Blog – A Rising Damsel Tribe, share your pins and gain followers.
Subscribe to The Rising Damsel and get a 30 day Happiness Guide, Printables to Skyrocket your Social Media and a budgeting sheet designed to help you save. If you enjoyed this post and think it would benefit your followers please pin, I always try to follow back too. Thanks for reading, till next time I hope you stay motivated to keep that jingle in your pocket!
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Fantastic ideas. I love the section on non monetary ways to help them!
Glad you enjoyed them! I know myself, I always want an excuse and a way to help in order to ease guilt. Thanks for commenting.
I love extra tips on saving money, I also love the idea of giving someone your time. Time is money and the most valuable gift.
I’m glad you enjoyed them. It’s so true. Our time really is our most precious commodity. We need to not take it for granted!! Thanks so much for the comment.
OMG. This is so true! People keep bugging me like “well, you say you don’t have money but you go on trips all the time.” Like YES I go on trips because I savveee my money! Lol.
Oh my goodness right? For whatever reason “my family vacation takes precedence over your lingerie party” doesn’t work. Stay strong, glad you know what’s important already 🙂
Very thoughtful ways for ‘getting out of it’. well done!
Thank you, and thank you for commenting. I’m glad you enjoyed.
Great article!! for once with a focus on not-spending. I will be printing you list! 😊
Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed them. Printing really does keep it at the forefront of your mind. I appreciate you stopping in and commenting 🙂
Great article!
Thank you for stopping in I appreciate it.
I love this! I am a college student, and all of my friends love to go out to clubs and go out to eat all of the time. Half of them work, and half of them don’t. I have worked since I was sixteen, so I value my hard-earned money. This helps me feel a little better about opting out sometimes, and I love what you have presented.
That is so great to hear. I know exactly what you mean. My mom likes to say that if people want to hang out, they can respect you not wanting to spend and go on a walk or to the park. There are a million ways to see and enjoy someone without spending money. Stay strong, you will have healthy spending habits and they’ll be floundering, hard work pays off <3 Thank you for the thoughtful comment.
I was broke for so long, I did almost all of these! Or least offered to. Now I’m at a place where I can open my wallet at least a little bit, but I still believe helping someone from the heart is the most sincere.
That’s great! It’s great to be able to help our friends, it’s just that terrible guilt feeling right? Thanks so much for stopping in and commenting.
Really helpful advice here. Pinned!
So glad that you found it helpful. Thanks for the pin, and for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.