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I agree. People pay for experiences all the time (travel, restaurants, movies - going at all, amusement parks, football games, etc). But some people prefer to spend money on tangible things (house/home, clothing, food, children, hobby items, etc). While others are savers. It really isn't a bad thing where you fall as long as you are a decent human being.
As long as you have an idea what it is you are saving for.
Sometimes I think people don't really think of how what they spend/save is going to impact their life in the long run.
I'll be honest. If I went out and lost $60,000 gambling in Las Vegas tomorrow, I'm not really sure how that would impact my life between now and my death.
If I were going to a baseball game with friends, I would want to sit with them. I would consider that "spending time together." But how does it benefit a nonromantic friendship just to sit near someone and watch the same screen at the same time?
You and gf could see the movie in the seats you prefer, then meet the others afterward to do something together. Or just skip the movie and join your friends when they do something else.
I have two friends, who are a couple that invite me out the movies and I go with them. A lot of times they want to see the VIP showing of a movie, instead of the regular showing. With the VIP showing you get a more comfortable seat and you can drink alcohol.
But it's 14 dollars more than the regular ticket price, and I think that really is a rip off, just so you can by alcoholic drinks on top of that. Even if the seats are more comfortable, the ones they have in the regular theater are fine for me for a two hour length average movie.
Plus the one time I tried the VIP, the seats vibrated with the movie at certain times, when exciting things happened, but I didn't like that and found it distracting. Not sure if all the seats are like that though, but I assume they are.
So I just find it to be a rip off, and will talk my friends out of it, asking if it's okay I just pay regular price, especially since I'm only working part time at the moment. But do you think my friends think I am cheap perhaps though, when they aske me out to the movies? I asked my gf cause she is invited with me but she says she doesn't want to pay an extra 14 either. Or she doesn't want me to pay an extra 14 for her, since I pay for her sometimes. What do you think?
Yeah, you're cheap. AKA frugal, because you are poor. That is what you are. Your friends know that is what you are. It's not like it's a secret.
If they are really your friends, they will agree to the cheaper option, because of your circumstances.
....... Local Purchasing Power in United States is 11.61% higher than in Canada
That higher purchasing power in America makes all the difference, and don't forget that your numbeo thing is not taking into account that not all nations' dollars are equal - a Canadian dollar is the equivalent of only 75 cents or less on the American dollar. It's also not taking taxes into account, nor which parts of each country are under consideration, it's a generalization of each nation as a whole. If you're going to get all picky about differences in cost of living between the two countries I suggest you ask the OP what city and province he lives in - i.e. is it a wealthy city in a wealthy province, or is it one of the poorer cities in one of the poorer provinces that he lives in. Then find yourself a more reliable COL comparison website than numbeo's and compare the OP's exact location with an economically comparable American location. You'll find the results won't be the same as the generalized ones that you came up with on numbeo.
Why do you think so many Canadians who live near the border go down to the states to do so much of their shopping for groceries and clothing and other sundry things like appliances and cars and whatnot? It's because it's so much less expensive to buy everything in USA.
Which is all besides the point. The point was there is no shame in telling other people that one cannot afford something. If other people think it is a shameful thing for the OP to need to admit to, then the real shame is on the shoulders of those other people for thinking that way and being small minded and condescending.
You know where your friends like to sit. I think it is rude to suggest other seats. I would just tell them I have other plans.
If I go to a baseball or basketball game I am getting club seats. I am not going to sit in the bleachers because someone else doesn't want to spend the money.
I have two friends, who are a couple that invite me out the movies and I go with them. A lot of times they want to see the VIP showing of a movie, instead of the regular showing. With the VIP showing you get a more comfortable seat and you can drink alcohol.
But it's 14 dollars more than the regular ticket price, and I think that really is a rip off, just so you can by alcoholic drinks on top of that. Even if the seats are more comfortable, the ones they have in the regular theater are fine for me for a two hour length average movie.
Plus the one time I tried the VIP, the seats vibrated with the movie at certain times, when exciting things happened, but I didn't like that and found it distracting. Not sure if all the seats are like that though, but I assume they are.
So I just find it to be a rip off, and will talk my friends out of it, asking if it's okay I just pay regular price, especially since I'm only working part time at the moment. But do you think my friends think I am cheap perhaps though, when they aske me out to the movies? I asked my gf cause she is invited with me but she says she doesn't want to pay an extra 14 either. Or she doesn't want me to pay an extra 14 for her, since I pay for her sometimes. What do you think?
I'm a frugal person. Most people will think you're cheap or too frugal, if you don't go for the same things they do. If you spend your life worrying what others think, you'll end up broke, and they'll end up in a fancy retirement house with $1 Million in the bank. Their circumstances or goals are different.
Either ask up front, then budget for that one splurge, or don't go. It's that simple. But of course don't buy alcohol there. That is expensive and a total waste of money.
There are times you can make a joke of it, if someone teases you. Say yeah, well...you'll be so jealous when you're broke when you're old and I have all this money that I invested that grew over the years! You're just jealous! (that only works if it's really a joke & you don't mean it.)
Imagine that $14 going into your retirement account and growing. $14/month makes a difference. Visualize that bit of money being added to over the years, in a mutual fund, and making 8% a year on average...for years. Or add it up for a few years to apply toward a down payment for your next car.
You have to decide for yourself what your priorities are. Different people have different finances, different financial goals. I've had no problem doing that, as far as finances. But I did budget enough to go out to a nice lunch or move & dinner w/friends. But I would NEVER have paid $14 to sit in the comfy seat to drink booze. Because I wouldn't enjoy that. And I don't know hardly anyone who would. I'm a movie buff, and friends like movies. We really go to see the movie. (I also rarely spend $ on the concession stand, altho on occasion I do. But rarely. Neither do my friends. It's outrageously expensive.)
If you can't afford it and/or don't want to spend the money, then just say no, thanks. Don't put your friends in the awkward position of having to change the plans that they've made in order to accommodate you. Next time, you can be the one to make the plans and invite them, and you can choose a non-VIP movie or any other activity that you want, and they get to choose whether or not they want to come along.
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