I think I can measure how close I am to someone by how many cheap meals I have shared with them.

Not classy meals at nice places, not dinner at their house with their family, not a lunch at the swanky sandwich shop. No, cheap, delicious meals -- at the local dive bar, or the cheapest chain diner, or the food cart on the side of the road.

Good company and cheap food is how you build a steady foundation of friendship.

No appropriate table talk and a tiny portion of meat you can’t pronounce because it’s all you can afford. No brightly made food to swirl around your plate as you try to not feel awkward in the silence. No monotonous talk about how you were raised, and what you want to do with your degree by family members who mean well but don’t really remember what it was like to not know who you were going to be -- and being insanely happy about it.

Cheap food is my comfort zone; it is my happy place. It levels the playing field and strips back all expectation. It is honest conversation and genuine laughter. It is full bellies that were obtained while still keeping a full wallet.

As I prepare to leave a country I have called home for half a year, I am caught up remembering all the times I shared a meal with someone new. All the strangers who became family at tacky tables in empty restaurants.

As the holiday season gets into full swing, it is sometimes overwhelming to plan so many fancy dinners for all the visiting relatives and friends who you want to share a meal and some good company with.

Remember that this time isn't supposed to be so stressful, or leave you feeling so broke.

Don’t discredit the simplicity of sharing a cheap meal somewhere that will fill you up with interesting conversation and delicious food, and will also keep your bank balance flourishing.

Cheap meals shared with good people is an important thing to invest in.