RRD: Are We Overspending to Maintain Friendships

Repost, Report, or Delete (RRD) is where we take a viral moment—or a viral tweet—and you share your opinion by agreeing, disagreeing or offering a different perspective by simply choosing to Repost, Report or Delete.

A new study shows 3 out of 5 Gen Z and Millennials are overspending to maintain friendships.

According to the study, most young adults are not budgeting effectively for social outings. Only 18% of young adults reported having a strict budget for activities with friends.

In my opinion, I don’t think this is truly a Millennial dilemma. Most of us lived the same childhood: gone all day with no way to keep track of time, only able to contact our guardians by calling collect on a pay phone or using a friend’s landline. With little to no money in our pockets, we made do with things like four bags of chips for a dollar. As long as we made it home before the streetlights came on, there was never an issue.

Despite not having much, we created some of the best memories—outside with our friends every day, spending almost nothing. That type of foundation shaped us for adulthood. Millennials know how to have a great time with just tapas and a glass of ice water with lemon.

So, it’s obvious I disagree, which means I’m Reporting. To me, the bigger question is: Who are the friends you’re hanging out with? Are they your real friends—or people you’re trying to impress? Overspending isn’t about maintaining friendships; it’s often about trying to build or establish rapport with potential ones.

There’s nothing wrong with cutting back on social outings if it’s not financially feasible at the moment. But here’s a rule of thumb for Gen Z: if you’re trying to establish friendships, take a note from Millennials and hold off on scheduling costly outings until payday.

I’d love to hear your thoughts: Do you feel like you’re overspending to maintain friendships? Are you going to Repost, Report or Delete? Drop a comment in the video below—let’s chat!

Smooches! 💋