friendflation

Inflation is accompanied by a rise in the cost of living.  Friendflation is the rise in the cost of having friends and maintaining these friendships at regular social occasions which inevitably call for some expenditure.  If you are already giving your electricity bill your close attention, you may not have the discretionary income required to fund dinners out or even parties at home.  You may feel the pressure to keep up with friends whose finances are not so knife-edge and who may contemplate a weekend away, trips to a vineyard or two, skiing in the season, a very expensive meal.  You may feel you have to politely decline to do any of these things and, since it is embarrassing to give the real reason, you may just quietly withdraw from the friendship. The sad consequence of friendflation.