What's a Little Money Between Friends?

Money is never something we like to think of as an important factor in our relationships. I just finished reading David Amsden's "What's a little Money between Friends?", which illustrates just how much cashflow can affect our friendships. In the article, Amsden serves kind of as a mediator between five friends who are each a part of very different financial situations, ranging from very well to do, to living off of frozen dinners in a student housing at age 26. As Damsden continued conversing with them about their monetary situations and how they each feel about it, it seems that he hastens the end of their friendships.

Though it meant damaging a few friendships, documenting this was very eye-opening for me (and other readers too, I bet). Money is a driving factor in everything that we do, even in circumstances where we aren't even buying things. "Oh you still have the old iPhone?" or "When are you going to get a car, dude?" aren't uncommon questions I've heard, unfortunately. Everyone wants to show that they are affluent and can have nice things by purchasing flashy, pricey gadgets that anyone would know about. Though it is a bummer to realize, we can't expect much else, especially in New York or its suburbs, where "Cash Rules Everything Around Me".