A guide to being social while saving money

We’ve all been there: the group chat’s going off, you’re overdue for a catch up with mates and everyone’s making plans that are… A little on the spenny side.

Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to have fun with your friends! Save the restaurant rezzie for a special occasion and hit up one of these wallet-friendly activities instead:

Head Out On A Nice Summer Picnic

When it comes to our beautiful public parks and beaches, we could wax lyrical for hours – there are just so many stunning spots and so little time! Next time you’re catching up with mates, skip the trendy bar and $14 glass of natty and pack a picnic instead. Get everyone to bring a snack or two, and head to one of our favourite parks – you can see a full list over HERE.

Cold Nips

There are plenty of articles about why having an icy cold dip in the morning is great for your health (just ask Wim Hof), but why not make a few friends along the way? Cold Nips are a band of ocean-loving maniacs with the mantra meet, splash, vibe – which you can do every Wednesday (or Wednipsday) at one of their huge morning swim sessions. There’s no better way to start off hump day!

Catch A Movie

We’re lucky to have some pretty gorg weather here in Perth, and why not take advantage of it with some movies under the stars? Rooftop Movies is already a pretty speccy spot to take in the Perth skyline, but they’ve also got a $15 Cheap Tuesday deal that’ll tempt anyone out of the house on a school night. If you want to take things old school, cruise on up to Galaxy Drive In, which will only set you back $22 per car on Tuesday nights. Vroom vroom!

Bowls Clubs

The pillar of any great neighbourhood, a good local bowlo is worth its weight in lawn bowls. As well as a great opportunity to connect with your community (read: have a yarn with some of the old fellas at the bar), and test your hand-eye coordination on the green – it’s also where you’ll find some of the most astonishingly cheap pints around town. You can see some of our favourite spots HERE.

Group Trail Walking

We’ve already mentioned how glorious our weather is – so grab a few mates and get the heart rate up while enjoying the great outdoors! Perth and its surrounds are packed with picturesque hiking trails for every ability: from the convenient and coastal Bold Park, to WA’s oldest national park, John Forrest, or some spectacular waterfalls to bookmark for the wetter months. There are so many to explore that are right on our doorstep – check out our list HERE.

Volunteering

Sure, you can spring for a fancy meal or expensive activity, but the feeling you get knowing you did something to help others? Well, that’s priceless. Head to Volunteering WA or Seek Volunteer to find a role that suits you – it could be a one-off session whenever you have a free afternoon, or something you can do regularly and build some friendships along the way. Maybe you even have a professional skill that a not-for-profit could benefit from?

Start a book club

Every January, we find ourselves resolving that this year, really, actually, is going to be the year we read a few more books. Make that dream a reality by getting a few friends on board and forming your very own book club. There’s nothing that’ll get you reading like some good old fashioned peer pressure! Hit up one of the many amazing second hand bookstores in Perth (you can check out our favourites over HERE), or head to your local library – having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card! And hey, even if you don’t read all that much: it’s still a great excuse to catch up with friends for a good old chinwag.