Hi, everyone. I couldn’t think of another subreddit to post this on or a better title for this post, but please bear with me. This is a new account which could potentially be thrown away.
So I, M(20) have been friends with another M(20) for roughly 5 years. Let’s refer to him as B.
So B comes from a very wealthy family and I’m more towards the middle-class income level. Very contrasting backgrounds but we somehow make it work. I was taught to do shit by myself and learn to be resourceful but B has has everything taken care for by his parents.
During middle-school, he was quite studies focused and was relatable and we got along very well. But after high school, when he turned 19, he immediately changed and he became sort of, irritable. Let me explain.
I’m very introverted, so I don’t very much prefer going out or going for a lot of social gatherings. I like to spend my free time at home cooking for myself or doing something in the house. He is the complete opposite, and he likes to go out and have a lot of social things to do.
But, that’s not my main problem. He becomes very…I don’t know if narcissistic is the right word, but he likes to shove his ideas and philosophies down your throat and he literally won’t talk about anything that doesn’t concern his ideologies.
He’s a science student so he likes to sort of find consistencies between the world and science. Its great to do that, not gonna lie, but literally bringing it up in every conversation and making it the center of attention constantly is kind of annoying after a while.
He spends a ridiculous amount of money on going out and smoking and drinking. We used to get together and have some quiet time playing cards or a video game but he doesn’t want to do that anymore. Either it’s him asking me to go out with him just so he can smoke and drink, or calling me for some stupidly expensive outing that I really don’t have the heart to say to no to because he’s my best friend but it pains me to waste money like that. Especially since I come from a background where we don’t have a lot of it.
He has treated me well though, his parents are lovely, gave me meals in their home and he is very good to me, even though I know they can do it because they have a lot of money. (This is a very twisted view, but I genuinely feel this)
He also speaks a lot about how stuff is expensive and how eating at home is very cheap and more benefitting. But he just goes and does the opposite, eating at restaurants with stupid prices. He recently took a friend that he met only 3 months ago to a morbidly expensive Japanese restaurant. It was a girl, so I don’t know if they have a thing together but I never asked.
So basically, I’m finding this behaviour of his very taxing on me personally and I feel like not spending time with him just because of the way he acts. I was brought up with little money so seeing him kind of waste it is a bit emotionally jarring for me. It’ not his own as well, he has no job and does all of this with his parents money, parents just let him do it anyway.
What is your take on this? How should I better this relationship or seek to resolve this difference?
TL:DR
Friend is very extroverted and wastes his parents money on expensive stuff, is very high headed and literally makes his research on science the center of attention and I find it very overbearing to spend time with him. I sometimes feel like I don’t want to. What should I do?