Cheap Friend

Dear Sandra,

Last night my friend made me get off the train SEVERAL blocks from where we were going just because he wanted to go to a specific ATM so he wouldn't be charged a fee. I felt like asking him to give me the fee for the inconvenience, not to mention the disregard for my time. "It's only a few blocks," he said. That's not the point! If my friend and I happened to be walking past an ATM and he had to run in and get cash I wouldn't mind at all. But I feel annoyed that I had to waste my time and energy because of a friend's cheapness and poor planning. I had been thoughtful enough to go to a cash machine during my lunch hour.

This had been bugging me all day. Why do friends let me down? Is it wrong of me to feel this way, Sandra?

--Annoyed at Other's Assumptions


Dear AAOA,
Why do friends let you down? Possibly you have higher standards than most people. Maybe you should be more picky about whom you hang out with. Or maybe you just have lousy friends and it’s time to get new ones.

The friend you wrote me about, however, is merely selfish and cheap. If you don't want to be inconvenienced, don't hang out with cheap, self-centered, money-grubbing, penny-pinching people. Unless you feel, in the long run, that that person is "worth" it. In which case you should give him the 2 bucks that he would lose by going to a more convenient ATM so you don't have to walk so far. Or, maybe, you should wear more comfortable shoes.
-Sandra

I look forward to hearing your stories of immense personal struggle and will continue to inspire you.