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Rich Girl Jen W. asked: "How can I host friends on a budget?" Katie and Henah share their best tips on everything from the guest list and invites to decor and food planning—all while minimizing costs and maximizing the experience.

Welcome back to #RichGirlRoundup, Money with Katie's weekly segment where Katie and MWK's Executive Producer Henah answer your burning money questions. Each month, we'll put out a call for questions on her Instagram (@moneywithkatie). New episodes every week.

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Katie:

Welcome back Rich People to the Rich Girl Roundup weekly discussion of The Money with Katie Show. I'm your host, Katie Gatti Tassin, and every Monday morning Henah and I dig into an interesting and fun money discussion. Here's a quick message from the sponsors of this segment.

All right, before we get into it, this week's upcoming main episode is going to throw it back to, in retrospect, the very hilarious experience of me getting my identity stolen and how you can prevent it. So you can laugh at my pain, it will be a nice shot in Freud entertainment experience.

All right, onto the roundup. Henah, how you doing?

Henah:

I'm good. We just wrapped up Thanksgiving. This week's question feels very fitting. It comes from Rich Girl Jen W., who asked, "How can I be a good host on a budget? I love getting my friends together, but it can be challenging to host in small spaces or without paying exorbitant fees at venues," and I get this feeling. So I figure we can kind of address this, Katie, in every step of the process of planning a get together, if that works for you.

Katie:

Yeah.

Henah:

Cool. So I think obviously the first place you want to start is your guest list of sorts. Katie, do you have a recommendation of how many people you think makes the most sense for hosting on a budget?

Katie:

Well, Jen mentioned small spaces and my sense is that if we're talking about a small space and we're not trying to spend an arm and a leg, keeping things intimate can be very nice, because obviously these guests are there for your company. They're not there to be wowed by your amazing hosting skills, and so when you keep the party small, it's like, okay, everyone can enjoy one another's company, we can also keep cost low. I would think group of like six to eight would usually be ideal-

Henah:

Okay.

Katie:

For conversation and space management.

Henah:

I agree. I think six to eight is kind of my sweet spot too, but I also think sometimes I like to challenge myself that even if there's just another couple, so four of us total, I like to see that as a hosting opportunity to hone my skills. I think to kind of piggyback off of that, with invitations, I feel like obviously you can casually text, "Hey, Katie, Thomas, do you want to come over for dinner?" Or I'll eager six people. But I like to make it a little bit fancier if I can and feel like I'm making it an experience that they're coming to. So I like to think of a theme, like our engagement party was a nineties throwback theme or I had like a murder mystery birthday party when I was 15.

Katie:

What a deep cut.

Henah:

It was a 1920s themed. Yeah., I like to make a free Evite situation on Canva or something, and then I like to share that as a precursor to the evening. I feel like it creates the experience, the cozy aura, and I don't think the theme has to be dress up as a saved by the bell character, although I will come if you do that, but it could just be like cozy Thanksgiving.

Katie:

Welcome to Katie's House. The theme is financial advisors dress up like your favorite financial professional.

Henah:

My RSVP will be a no, but thank you for the invite.

Katie:

I will say I've been doing this for, we've had a couple house guests now that we have a guest room and I don't do invitations, but I do printed cardstock menus that have themed meals, so then-

Henah:

Why are you laughing at me? That's the same thing.

Katie:

It was so fun and it was like $25 at Staples. Unfortunately, they will not only allow you to print link two, the smallest print size you can do is like 25.

Henah:

You got to just buy some cardstock at home and do that.

Katie:

Oh yeah. I have not, I didn't even have colored ink. I just have black printer ink. So I was like, "I'm just going to order them from Staples and go get them." But yeah, you could do this even more on a budget.

Henah:

It adds a nice touch. It feels like you've tried, you've gone the extra mile even while on a budget.

Katie:

Yeah, it was fun. It was fun to do. Like when Ellie and Richard came, we did, "Ellie and Richard take the suburbs," 'cause they were coming up from SF. And so every meal, it was like Hoa Fee salmon, and there was some fun things. My parents came to visit, it was the California themed menu, so that was fun. I really did enjoy that. So I won't rag on your invitations. It gives that impression of, "I put in a lot of thought and effort for this evening," but it's such a low expense, like you get that area of disproportionate ROI.

Henah:

Yeah, you get a lot of bang for your buck, I think. Okay, so meal planning and prepping. I got a lot of thoughts here.

Katie:

Okay. I have very few thoughts.

Henah:

Okay. Great. Well, my first thing is, I think you have to prep at least a week ahead of time, which seems like so much work. But I say that because then you can keep an eye on sales at grocery stores or like a Costco situation and you make sure you're not kind of of going into the grocery store and then just buying whatever you feel like will work out on a whim, 'cause you'll probably end up over buying.

Katie:

Overspending, yeah.

Henah:

Or doubling up on ingredients. So I like to plan a week ahead of time.

Katie:

I would say actually yes, because when I've had friends here in the past and I've cooked several days worth of meals for visitors that I was hosting, I would say it was like a Whole Foods order that I placed a couple of days.

Henah:

We're going to bleep out Whole Foods.

Katie:

There was a grocery store order that I would place, and it was $200 to $400. I would say for four people for six days of food though.

Henah:

Oh, that's nice.

Katie:

All things considered when you do cost per meal. Whereas if we would've gone out to restaurants for those meals, we probably would've been paying 60 to 80 bucks a pop.

Henah:

Yeah.

Katie:

Each time. Californian food prices, but.

Henah:

When I'm shopping, I like to use really versatile ingredients, because I feel like a lot of recipes will be like, "Use one sprig of rosemary," and then you're on the hook for buying an entire thing of rosemary. So I like to think of things that can be used across anything. So like potatoes, tomatoes, basil, and then I like to look at seasonal fruits and veggies that are in, because those tend to be a little bit cheaper. And then what I'll usually do to kind of offset the fact that these are like more budgety food items, is I like to indulge in one or two really high quality things that are going to make a big difference in your flavors. So a really good olive oil or a really good heirloom sea salt, something that they're not going to have tasted elsewhere, which just I feel like takes it to the next level, kind of elevates it a little bit.

Katie:

I was going to make a similar recommendation just because now after doing this a few times, I've noticed that the most expensive things are typically meat and alcohol, and I know you don't eat meat.

Henah:

I do not.

Katie:

And I don't drink alcohol, but my guests often do both. So I think the recommendation that I would make is, instead of feeling like everything I buy has to be organic or I have to have 12 different sides or whatever, I think for when you're serving meat, getting the mid-range cut and then cost-effective sides. You mentioned potatoes, I love doing like a twice baked potato, super cheap. Everyone loves them. They're so tasty. They're kind of like warm and cozy type meal.

Henah:

Well, going off of that too, I like the build-your-owns, 'cause that feels like, with the twice baked potato, all the seasonings, all the toppings, tacos, pizzas, salads. It feels like people have a real experience without having a million expensive ingredients.

Katie:

Right.

Henah:

And that everyone's happy with their dish instead of, "Oh, I made a goat cheese and feta," or like a whatever. And someone's like, "I hate goat cheese, or I'm allergic to this."

Katie:

That's true. That's true. I like the build-your-own, 'cause you're right. It kind of gives it more of an activity feel too, where you can kind of customize and personalize. The other thing I would add is, I really like Trader Joe's for those charcuterie board components. Where I feel like we could for 15 bucks, my husband and I used to do this all the time when we lived near a Trader Joe's, we would get charcuterie board stuff there, like the little meats, cheeses, the baguette, the nuts.

Henah:

Have you had the purple cheese there?

Katie:

No.

Henah:

The purple wine cheese, it's so good.

Katie:

No. Oh my gosh.

Henah:

Pro tip.

Katie:

We'll try that. But yeah, I just remember specifically it being between $15 and $17 for all the ingredients that would make three charcuterie boards. So I think that for a fun app so that when people get there, there's food out and it feels kind of like fun and fancy. That is one of my favorite little hacks.

Henah:

Yeah. I think that buying prepped dishes can be a game changer, like you said, another potential option you could do, is even finding a local caterer that you really love and buying a dish from them, because I think that's one way to share kind of like, "I supported a small business, but also I'm able to share the small business that I love with people I love who are more likely to also now buy from them." So there's this place in Atlanta that's vegan. It's called Avant-Garde'n, it has a garden with a apostrophe in it. They had this incredible taco lasagna.

Katie:

Wow.

Henah:

It was all vegan.

Katie:

Wow.

Henah:

But there was fake meat, fake cheese, whatever. Both Giovanni and I were like, this is amazing, and we wanted to get some for Thanksgiving, and so I really liked that, because I feel like it's a way to invest in your community, but also not have the onus of making a very elaborate dish and you can usually find them for not that much, even if it's like a half tray of something.

Katie:

Yeah. Well, my last thing on food was just the potluck style. I think this is only, frankly, if you're hosting people that live in town, I think if someone is coming from out of town to visit you, it's kind of weird to be like, "You should bring your own food," is like if they're traveling to you, maybe not. It probably depends on the financial situation someone is in, but I saw this tweet the other day that someone was like, "I'm flying across the country to go to this person's Thanksgiving, and they sent me a spreadsheet asking what meal I was going to bring, and I was like, uh, I am-"

Henah:

Oh.

Katie:

"Flying across the country, like what? I thought you were hosting. What are you talking about?"

Henah:

Be reasonable people.

Katie:

Be reasonable. But I think if they're in town, bring your favorite liquor and we'll make the cocktails or we'll get the things to make the cocktails or like bring your favorite side dish or your favorite dessert. If you're trying to make food for like eight people, I think that that's a nice thing and a reasonable thing. If I got invited to something where eight people were coming and they were like, "Yeah, bring your favorite side," I'd be like, "Totally." I wouldn't expect you to feed all eight, like to pay for everybody.

Henah:

I think my stance is, I'll nail down the basics. I'll focus on the basics, and if you want to bring a side or a dessert or a drink or something where it's like we don't need it for the night to go well, but it's obviously welcomed and we would love to have it, then feel free. I think that that makes sense. Something that can be a challenge sometimes when you're on a budget is the decor of a space and making it feel like, "Oh, dinner party vibes." But I have some ideas that I've used in the past. What is your go-to Katie?

Katie:

I think that there are two really cheap high ROI things, which are just a... Like I know that Trader Joe's has the flower section and it'll be like five to eight books for a bouquet, and I think you could get-

Henah:

Trader Joe's, be our sponsor, please.

Katie:

Truly, you could get one or two of those, put them in vases, and then I know those little tea lights, those are really cheap. You can buy a big thing of those really cheaply and then just having those out on the table, like little touches that kind of just make it feel a little bit elevated, but you're not trying to like throw a bougie wedding. So I think I would just reiterate, I wouldn't put yourself out on the decor if you're like, "Oh my God, it's not a winter wonderland in here. We need to hire a decorator." I think if you're-

Henah:

That's what I'm going to expect when I visit you in California.

Katie:

Yeah, you're going to be disappointed.

Henah:

Oh, well, what else is new? Kidding. Yeah, I really agree with that. I think another thing, if candles aren't allowed in your apartment or you're just not a big candle person, there's always twinkle lights from the holidays that you can also use. So I think there's a seasonal decor aspect if you're on a budget. There's a lot of little other things too that I think can help, a Pandora playlist, free Spotify playlist, free-

Katie:

Oh, yeah. Music.

Henah:

Can help set the mood.

Katie:

Yeah, totally changes the vibe.

Henah:

I think depending on how many people you have over, you may not even need to buy that plastic cutlery and stuff. You can really use what you have and that will help save on cost, but if you do host frequently, Costco has some really great deals I've seen, except when Giovanni and I go, it'll be like, "Do you want 500 napkins?" And I'll be like, "No, I could just use a hundred." But one thing that I would add too is, you can plan a theme around what you already have, so like board game night or the holiday special using your regular decor. You can also thrift or borrow or forage. You could go outside. I have friends who go outside and just get plants to decorate.

Katie:

Oh my God. It just reminds me of when I lived in Colorado and everyone's yard was just overgrowing with wildflowers. People in Colorado are so cool, honestly. Now that I live in a suburb, someone yelled at me the other day, because Georgia walked in their yard. They were like, "Can you please-"

Henah:

Oh.

Katie:

"Get your dog out of my yard?" I was like, "Whoa." In Colorado, it was just vibes. Everyone's yard was overgrown with beautiful flowers. I would just, every once in a while do a little snip-snip, if I passed an especially nice one.

Henah:

Responsibly forage, responsibly borrow. Yeah. I have friends, they make little wreaths using stuff from their backyard, and I think that those can all go a long way, but also to your point, hopefully your friends are there for you and not for the way you've created your house. Whenever someone comes over, I feel like I'm always apologizing. Like I'm like, "Oh, I'm sorry, it's a little dirty in here. Like I'm sorry, this is the best I could do with this budget," whatever. I feel like we don't need to say sorry. I feel like we can just-

Katie:

Agreed.

Henah:

It's the effort and the time spent together that really counts.

Katie:

And obviously you're going to clean up. I feel like it might put the guest, like you're trying to disarm them by being self-deprecating, but I feel like it puts the guest in a weird position, 'cause then they have to be like, "No, it's great." They have to reassure you that-

Henah:

Right.

Katie:

They're okay with it and like just own it. Yeah, you're probably putting on a lovely evening for them. They're probably loving it. Just cleaning up, tidying up, actually just goes such a long way too. I actually really have never done like the decor, I'm going to be honest. I usually just focus on what I'm going to serve for food and make sure the place is clean and that the guest room has, because usually these are guests that are coming from out of town, towels and the bed is clean and everything's nice in there.

Henah:

I think that still counts though. You're creating an ambiance.

Katie:

Yeah.

Henah:

And a clean space for them to be in. That still counts.

Katie:

And music. I do like the music suggestion. I think that that's usually my go-to, but I also have never actually put much effort into like, "Oh, I'm going to make sure there's flowers and candles." I guess I'm not that good of a host.

Henah:

I can confirm. Just kidding. No, I think that it's a practice you have to hone. You're not just born, unless you're Martha Stewart, you're not just born with superb hosting skills, but it's an expensive hobby sometimes-

Katie:

Yeah.

Henah:

If you do it a lot.

Katie:

Agreed. Yeah. Maybe take Henah's word for this more than mine, 'cause it sounds like she's been hosting longer than I have. I'm in the early innings of my hosting career, but that is all for this week's Rich Girl Roundup, and we will see you on Wednesday to talk about identity theft, which is not a joke, Jim.