5 Excuses You’ve Used to Cancel Plans (That Nobody Believed)

Making plans is easy. Following through? Not so much. Somewhere between saying “Yeah, that sounds fun!” and the actual day of the event, the spark dies and you’re left searching for an excuse that’ll get you out of your commitment faster than a professional athletes wife without a prenuptial (yes Travis Hunter that is directed your way).

1. “Sorry, I’m Not Feeling Well”

The undisputed heavyweight champ of excuses. It’s vague, it’s simple, and it almost sounds believable — until your friends realize you’ve “gotten sick” mysteriously three Saturdays in a row.

This one usually comes with the classic sad face emoji or an overly dramatic “I think I’m coming down with something.” Translation: you’re 100% fine, but you’ve already started eating cold pizza in bed and nothing short of a house fire is getting you out the door.

2. “Work’s Got Me Swamped”

A true classic for anyone trying to sound like a hardworking adult. The issue? It’s Saturday night. Unless you’re an ER surgeon or the President, no one believes you’ve been summoned to “catch up on emails” at 10 p.m.

At best, you’re pulling a late-night gaming session. At worst, you’re staring blankly at your laptop screen with Netflix playing in the background. Either way, your “grindset” excuse is fooling absolutely no one.

3. “Family Emergency”

The nuclear option of excuses. Nobody questions it, because nobody wants to be the monster who accuses you of lying about Grandma. But let’s be real — how many mysterious “family emergencies” can happen before your friends start to suspect your grandparents of being Mormons.

Use this one once or twice a year max. Overdo it, and you’ll be known as “the boy who cried funeral.” At that point, not even sympathy texts can save you.

4. “My Phone Died”

The modern-day equivalent of vanishing into the woods. Claiming your phone died is a convenient way to explain why you “never saw the texts” and therefore couldn’t possibly make it.

But here’s the problem: phones charge fast, chargers are everywhere, and everyone knows you’re surgically attached to that thing. If your phone actually died, it’s because you chose not to plug it in. Which, honestly, is more insulting than just saying that you couldn’t make it because it was actually your social battery that was on zero.

5. “The Weather Looks Sketchy”

Ah yes, blaming Mother Nature. This one works best when it’s snowing, raining, or blazing hot outside. Unfortunately, your friends also own windows, so they can see that “dangerous storm” you’re describing is just a light drizzle.

Weather excuses are basically admitting you didn’t want to leave the house the moment you wrapped yourself up in a blanket on the couch and started binge watch Netflix.

At the end of the day, canceling plans isn’t a crime — it’s a survival tactic. Life is exhausting, and sometimes the only social interaction you can handle is arguing with strangers in a YouTube comment section.

But here’s the catch: if you bail too often, you stop being “the chill friend who just needed a night in” and start being “the unreliable ghost everyone stops inviting.” And then suddenly your only Saturday night plans are with Uber Eats and that same Netflix show you “swear you’ll finish this time.”

So cancel when you need to — recharge, eat the pizza rolls, rock the sweatpants. Just don’t make disappearing your full-time personality trait.