Popular people find themselves invited to a number of their friend’s events, such as weddings, anniversaries, bridal showers, baby showers, bachelor parties, bachelorette parties, etc. These are the typical events that generally take place between getting out of college and middle ages. How can a popular person afford to attend all these social events?
Jeanne Sahadi from CNN Money has a couple of suggestions, simply: learn to say no selectively and get creative with gifts.
* Don’t feel obligated to attend every wedding you’re invited to.
* Skip the bridal shower and go to the wedding.
* Turn the wedding into a vacation, killing two birds with one stone, so to speak.
* Try a gift card instead of an item off the registry.
* Contribute towards a larger group gift.
* A lasting memory may be more appreciated than a product of some sort.
Having good friends can be pretty expensive in general, not only surrounding weddings. For instance, if you have a sizable group of friends, you could consider a “Secret Santa” gift exchange rather than planning for everyone to buy everyone else a gift.
A Secret Santa gift exchange involves a process where each participant writes his or her name (and possibly a hint towards or a category of some item they might like, or a pointer to their Amazon.com wish list) on a slip of paper. The paper is dropped into a hat and everyone chooses a slip blindly. A maximum price or a range is agreed upon, and each person shops for a gift for the person whose name was pulled. The secret identity is revealed only when the presents are exchanged.
This method is just as fun as a normal gift exchange, but it ends up costing less for everyone.
Published or updated May 23, 2005. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.
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Luke Landes founded Consumerism Commentary in 2003 and has been building online communities since 1990. Luke, also known as Flexo, has contributed to PC World Magazine, US News, Forbes, and other publications. 
