Do you have a friend who conveniently never has their wallet to pay for their meal? Do they always need to borrow your favorite button down for a job interview but you don’t ever recall them filling out any applications? Are you still waiting for your friend to pay you back $20 from 2001?
Does that sound a little too familiar? Having a friend that is a mooch can be draining not only on your wallet, but also your mind. The brewing resentment and anger that builds every time that friend forgets their wallet or loses another one of your shirts can drive a person crazy.
So what is the best way to handle a mooch?
"Ignore them,” Camron Combs said.
Ignoring the mooch may give you a little piece of mind, but the loss of a friend may be worse than the initial problem. If this friend means a lot to you, talk to them and give them a chance to change.
Talking to a friend about how they have been taking advantage of your generosity may be pretty uncomfortable though.
"I'd joke about it depending on how serious it was, unless confrontation was really necessary," Josh Lewis said.
Joking about the situation may help that person realize that you notice that they are mooching, or they might brush it off their shoulders and continue with the behavior.
If a more direct approach is needed, try asking them to pay for dinner since you paid the last couple of times, or say no when they ask to borrow something of yours. This makes the point clear without being overly unpleasant.
What if the friend is broke and honestly needs to mooch? Just about everyone has encountered hard times in life when money comes up short and they need a friends help. This is not what makes a mooch.
It is the continuous habit of freeloading off other people that makes a mooch. Being generous to someone who needs it is being a good friend. Be careful not to let this reach the level of mooching. No one should take advantage of another person’s generosity.
