Study Shows How Expensive Having Friends Can Be
Everything in life has a price. Groceries, clothes, and travel all cost money, but there’s something that many may not consider an expense, and that’s the cost of friendship.
If you think about it there are so many expenses associated with having friends. Anytime you hang out with a friend you’re spending money. Grabbing a bite and beer, going to a football or baseball game, or attending their birthday party.
A very costly expense of friendship is being asked and accepting to be in a friend’s wedding. It seems ridiculous, and it is, but a lot of money could be saved if we didn’t have friends. It’s similar to having kids, it costs money, but we feel that it’s totally worth it.
How Much Do Friends Actually Cost
There’s a new report from BadCredit.org that analyzes just how much it costs to be a good friend in 2024. The report found the average annual cost of maintaining friendships in the United States is $5,184.
The study also found that more than half (52%) of Americans say friendship as an adult is quite expensive.
More than a third (37%) of participants say the cost of living has forced them to neglect friendships. We’ve all done it at one time or another, declined an invitation just because we didn’t have or didn’t want to spend the money.
It was also discovered that nearly two-thirds (65%) have reduced their social activities to focus on saving money for major life expenses.
Many people are keeping track not only of what they spend on their friends, but what their friends spend on them. Over one-fifth (21%) say it’s not equal, and claim that they spend more on their friends than that friend spends on them. Because of this, one out of every ten people has ended a friendship, it was just too expensive. Those surveyed spend an average of $393 on drinks, dinners, and other activities with their friends.
A person’s income also plays a role, many can’t keep up with a friend who makes significantly more money than they do.
Even though it’s costly, nearly half (47%) say they would like to have more friends, and more than three-quarters (76%) of those surveyed say they’d like to spend more time with friends. One-fifth (21%) plan on spending even more on their friends.
Americans are lonely: 47% wish they had more friends and a huge 76% wish they saw their friends more often. In fact, only 1 in 5 (20%) only see their friends once per month.
Honestly, until I read this study, I’d never thought about “the cost of having friends” with one exception, weddings!
I was in a few weddings when I was younger, but I was talking with a friend’s daughter and she told me she was asked to be in five weddings this year. With everything from the Bachelorette party to the dress, she said it was costing her nearly $13,000 overall.
Sometimes the cost is not money, but the friendship ends when people part ways because invitations are declined.
Check out the full study here.
