Play Money

But he has found a hidden cost to socializing: gasoline. Because he lives in Springfield, he has to drive to meet friends. He sees people in Tenleytown, Bowie and Alexandria. They play basketball in Georgetown and Tysons Corner. The monthly tally: $280.

"Living at home gives me a lot of financial freedom," he said, "but there are trade-offs."

Trade-offs -- a word many people don't like to hear, especially Linda Dickerhoof, 31. That's what her life has been about since she decided to buy a two-bedroom duplex in South Arlington in November.

She makes about $70,000 a year as a public relations director for a company in Alexandria. Her monthly mortgage payment is $1,600. She has about $10,000 in credit card debt and pays $300 in student loans, $400 for her car and $150 for insurance.

"It's very easy for me to get $100 out of the ATM machine. The next thing you know, I'm buying a coffee, I'm buying this and that, and it's gone."

Buying a home and a late fall cold kept her from spending lavishly from Oct. 26 to Nov. 17, when she kept her tally. But she splurged some nights.

There was the $89.04 Halloween costume. She was a vampire. The cover charge for the party she went to at RFD in downtown D.C. was $10. Beer cost her $20. When she ran out of cash, she put $11 on her credit card.

One Friday night, she went to a hockey game at the Verizon Center. The ticket was $35. She arrived at the game with $60 in cash. After paying for parking for her designated driver, having pre-game beers, beers at the Verizon Center, then post-game beers, "I went home empty-walleted," she said.

Lesson learned: "I own a house now. I have a dog who requires dog food and stuff. . . . I have so many different responsibilities, and I can't go out and spend a couple of hundred dollars on a lunch tab."

Financial advisers said these four people are not necessarily being financially irresponsible. But they said that too often, young people ignore the most important rule: "The key is to fund all the obligations and the goals first and then spend the rest, but oftentimes people do the reverse," Reed said. "They have fun, they go shopping and whatever is left, they use that to pay bills and save."

Don't shun fun, but scale back, the advisers said.

At happy hour, buy two drinks instead of four. Go to a matinee instead of an evening showing of a movie, or wait for it to come out on DVD. Don't go to expensive concerts. Watch them on DVD.

Eat at expensive restaurants only on special occasions, not on nights you simply don't feel like cooking. Entertain at home, and ask your friends to bring dishes or drinks. If you're having dinner with a friend at a restaurant, try sharing two appetizers and an entree instead of ordering separate appetizers and entrees.

"You've got to pick your spots as far as the social life goes," said Frank Boucher, a financial planner in Reston with the Garrett Planning Network. "No one can live like a monk, and you shouldn't, but if you're spending $100 a week on drinks and going out with your friends, you can knock that down to $50 and have your friends over your house for a potluck."

And whatever you do, don't use credit to have fun. "You never use credit for things that are going to lose value," said Paul Richard, executive director of the Institute of Consumer Financial Education in San Diego.

After realizing how much his social life is affecting his finances, Styles has decided to make some changes. Although he has no car payment, student loans or credit card debt, he does worry about his future financial stability. Now is the time to do something about it, he said.

"I've decided for the month of February, I'm going to not drink to see how much I save and how much weight I lose," Styles said.