I am in no way financially unable to join the numerous birthday parties and trips that my friends have been inviting me to. But i’m also a very cautious spender. I do a lot of festivals and travel, both of which are very important to me to have funds available for.
However I’ve grown really frustrated by the amount of birthday dinners/birthday weekends/birthday trips i’ve been invited to, and when I turn them down the birthday girl or guy takes it personally. I turned 30 last month and chose to not have any celebration because I didn’t want to make my friends pay for anything AND I thought maybe it would help me get out of expectations to join things for their birthdays in return.
I’ll make exceptions for close friends if it’s a reasonable birthday celebration ($20-$50). But I feel the social pressure to keep saying yes, and with EVERYONE having a birthday it really adds up. I suggest doing something else like a hike or coffee or beach day but still feel like i’m perceived the wrong way for saying no