A friend wants to meet before work to catch up and chat — time to drop $15 on café breakfast and a coffee. You and your college roommates want to create original art for your apartment — $40 down the drain for canvases, brushes, paint and more. An acquaintance wants to pick your brain about her job hunt over lunch — $20 for a mediocre salad, gone.

Sound familiar? Well, I believe life doesn’t need to be this way. Actually, I would go so far as to say, life shouldn’t be this way.

Friendships have gotten so expensive. From bachelorette parties to birthday gifts, monthly dinners to concert tickets, the costs add up.

According to a USA Today article, GenZ is spending $433 a month on friendships. That’s absurd! Do you know how many digital subscriptions to the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle you could buy with that? Twelve. And you’d still have some left over.

Recently, I re-entered our Kansas City Jewish community as a young professional. I’ve lived here my entire life, but found my community through youth groups and religious organizations. From Jr. NCSY as a middle-schooler to KU Chabad and KU Hillel as a college student, my Jewish community has been handed to me on a free, pre-planned silver platter.

Making new friends as an adult just isn’t as simple. I’m all for hosting big gatherings of friends and friend-in-laws (my term for friends-of-friends) to make new connections, but it takes time, money, energy, and most importantly, planning skills.

Jewish Federation’s Young Adults Division (YAD) is a great resource for meeting new friendly faces to connect with, as are Jewish Experiences KC events, and hanging around your local synagogue of choice. Taking advantage of these groups is a great way to meet new people — but there’s just something about a home-hosted social event that can’t be beat.

Here’s a list of not-expensive events, gatherings and connection opportunities I’ve held recently, or ideas I’ve had, in an attempt to create a new kind of community — one that doesn’t break the bank.

  • Dinner and board games after the work day — everyone grabs a dish or side, everyone brings a favorite game.
  • Free outdoor concerts and movies — Though the KC Symphony’s Mobile Music Box season is over, The Legends, Nelson-Atkins and Leawood’s Park Place have outdoor movies through September or October.
  • You don’t always need to send flowers or chocolates to a friend going through a hard time — There’s nothing a handwritten letter can’t say. Seventy-eight cents for a stamp and you’re golden.
  • Chat, study, work or do passion projects together at Capital One Cafe — Free handcrafted beverages every Monday of baseball season. Nobody needs to prepare their house for guests or anything.
  • Go for a walk or sit together at a park — once it’s not quite so hot out. Bring some cut up fruit (watermelons are only $5) and water and enjoy.
    Kill some time with one of Kansas City’s free museums — The Money Museum is a personal favorite of mine.
  • Go to an event at a library — The Kansas City Public Library and Johnson County Library have so many options, including an upcoming author talk with Misty L. Heggeness, a KU professor who wrote a book about the economics of Taylor Swift.

It can be daunting to invite new people and make new friends, but start with inviting people you know and encourage them to bring friend-in-laws.

Happy community building!

Alexis Greenberg is a recent University of Kansas graduate and Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s digital marketing specialist.