I'm at the age where a lot of my friends enjoy going out every weekend to relieve their stress after their long work weeks in their high-paying careers. Unfortunately, I'm not in the same situation, as I didn't really build a career after high school ended and don't make much income.

Long story short, every week for me is just earning income to pay off my bills on the weekend. I used to be able to go out every weekend, or at least frequent enough to continue maintaining our friendships. However, inflation has really taken a turn for the worse in a post-COVID world in Toronto and everything is just so expensive now. Even basic activities such as eating a decent meal or having a few drinks.

I don't want to lose my friends by drifting apart, as I personally think that human connection is important in life. My friends are nice enough to offer paying for me from time to time, but I don't want to take advantage of them and their hard work. I could make new friends but there's just so much history between my friends and I.

How would you deal with this situation? Would you cut back from the activities, suggest cheaper activities, actually take your friends up on their offer more frequently, try investing but using your return on investments as your leisure funds, or something else altogether? Feel free to let me know if you have any unique ideas that I haven't considered.