View Single Post
Old 01-29-2005, 01:05 PM  
Sly
Let's do some business!
 
Sly's Avatar
 
Industry Role:
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 31,349
Do you talk to your "less fortunate" friends about money?

I went to a movie with a friend the other night and then we went over to Best Buy so he could pick up a couple CDs. On the way back to the car he starts telling me about his current financial situation and that he was shocked because he was actually "on track" even though he's frivolously spent a crapload of money this week. I say this because he really doesn't make a lot of money, so spending $30-40 4 nights in a row is pretty silly for him. I really don't like talking about money so I did the "uh-huh" thing. So he's telling me about bills, eating dinner out, buying new CDs and DVDs, tickets to concerts at a couple local clubs, and then he mentions that he spent $100 the other day on groceries.

This reminded me that I was almost out of food and really needed to buy groceries. So I casually mentioned that the last time I went grocery shopping I lucked out and only had to spend $60 to get everything I need, but this next time it will probably be around $100 like him. I ended up buying groceries last night, and it was about $100. Anyway...

His first immediate response was "yeh but you're like some porn dude and make a shitload more money than I do." What the hell does that have to do with anything? I was simply mentioning I needed to buy groceries and he jumps on me as if I owe him or something.

While we were in Best Buy I wanted to check out the TVs and he pulled the same thing. I was looking at a really nice Sony LCD for about $3k. "Why would you need something like that? You already have a huge TV. Geez you're looking to spend thousands on a TV and that kind of money could put me through school for a year!"

What the hell? I don't get it. This is the kind of crap I get whenever I mention buying a new computer or toy, or going on a trip somewhere. Is that jealousy? Resentment? Envy?

Reactions like that are why I try not to talk about money period with my friends. It's really annoying actually. You know, if I have a really good day it would be nice to share it with someone. But instead I have to keep my lips sealed so XYZ friend doesn't have a jealous fit.

Anyone else experience similar things? It's just bizarre. I've read before that one of the big reasons "rich" aren't friends with "poor" is due to the "poor" becoming jealous. I'm wondering if this really is true, maybe I'm experiencing something similar?
__________________
Vacares - Web Hosting, Domains, O365, Security & More - Paxum and BTC Accepted

Windows VPS now available
Great for TSS, Nifty Stats, remote work, virtual assistants, etc.
Click here for more details.
Sly is offline   Share thread on Digg Share thread on Twitter Share thread on Reddit Share thread on Facebook Reply With Quote