“Rich people love to charge $4.72 for half a bagel on Venmo. Because you don't understand.” One X user thought:.
“My friend who makes $450,000 as a software engineer: 'Can I Venmo you $3.62 for an Uber ride?' another person wrote.
Susan Bradley, founder of the Sudden Money Institute, teaches clients who have suddenly or unexpectedly received large sums of cash how to become a have-nots.
She says the phenomenon that rich friends are the stingiest is true. “People who have more money than their friends have a harder time being generous.”
People who know they are in a higher income bracket than their friends are more likely to feel lonely or “othered,” Bradley said.
“Those who have substantially more, [money] “They have a small population of friends, so in some ways they are unique,” she says.
Because their money is what distinguishes them from their friends, they begin to believe that their money is theirs. why they have friends.
“They don't want to be taken advantage of and feel like, 'Oh, people are hanging out with me because I have money,'” Bradley says. “It feels very invalidating.”
Those fears manifest as $4 Venmo requests.
“When someone does a little Venmo, it means they don't feel good,” Bradley says.
If someone Venmo's a small amount, it means they're not in a good mood.
susan bradley
Founder of Sudden Money Institute
Being economically unique means people can struggle to feel a sense of community, says Hal Hirshfield, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Business. Hirshfield studies the psychology of long-term decision making.
“As wealth increases, there is a greater emphasis on business relationships, which can spill over into business relationships.” should Be communal,” Hirshfield says.
Suppose you are moving your apartment. If you want to save money, you may want to enlist the help of a few friends. This favor indicates a common relationship.
If you make enough money to pay the movers, this experience becomes a deal.
Soon, you may begin to see the world in a more transactional way, and that will permeate into your friendships, he says.
If your friend Venmo asks for a small amount of money, Bradley suggests doing two things. It's about paying it and asking if they have anything else going on.
“If they're doing that, it's a way to avoid being taken advantage of,” she says. “They may have had long legs in the past that haven't been addressed yet. They don't care about $4.”
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