Want to make a new friend? How much money have you got?

livemint.com:

Annabelle Havill spends at least $500 a month maintaining the three close friendships she made since moving to a new town two years ago with her husband and two children. That covers parties, book clubs and casual wine nights, averaging about $170 a friend. Fortunately, they reciprocate.

“It’s a lot more expensive to have friends than it is to not have friends," said Havill, who is 42 years old and lives in Fauquier County, Va. Making and keeping friends takes more money and effort than it used to. People spending less time at offices, schools and free community groups are now spending money to make friends.

Rising prices at restaurants and bars mean that catching up over drinks or dinner can add up fast. Americans today have fewer close connections than decades ago, a phenomenon compounded by the social isolation of the pandemic. Paying for art classes and gym memberships to meet people can be an expensive proposition.

It takes around 200 hours to form a close friendship, according to research by Jeffrey Hall, a University of Kansas professor of communication studies. And the price tag keeps rising: The cost of club memberships, lesson fees, event tickets, and food and alcohol outside the home rose almost 11% over the past two years, compared with 7.5% growth in prices of all goods and services, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Jenny Orletski-Dehne, 33, has lived in the Detroit area for most of her life.

As an adult, she made many of her friends through fitness classes and professional networking events. She spends around $200 a month on gym memberships that have sparked around 15 friendships, she calculates. “I paid money for the community I found," said Orletski-Dehne, who manages the business