Friends And Financial Differences

Penelope · Aug 1, 2018

My spouse is in a higher income bracket than my family and most of my previous friends before marriage My friends are educated and good people, but sometimes I feel weird and uncomfortable inviting them to my home because they struggling financially. While I have a different more comfortable situation.
I don't want them to feel like I am showing off but I would love to have them come for dinner and hang out.
I feel so strange about it, I avoid making new friends that have lower income.
Does anyone have experience with having friends with significantly differing incomes? How do you deal with this?

Parry22 · Aug 1, 2018

Why should you feel uncomfortable to earn a higher living and maintaining a good standard of living? You earned it and you deserve it!! There is no reason you should not invite your friends to your home. Go ahead and invite them and let them also enjoy your home and your luxury for a few hours. Just because they earn lesser doesn't mean they should feel guilty or awkward. So what ?!? Some people are rich , some people are not-so-rich !! Friendship shouldn't come in between that !
Go ahead invite them and if THEY feel awkward then you can stop. Just be careful not to brag about anything or flaunt your richness in front of them, lest they feel bad. If your friends feel awkward then don't invite them hence forward ,but atleast try it out once.

SGBV · Aug 1, 2018

I do have many friends from a very lower financial background just as some of my relatives. But I have never felt uncomfortable inviting them to my home for any events.
I don't plan any events with theme or expect expensive gifts if the invitees are from middle to lower class background. It may inconvenience them.
So, I make sure that I be the good host by not separating them from the upper class set and not to struggle them by expecting a special color dress, themetic stuff on their kids etc.
If such an event is a must, then I would do it among my upper class circle alone.

But in general, to invite friends and families for one-on-one dinner or lunch parties, as a host I've never felt uncomfortable. Just that I need to be extra careful and humble before them should they come with a very fragile ego and insecurity due to the differences. Not many of them comes like that, but I do have encountered a few friends who were really inconvenient at my place, hence I need to be extra nice to make them normal