Aie. I am not destined to actually reply to this. Twice I’ve written out responses only to accidentally click away from the page before hitting send.

But, anonymous internet 27yr old, learn the freedom of saying no to that which you can not afford. There is real anxiety at that age about saying no and coming across as the Bad Friend. But that is mostly imagined and anyone that actually cares isn’t likely someone you’ll enjoy always being friends with.

Two years ago a close friend was getting married. A plan of let’s spend a night in her home state somehow morphed into let’s make it a long weekend and rent an AirBnB right on the beach. It went from cheap fun to $$$$. And I did pip up and say that I was not doing that, that I would happily pay for a night somewhere in the original range of about $150 per person, that I was not okay with spending $500ish on lodging alone, let alone paying for three days worth of food and dining. It was legit anxiety inducing to say that and I was saying it to three other really close friends. But. No. It really was a no, I was not doing that and it was an okay thing to say.

Learning that you have the permission to say no is a great gift in this world.