This "friend" who I've written about before is currently on a vacation with her boyfriend right now.  The original plan was to spend two weeks in a nice hotel somewhere, sightsee, and eat expensive foods that looks like it comes out of Instagram.

However, she doesn't have the money for this.  Crazy enough, but neither does her boyfriend.  So, what to do?  Well one idea was to turn to me.  Why, I don't know.  She's used to other guys paying for her, and in her mind, maybe I'm no different.  She texted me as late as 2 am in the morning just indirectly asking for money.  "Oh no, I don't have the money for this.  If only someone could help me rent this AirB&B for a week.  No?  Well, how about this less expensive hotel room at least?"  She's asking for at least $1500 USD here.  Minimum. 

It was ridiculous.  I politely but firmly ignored her.  As a result, she may have shortened her vacay plans from two weeks to one week.  I think that's what happened.  Our "friendship" has cooled considerably since this incident, and she's currently not talking to me anymore.  That's fine by me because if this is her idea of a "friendship", then I'm out.   No thanks.  I'm sorry to find out that time has not made her better, but worse.

To add insult to injury, she has her little circle of friends who basically believe she can do no wrong, and they have all indirectly indicated how little they think of me.  Why are people like this?  Do they not realize that I'm not the bad guy here?  Just because I don't want to pay for somebody else's vacation?

Hmm.  All this is subtle in motion, but as I am typing this out, I am realizing just how toxic these people are, and I am not at all interested in being around them.  They used to be better than this.  It's always sad to lose "friends" but I'm mentally checked-out at this point.

Warning: Political rant ahead (but is money-related).

When people debate about politics and the economy, I often find that some people have misguided views about what's really going on.  In a way, this is understandable because even the "Big Beautiful Bill" that recently got signed into law can be difficult to make heads or tails out of it.  That's why I appreciate channels like MonkeyExplains on YouTube, who just put out a video trying to explain the BBB in a way that is amusing but also simple to understand.

A few additional notes of to add:

1.  Do not underestimate the national debt burden.  This has already caused Moody to decrease the US's credit rating, which coincides with other nations' decisions to invest LESS into US Treasuries, and at the same time, the US dollar is losing its appeal as an international standard.  This is already hurting us, and until something is done about it (which is nothing right now), it is only going to get worse.

2. While it's true the average American has seen benefits from the Trump tax cuts, what isn't mentioned in this MonkeyExplains video is that the rich got WAY bigger tax cuts as well.  Last I checked, I think I got something like an additional $300 or so dollars back through the Trump tax cuts, but the top 1% richest people are getting up to $60k back.  That's on top of whatever tax-evading practices the super rich are already using before said tax cuts.

3.  Even though the video is only 10 minutes long, if you want to shorten it even further, try setting the video speed to 1.25x.  Edit: Ok, I also figured out how to start the video further ahead to save you even more time.

So there is this woman I am sort of friends with who has a handicapped child, and her son really needs a wheelchair.  This child is still in single digits in age, but what they need isn't just any ordinary wheelchair, but one that is specially-built for children.

While there are cheaper options available, the one they really want and should get would cost $700 USD.  This is one of those specialized "strollers" that are built to high quality standards, and will allow a child to "grow" into them, and continue to use it as they get bigger, up until they can use adult wheelchairs.

Cheaper options are not only less durable, they are also a bit more hazardous (doesn't support the head for example, or maybe they are more likely to fall out of it), but it also doesn't really allow a child to grow into them, meaning they would have to replace it with something else as the child gets bigger, again and again.

Unfortunately, this woman can't afford the expensive one.  She was just telling me that in passing, without knowing anything about me or my financial situation, and after hearing about it, I asked her if I could just get it for her.

I've donated to charity before, and until now, I have never encountered any friction or resistance about it.  The other person agrees.  I pay, they say thank you.  Done and done.  Life moves on.

So, imagine my surprise when this woman actually refused, saying she had to think about it.  And not only that, but she thought about it for TWO FULL WEEKS before finally agreeing to it (without me forcing her or anything by the way).

Looking back at it, I think I understand though.  She has to be careful with people just offering money out of nowhere, right?  Who is this guy?  Why is he offering?  What's the catch?  What does he really want in return?  Right?

From my perspective though, it's just one of those things in life where I know this is the best choice to make, and the only obstacle here is the cost.  If so, then yeah I'll pick up this tab, why not?  I'm a simple guy, and that's all there is to it.

It's just an interesting experience because I've never had anyone refuse before.  Well, at least initially anyway.  She did eventually agree.