Peer pressure to spend money

I received a call from someone whom I shall remain nameless. She was attending a conference in the northeast. It was a Friday night, and her roomies had gone out on the town. Nothing wrong with that, but she lamented that she simply didn’t have the money. Even though her sponsoring organization was picking up the conference tab—including airfare & transportation—she is cognizant that after spending a ridiculous amount of money for coffee and vendors’ convention food, she still has student loans and credit card bills to continue paying after the conference is over. Therefore, even though room service is in and of itself high, she reasoned that it’s more cost-productive than “going out on the town,’ where one spends money for taxicabs & fancy smancy restaurants. I say, "Hooray for her!" Peer pressure is hard, but delayed gratification today equals investment—and learning the art of discipline—in her future bank account tomorrow.