There is a group of us that rotates bbq/potluck/bonfires. The group is about 100 people, and these parties are great fun, but a lot of work for the hosts. I have found that despite my love of cooking, I really don’t like cooking up potluck dishes. I would often just pick up a dessert or chips/dip from the store on my way to these events. Recently however, I had a little epiphany, I felt my store-bought contribution was cheapening the events (note, all the people involved are my friends, no one said this or even hinted at it, this is all me). So this weekend I tried something different.

Instead of my usual I called up the hosts and said, “Listen, I know how much work hosting one of these things is. I think my usual contribution is rather tacky, considering how much effort everyone else puts into thier dishes. Instead of bringing something, can I help out instead.” The hosts were VERY grateful for this, and I went out a couple hours early and did a bunch of set-up work. I also stayed late and helped clean-up.

The result was awesome. Instead of spending a bunch of money on overpriced store stuff, and feeling cheap for it, I saved some cash and bonded with some friends. Further, I felt that my contribution was on-par with the event. Saturday night after all was said and done, I slept better than usual, knowing I really had done something worthwhile.

In terms of money, for all my fellow frugal lifestylers out there: I value my free time highly, but freind bonding time has an even higher value. So putting a dollar value on it, my costs were higher in terms of free time, but the gains were very much higher in terms of bonding time. And the cash value is less.

If the above paragraph doesnt make sense, sorry. I’m referring to the articles here and elsewhere describing how to assess the value of your time. Ive gone a bit further and broken it into various types of ‘free time’, such as freind time, liesure time, personal development time, etc.

Just some food for thought, for all you frugal folks out there.