Megan McArdle wrote this poignant article for The Atlantic this morning about how to nurture your friendships and relationships when you’ve lost your job and your former social life starts to look expensive.

Her trick to staying afloat instead of going into debt for late night drinks or Chinese takeout? Telling friends: “I can’t afford it.”

Ideally, you should have a substantial emergency fund to tap into if you were to lose your job. And you shouldn’t feel bad about using some of that money for the occasional social event — feeling normal in the face of financial difficulty is important.

In the meantime, here are some ideas of cheap or free things to do to spend time with friends while preserving your savings:

• Free outdoor movie screenings abound in the summer months. In D.C., Screen on the Green will be back after all on the National Mall, and across the river in Arlington is the I Love the ’80s Rosslyn Outdoor Film Festival. Boston has Free Friday Flicks at the MDC Hatch Shell, and New York hits the jackpot with the Bryant Park Summer Film Festival, the SummerScreen series, and Hudson River Park’s RiverPark showings.
• Love live music? Lots of big-name bands are on tour this summer and you can catch them for nothing (or next to it). In New York, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists are playing a free show at RiverRocks on July 23 and there are acts all summer long at the Seaport Music Festival at the South Street Seaport. The Duke Ellington Jazz Festival hits the National Mall in D.C. this weekend. If you’re a classical lover, Chicago’s Millenium Park offers free concerts through August 15 as part of the Grant Park Music Festival. Los Angelenos can catch Adele with Etta James at the Hollywood Bowl on June 28 for as little as $12. (Hint: Bring a picnic and save on concessions.)
• Baseball fans, if you’ve never been to a farm league game, you’re missing out. They have all of the drama of the pros with egos (and tickets) half the size of the majors. Find your local minor league team here. And if you’re more into basketball, the WNBA’s season goes from May to September. Tickets are cheap and it’s a kid-friendly affair.
• Prefer to stay inside where there’s air conditioning? History buffs can see the original draft of the Bill of Rights at Seattle’s free Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum. The St. Louis Science Museum doesn’t charge entrance fees either, and members can catch free IMAX movies as well. A boatload of New York museums are offering free or discounted admission right now. And of course, all of the Smithsonians in D.C. are free to enter.
• When the weather gets really hot, you might as well take advantage of community pools while cities still have the funds to maintain them. There are thousands across the country — just Google “community pool” and your city to find one nearest to you.

Photo by Flickr user riacale.

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