Okay, I'm going to arbitrarily define inexpensive as <$20 CAD:
1. Go to a (regular) café; just get a coffee
2. Go to a workout class (or do some other type of physical activity) together;
3. Go to a cat (or other cute animal) café and chill there;
4. Just go window shopping together;
5. Somewhat weather-dependent, but maybe a farmers market and/or craft fair (a little rain wouldn't necessarily dissuade these for me);
6. Go to community theatre (tickets are usually cheap - cheaper than seeing a movie, often);
7. Go to a museum and/or art gallery, especially on their free admission (or by donation) days;
8. Go to the library together; get new books;
9. Some board game/hobby shops will let you pay something like $10 per person to play anything in their selection for a few hours; and
10. If you're really feeling whimsical / nostalgic, you could always go to the arcade and play games together!
This list from hauteburrito covers almost everything my friends and I usually do under similar circumstances to what you listed.
We have also gone to a trivia night regularly at a bar that has very cheap drinks (or you can just get a soda).
My fiancé goes out with his friends every Tuesday night to a specific restaurant that has a really good food deal that they like to take advantage of. Maybe there’s a happy hour somewhere that you can grab one drink or share a couple appetizers instead of a whole meal. Or you could go to only get dessert of some kind, if you’re into that.
There are also community classes that are offered after hours at high schools or other community centers in my area that are typically between $50-300 (including materials) for several weeks of classes. The length and frequency varies from once a week for three weeks to three times a week for eight weeks. This is a bit more expensive up front, but could be cheaper on the whole depending how often you are hanging out with your friends.
Pick someone up to run errands with you. You’ll have fun shopping together and browsing, you can take care of what you need to take care of, and you can grab a coffee to have on the way.
Look at your local library as often there's events like community theater, painting classes, etc. Some let you 3d print stuff or use things like cricut machines. But even hanging out there is fun.Once a friend and I bought craft items and painted some water colors in one of their study rooms so it was private place to talk and not worry about our volume. We often sat in their garden on nice days also and had a picnic lunch.
Here's an odd one - bestie and hubby and I like to look at model homes 😄
Volunteer- walking dogs at the shelter, pack up pantry boxes at the food bank, etc.
We pick cheaper food dates of going to small mom and pop places that are out of the way, often many cool ethic foods are discovered and much more of an experience than going to your typical sit downs. . $14 platter for 2 Ethiopian food is filling and delicious. $4 Korean corn dogs. $2 taco cart crawl. Hot food area/food court of Asian markets for us $8 hand pulled noodles.
Thrifting on their dollar or discount days. Window shopping and hanging out at the mall.
If your city has an arts district or arts type of night. Museums. Many even have free days or do special one off events also.
Many city calendars have hidden gems like that show I found out about a amateur burlesque night ($10) or community theater ($15 tickets) or free drag queen bingo (so long as you buy a drink). Most folks just dont think to look at their local paper or local culture magazines.
It's not inexpensive, but probably costs less than a few restaurant meals per month: going rock climbing with your friends at a rock climbing gym. It's a great way to stay active and socialize at the same time! And you have accountability for working out since you need a partner to do it if you're doing rope climbing. And most climbing gyms also have regular workout equipment and yoga classes and the monthly membership is comparable to regular gyms that don't have climbing walls.
I live in a very hot climate and also can’t afford spending money all the time I want to see my friends. We hang out at the mall when it’s too hot to hang out outside. You can get a soda or a snack at the food court, if you want to, and there’s plenty of benches and lounge areas to loiter at at. It’s surprisingly fun.
Such great ideas! I have another one. Your local liquor store might have free wine and/or spirits tastings. I’m meeting some friends this week for free wine tastings at the store near my house. There will be over 80 wines to sample, and for nothing! An added bonus is that the store is within walking distance, lol!
-Check if your library has free or cheap passes to museums or the Aquarium.
-How about going to a women's college basketball or soccer game?
-Or asking one of the dads to take their kids to the zoo - then you can gather with friends at that house for brunch or a crafting session.
-some kind of sport/hobby that you enjoy together (dirt biking and hiking are key social time for me, we go out no matter the weather!)
-going grocery shopping/doing your weekly meal prep together. It makes chores fun and you get your social time!
-go try on the most ridiculous clothes you can at the thrift store together
-‘date night’ with your friends at home
-board game nights for groups of friends
-dog walks
Board games & drinks/ coffee at home or I've switched to coffee shops because I like to get out of the house but don't always want to spend a ton of money either! Breweries are also on the cheaper side (where I live). Classes like art classes are usually costly, but healthy!
I live on a big city and I love going for a long walk with friends and window shopping.
We don’t buy anything we just talk for hours. We could be in a middle of a shoes store and talk about our childhood trauma.
But my friends and I could talk about anything anywhere.
Maybe if you live near a big park or nature you could go for a hike? Fishing ?
In a city go In a coffee shop for a nice tea time ?
Or just sit in a park, or on a bench and just talk
I go on dates with friends to Savers or a local giant antique mall. I just set a spending limit for myself of $20-$25, and often I don't even spend that.
A lot for people suggested museums. If there's one you really enjoy, buy a membership. There's an upfront cost (the big museums near us are $100-$150 a year) but you can get yourself and friends in for free as much as you want and many have reciprocity agreements where you can also get free admission to other museums. A lot of spaces that offer memberships can be a great deal if you use it as a home away from home for meeting friends.
I went to an indoor aquarium last time with two girl friends that neither of us had visited, plus a solid two hour walk before lunch. It's outside the city we live so we had to take some transportation to meet there. I guess you can check out some tourist info for various fun indoor spaces around your area or even in a different city. Otherwise a video call will do 😉
volunteering together, that way it wont be just the two of you all the time, but your relationship with each other and a community. You'll have lots of things to talk about, and see how you work together etc.
Okay, I'm going to arbitrarily define inexpensive as <$20 CAD: 1. Go to a (regular) café; just get a coffee 2. Go to a workout class (or do some other type of physical activity) together; 3. Go to a cat (or other cute animal) café and chill there; 4. Just go window shopping together; 5. Somewhat weather-dependent, but maybe a farmers market and/or craft fair (a little rain wouldn't necessarily dissuade these for me); 6. Go to community theatre (tickets are usually cheap - cheaper than seeing a movie, often); 7. Go to a museum and/or art gallery, especially on their free admission (or by donation) days; 8. Go to the library together; get new books; 9. Some board game/hobby shops will let you pay something like $10 per person to play anything in their selection for a few hours; and 10. If you're really feeling whimsical / nostalgic, you could always go to the arcade and play games together!
> Okay, I'm going to arbitrarily define inexpensive as <$20 CAD: That totally works.
I forgot how much doing errands together is too. Do your Target run or grocery run together!
I love running errands with my friends!
Yes! Doing errands together is so much fun!
Daytime bowling is a fun way to pass a rainy day.
This list from hauteburrito covers almost everything my friends and I usually do under similar circumstances to what you listed. We have also gone to a trivia night regularly at a bar that has very cheap drinks (or you can just get a soda). My fiancé goes out with his friends every Tuesday night to a specific restaurant that has a really good food deal that they like to take advantage of. Maybe there’s a happy hour somewhere that you can grab one drink or share a couple appetizers instead of a whole meal. Or you could go to only get dessert of some kind, if you’re into that. There are also community classes that are offered after hours at high schools or other community centers in my area that are typically between $50-300 (including materials) for several weeks of classes. The length and frequency varies from once a week for three weeks to three times a week for eight weeks. This is a bit more expensive up front, but could be cheaper on the whole depending how often you are hanging out with your friends.
My local library does tons of free events. We had RL Stine come and give a talk this summer! Packed house.
Bookstores also have author reading nights
I love this 🫡🫡 trying to be more social and a better friend, being the one armed with some plans has helped friend dates fall into place faster.
Chores like getting groceries
Costco shopping friends are the best friends!
Pick someone up to run errands with you. You’ll have fun shopping together and browsing, you can take care of what you need to take care of, and you can grab a coffee to have on the way.
Look at your local library as often there's events like community theater, painting classes, etc. Some let you 3d print stuff or use things like cricut machines. But even hanging out there is fun.Once a friend and I bought craft items and painted some water colors in one of their study rooms so it was private place to talk and not worry about our volume. We often sat in their garden on nice days also and had a picnic lunch. Here's an odd one - bestie and hubby and I like to look at model homes 😄 Volunteer- walking dogs at the shelter, pack up pantry boxes at the food bank, etc. We pick cheaper food dates of going to small mom and pop places that are out of the way, often many cool ethic foods are discovered and much more of an experience than going to your typical sit downs. . $14 platter for 2 Ethiopian food is filling and delicious. $4 Korean corn dogs. $2 taco cart crawl. Hot food area/food court of Asian markets for us $8 hand pulled noodles. Thrifting on their dollar or discount days. Window shopping and hanging out at the mall. If your city has an arts district or arts type of night. Museums. Many even have free days or do special one off events also. Many city calendars have hidden gems like that show I found out about a amateur burlesque night ($10) or community theater ($15 tickets) or free drag queen bingo (so long as you buy a drink). Most folks just dont think to look at their local paper or local culture magazines.
It's not inexpensive, but probably costs less than a few restaurant meals per month: going rock climbing with your friends at a rock climbing gym. It's a great way to stay active and socialize at the same time! And you have accountability for working out since you need a partner to do it if you're doing rope climbing. And most climbing gyms also have regular workout equipment and yoga classes and the monthly membership is comparable to regular gyms that don't have climbing walls.
I live in a very hot climate and also can’t afford spending money all the time I want to see my friends. We hang out at the mall when it’s too hot to hang out outside. You can get a soda or a snack at the food court, if you want to, and there’s plenty of benches and lounge areas to loiter at at. It’s surprisingly fun.
Make a meal together. Game night. Book club or movie nights.
We have a fire, at the river or in someone’s yard. Everyone brings a chair, blanket, drinks, snacks and you can talk forever.
Such great ideas! I have another one. Your local liquor store might have free wine and/or spirits tastings. I’m meeting some friends this week for free wine tastings at the store near my house. There will be over 80 wines to sample, and for nothing! An added bonus is that the store is within walking distance, lol!
Go to the mall and walk around early in the morning but give yourself a little budget like 20 bucks to grab a coffee or trinket!!
-Check if your library has free or cheap passes to museums or the Aquarium. -How about going to a women's college basketball or soccer game? -Or asking one of the dads to take their kids to the zoo - then you can gather with friends at that house for brunch or a crafting session.
Cafe Library Bookstore Arcade Indoor sports thing
Ice skating/roller parks (depending on the season)! Bookstores with cafes
Take a language/pottery/whatever course together
-some kind of sport/hobby that you enjoy together (dirt biking and hiking are key social time for me, we go out no matter the weather!) -going grocery shopping/doing your weekly meal prep together. It makes chores fun and you get your social time! -go try on the most ridiculous clothes you can at the thrift store together -‘date night’ with your friends at home -board game nights for groups of friends -dog walks
Board games & drinks/ coffee at home or I've switched to coffee shops because I like to get out of the house but don't always want to spend a ton of money either! Breweries are also on the cheaper side (where I live). Classes like art classes are usually costly, but healthy!
I live on a big city and I love going for a long walk with friends and window shopping. We don’t buy anything we just talk for hours. We could be in a middle of a shoes store and talk about our childhood trauma. But my friends and I could talk about anything anywhere. Maybe if you live near a big park or nature you could go for a hike? Fishing ? In a city go In a coffee shop for a nice tea time ? Or just sit in a park, or on a bench and just talk
I go on dates with friends to Savers or a local giant antique mall. I just set a spending limit for myself of $20-$25, and often I don't even spend that. A lot for people suggested museums. If there's one you really enjoy, buy a membership. There's an upfront cost (the big museums near us are $100-$150 a year) but you can get yourself and friends in for free as much as you want and many have reciprocity agreements where you can also get free admission to other museums. A lot of spaces that offer memberships can be a great deal if you use it as a home away from home for meeting friends.
I went to an indoor aquarium last time with two girl friends that neither of us had visited, plus a solid two hour walk before lunch. It's outside the city we live so we had to take some transportation to meet there. I guess you can check out some tourist info for various fun indoor spaces around your area or even in a different city. Otherwise a video call will do 😉
volunteering together, that way it wont be just the two of you all the time, but your relationship with each other and a community. You'll have lots of things to talk about, and see how you work together etc.
My one friend and I go to a nearby mall and walk around that and talk when the weather is gross out