Island vacations. Expensive dinners. Quick weekend getaways. Sounds fun, right? But what if your bank account doesn’t match that of your friends? Try some of these ideas when seeking ways to spend time together.

1. Progressive dinner parties. This is a fantastic way to allow everyone to be in control of how much they spend during your gathering. You may choose to find budget-friendly appetizers while some of your friends make expensive masterpieces.

2. Join a community recreation team together. Get some exercise, enjoy friendly competition, and enjoy getting to know a different side of each other.

3. Volunteer together. Build a house with Habitat for Humanity or contact Catholic Charities to see how you can help in a soup kitchen. It just may be addicting and become a tradition with you!

4. Hit up local happy hours or coffee shops with live music. Talk about easy on the wallet!

5. Take turns hosting game nights at home. This is such an easy and fun way to really connect.

Know that time together is more important than amount of money spent together. Shed the burden of caring what others may think of you and pray for friends who love you as you are – not as your checkbook is.