There’s no denying life is getting pretty expensive. From forking out for your weekly food shop to keeping up with the increasing Netflix subscription costs, it can feel like a never ending list of outgoings that are only getting more expensive.
With many people now takingout side hustles to earn a bit of extra cash, the cost of living is putting us all in a pinch, there is then the added pressure of maintaining a social life too.
From meeting up with friends for dinner, or a birthday celebration or even a wedding, ‘friendflation’ is becoming a huge issue among Gen Z and Millenials, with many finding money becoming a serious pressure point.
People have been candidly confessing how their friendships are slowly draining their bank accounts, and the pressure of their social lifes is making it hard to juggle their finances.
The term friendflation is inspired by the term inflation and connotes the rising cost of keeping up with your pals, as many are feeling the pinch when it comes to making memories and catching up. Meanwhile birthdays, celebrations and life milestones can make it even harder.
According to the Financial Times, one US survey found that most people now consider friendship itself to be “expensive”. Six per cent of Australians say they have “broken up” with an expensive friend, unable to keep up with increasingly extravagant get-togethers and dinners.
One survey of Americans by Self Financial in 2025 found that nearly four in five have felt financial anxiety when hanging out with their friends. In the same poll, 43 per cent said they found it “difficult” to have significantly wealthier friends. It’s particularly acute for those in their 20s and 30s, when friends are getting married or celebrating milestone birthdays.
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Nowadays, birthdays aren’t just a few drinks at the pub, they’re weekends away, lavish brunches or fancy dinners. Hen do’s and Stag do’s are week long getaways, with the average cost at £779, everything is racking up at an alarming rate.
One woman took to social media and quipped: “Friendflation is a clever mashup of friendship and inflation. It’s that feeling when hanging out with friends — grabbing drinks, going to brunch, attending events — starts to feel like a luxury you can’t afford.”
True friendship is priceless, but how do you maintain it without putting your hand in your pocket? Even going for a coffee is nearly a fiver. “Friendflation = the perfect storm of social + financial pressure, turning joy into stress. It’s when the cost of birthdays, weddings, brunches, and trips grows faster than your paycheck,” another person penned.
But there are ways you can keep the costs down, such as planning ahead. Booking a trip in advance not only gives you chance to get excited for it, but it also means it’ll be cheaper the earlier you book it and you’ll have more time to budget for it too.
You can also take it in turns to host your friends, whether you all bring a dish, have a games night or even a movie night – there are still ways to enjoy for free. Look out for offers online too, as some money saving apps give people a free drink or even a dining offer in return for a survey or signing up for marketing emails.
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