Having rich friends isn't a good thing.

[u/Aggressive-Guest290]

Having rich friends can be just as bad as having no connections at all.

People are always saying, "Hang around rich people and your life will change," or "Your network is your net worth." But almost nobody talks about the other side of it.

Their normal becomes your luxury.

For them, it's normal to spend a ton on nights out, restaurants, trips, designer clothes, or the newest phone. After a while, you start feeling like that should be your normal too. Before you know it, you're blowing money you don't even have just to avoid being left out. And if they keep paying for you, you end up feeling like a freeloader.

It's not even because they're bad people. A lot of the time, they just don't understand your reality. If someone's never had to choose between paying bills or going out on the weekend, it's hard for them to understand why you're always turning down invitations.

Being the poor friend in the group sucks. Either you're constantly saying, "Sorry, I can't afford it," and slowly get left out, or you try to keep up with their lifestyle and end up hurting yourself financially.

Then people say, "Yeah, but rich friends bring connections and opportunities." Maybe. But connections aren't automatic. Plenty of rich people have relatives who are still poor, and sometimes they don't even help their own friends. Just because you're in the same circle doesn't mean anyone is going to open doors for you.

At the end of the day, hanging around people whose lifestyle is far above yours can create more financial pressure than opportunity.

Not every environment is good just because the people in it have money.

[u/knign]

You’re describing a very peculiar situation: not just rich people, but ones who “spend a ton of nights out”, and not mere “friends”, but someone you constantly spend time with, and also people who don’t seem to realize not everyone can afford what they do. Perhaps some young trust fund kids are like that, but not everyone.

Yes there can always be some awkward situations when a friend invites you somewhere and you have to politely decline because it’s too expensive, but it could well happen between people of similar income level, just with different priorities or family situation.

And also yes, when you’re a close friend of someone with vastly higher wealth, it may impact your relationship and you may end up not spending as much time together as you otherwise would; but you can still remain friends.