How To Stick To A Budget — While Still Being A Social Human Being

Most of the time, it feels like we're stuck choosing between what's best for our wallets and what's best for our social lives. If we're frugal, we know we'll end up with major FOMO. And if we attend every happy hour, birthday brunch, and weekend trip, there's a chance we won't be able to make rent. But according to the author of The Broke & Beautiful Life, Stefanie O'Connell, there is a way to have both — and it all comes down to how you budget.

In order to learn how to actually maintain a full social life and wallet, we partnered with Citi and tapped O'Connell to create a foolproof guide to discretionary budgeting. The overall goal? “Let's find other places to cut back, create some more flexibility in our budget, [and] actually enjoy the things that matter to us,” O'Connell says. Ahead, seven ways to manage your social expenses, whether you're bar-hopping on a Friday night or just trying to be a good host to out-of-town visitors.