7 People to Cut Out of Your Financial Life

The New-Economy Mooch

So you have this friend you want to help out because she was one of the first casualties in the Great Recession. You picked up the tab for dinner one weekend. And the next. And the next. And then, hooray!—you're taking her out for drinks to celebrate her new job. And...picking up the bill. And the one after that. If you're starting to feel taken advantage of, you need to stop playing the fairy godmother game. Think of it this way: The next time you get together, you've got something to celebrate—that she's now capable of paying her own way. So when the bill comes and she starts studying her phone, try this one: "How great that we can go back to normal and split the check?!"