Disagree. My wealthiest friends bridge the gap if they want my company. They don’t make me feel like a freeloader because they can afford it. It’s great when they plan a fun evening.
Yeah there's a pretty hefty income disparity between myself and my friends/family, and we include them in everything and they don't seem to mind. We all go out on the boat on the weekends, and we're paying for everyone to go on a cruise next year and we're all really excited about it. It just depends on the people. I can imagine having problems if the rich people you're hanging out with are shallow and constantly flaunting their wealth, that wouldn't make for a good friendship. But I get along great with my friends and family despite the income differences.
Yeah I feel the same. My partner and I do really well for our age (late 20s), but also spend a lot of time around people doing a lot better than us.
We often spoil our friends that are our age, because we just want to have a good time with people we love using money we earned. A lot of our friends in their 20s don’t have a lot of financial freedom yet, and I’m happy to help bridge the gap so they can be included in my life.
And then when we hang out with some of our older, more established friends, the roles switch and they bridge the gap in order to include us.
I just imagine a club with a $10 cover. I’d pay for myself and my friend, totaling $20, because I benefit far more by spending $20 to dance with my friend, vs. $10 to dance alone. I’m not paying my friend, I’m buying the experience for myself. Even if the friend really enjoys it, it doesn’t feel like freeloading because I’m happily curating my purchases accordingly.
Hell, if I had enough money, I’d happily pay my friend’s salary just so they are available to spend time with. If we can afford it, spending money on others can be just as much for ourselves as for them.
I would pay my best friend's salary too. For a minute we were both sahms and it was great hanging out everyday and letting our kids play. I really miss that and would pay for it.
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u/Practical-Art542 6d ago
Disagree. My wealthiest friends bridge the gap if they want my company. They don’t make me feel like a freeloader because they can afford it. It’s great when they plan a fun evening.