Tips to make friends without spending money are welcome. I've spent years in a city without making friends.
Luckily even though I'm a minority in America, I'm not a minority in my city. :) It's filled with people of my ethnicity. So I have more opportunities to be closer with my people, and I want do the right things to get there.
Btw they don't have to be my ethnicity. Just wanna make friends to begin with. My dream is to meet cool communists around here. It's a minority city, and I figure I can't be the only one.
Look at what reading groups they feature, usually its posted online in a bigger city or up front at the library.
As for cults/sketch groups another warning sign is big dues up front, a dollar or two sleep on, but if they want anything more than that, proof of income etc, run. My old city was filled with weirdo cults of all sorts preying upon the isolated and weird.
Sports is another good way to meet friends, you don't actually have to be good unless you're trying for something professional.