meeting friends

It was pointed out to me that in my post about the book MWF seeking BFF, I listed that I had learned two things from the book, and the first one was to make friends, you have to meet people.

I skipped this one as I was writing, moving right along to talk about how friends are expensive. But, I did want to come back to this idea!

Some of the things that Rachel Bertsche, the author of MWF seeking BFF, did in the book to meet people are, by themselves, expensive.

She talked about how she attended a yoga class, for example. Although I think a yoga or fitness class would be really fun, I don't have the budget for that at the moment. She also tried websites that are similar to a dating website, but for friends, which would also cost money.

However, here's a list of things that you can do for (almost if not) free to meet people, some from the book, some not.

1. Join a club (running, painting, etc)
     You can find groups of people doing various outings at meetup.com. I've used this website a couple times, going to a couple meetups. Be forewarned, though, a lot of the meetups have a fee. Sometimes the fee is $2, sometimes it's upwards of $10, $30, $50. Most groups charge a little something, since there is a fee to own a group on the site.
2. Join a church group
     I have recently joined a book study through my church, open to 20-something ladies. I've met a really cool group of girls and enjoy our weekly meetings! (My church also does groups of people that run, or hike, and lots of other activities)
3. Introduce yourself to that girl at the gym/grocery store/clothing store/park/restaurant
     This one is a little scary, I know, but it's all about putting yourself out there. In the book, the author went on friend dates with girls she met in almost all those places. The worst that can happen is he or she is completely not interested, and you never see him or her again. (I have to admit, I have not done this one...still a little chicken!)
4. Bond with work friends
     The people you work with are the people you see the most, so you have to be careful with this one. Even though they may turn into friends, they will still be your colleagues. That being said, I have a pretty regular game night with a group of friends from work, and it's going just fine. :)
5. Get a second job
      This seems counter-intuitive, but if you get a second job doing something that you love, you will meet other people who most likely share that interest. I have a second job coaching cheerleading, and although I wouldn't call my fellow coaches really close friends, I enjoy spending time with them a couple nights a week, and it is pretty social.

How else do you meet people?