A friend invited me to a happy hour Friday and I instantly said yes. Having a drink with friends is one of life’s great pleasures. Then I remembered my spending moratorium. Ug.
I could bail, but this presents exactly the type of situation that makes the moratorium a worthy experiment. The point is not to sit at home for an entire month holding my breath until August when I can spend. The point is to live my life as normally as possible while not making an discretionary purchases. That means socializing with friends.
So far I have found plenty of free activities to do with my friends, including a game of pick-up Ultimate Frisbee, a picnic on the beach, and yoga (I buy classes in bulk to get the best price so it’s already paid for).
But going to a bar is going to directly confront my non-spending initiative. Luckily, I have a plan.
1. Eat before I go so I can honestly say I’m not hungry.
2. Leave my wallet home, except for my ID. No cash = no temptation.
3. Be very engaging so nobody notices I’m sipping water.
Apparently many folks are joining me on my spending moratorium. This morning news outlets reported retail sales are worse than the dismal expectations. GAP is down 10%, JC Penney is down 8%, Target is down 6%.
A reader named Emily, who joined me on the spending moratorium, wrote in with this update:
One purchase that I did make an exception for myself is a used copy of the South Beach Diet cookbook for use at home as I am redoing phase two at present and my father, who is a diabetic, should be eating fewer carbs anyway. As I considered it a health investment, I figured the $2.00 the store was asking for made it a worthy purchase. I’m glad to see your moratorium is still happening, albeit slightly challenging.
Who else is observing the moratorium this month? Email me an update, please.
July 9th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
The thing that I pride myself on is being able to locate local happy hour specials–some even include free food! My favorite special is the free drinks from 8pm to 10pm at my local bbq chain and .25 wings. While you are trying to spend zero dollars, if you can eat and drink for $5 that’s a steal!
July 9th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Don’t forget that many bars offer deals (free) for sober drivers. It never hurts to ask! I don’t drink, so I always ask and find many times I can get free soda and sometimes free snacks as well.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
I’ve never heard of freebies for sober/designated drivers! I may just have to carpool so I can try this. Thanks Concetta!
July 9th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
I’d like to see you follow up someday on the happy hour listings– who has what, when, how much? It could be fun for you, eating free chicken wings and getting looped every afternoon.
July 9th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Ah but you needn’t give up the booze either. This place is right around the corner from me and it’s wonderful. From the LA Times:
The Foundry on Melrose has introduced a new summer happy hour featuring free themed cocktail flights from 6 to 9 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays (one per patron). The Foundry on Melrose, 7465 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles. (323) 651-0915
July 9th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Wow! Lysa, I hope you’ll share this deal on BargainBabeLA.com!!! EVERYONE can share and find a deal on my new site. It’s not a blog but a way to find deals using Google maps. Check it out if you haven’t already!
July 9th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Great suggestion, Ron. This sounds like an assignment for BargainBabeLA.com. Maybe you could start us off by adding your favorite a happy hour special?
July 9th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I think that is terrible of you. Do you think bars are in business so you can sit there and visit? At least purchase an ice tea, sometime. That table is costing them money and the poor waitress tips. You are not the only one who has it hard but don’t make it harder on others.
If you must, invite your friends over to your house, do not take up a chair because you are on a Moratorium.
And how darn you even consider saying “I’ve never heard of freebies for sober/designated drivers! I may just have to carpool so I can try this.” to get free drinks or snacks. There is a reason for this program and it is not for FREELOADERS!
July 9th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
If there are other people in the party, no one is going to care whether BB is drinking water or a $3 soda. If she was sitting there by herself taking a table drinking water, it would be a different story. If you take the table for a long time, you should tip extra to the server since there was no turn over.
July 9th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
Go for a beer, it’s cheap and it’s part of living, a necessary part too. Enjoy
July 10th, 2009 at 10:15 am
This post is so perfect for me. We have been cutting our expenses for awhile now and we truly do not have the funds to go out to dinner with friends, etc. I love that you continued to socialize without spending any money. Kudos!
July 10th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
I can’t believe how indignant Terry’s comments sound. I agree that if EVERYONE in the party is trying to get free soda claiming to be a DD, there is a problem, but one person choosing to have a free soda, or a water is NOT going to hurt the restaurant bottom line. yes, the server *may* miss out on some tips, but maybe others will tip more if they are there for an extended period of time. I think that bars, like coffee shops realize that sometimes people are going to show up and spend lots of money, and other times they are going to sit and visit. It’s all part of doing buisness.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:32 am
[...] was getting ready for happy hour Friday and telling her about my no-spend plan for the bar: eat before I go, order water, hope no one [...]
July 14th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Thinks it’s great that you were creative in finding a
way to socialize w/o spending. These days a bunch
of us have to do that. Friends who are actually real
friends would have no problem with you doing
this if they knew. What if this situation was actually
real. Say you are on disability and cannot afford
eating with friends but want to socialize with them.
This is actually me. Yes this type of situation is very
frequent with me. I have wonderful friends. And some
of them have ponied up to pay my way. I have often
eaten at home to not be hungry. At a club or a bar
I do the same. Hey some people don;t drink.
Drinking free water is fine. The restaurant or bar
has no problem with that as long as there are others
with you that are indeed spending money at their
establishment. Wow maybe you always have
money to spend, but sometimes I only have
$3 to my name at the end of the month. So I’m supposed to buy a Shirley Temple (which by the
way, any drink at a bar or club is pretty much going
to be More than $3) and have $0 at the end of my
month?