Personal Finance

'Where can I go to make rich friends? Being around my poor friends is keeping me poor.'

Maurie Backman

Published: February 13, 2025 9:42 am

The company we keep has the potential to impact our financial situations. If you tend to spend time around people who are big spenders, you may be more likely to whittle down your paycheck each month, wind up in debt, and fall short of your financial goals.

On the other hand, if your friends tend to be more frugal, that could inspire you to live below your means and save money consistently. That could set you up for a lot of great things, including a comfortable retirement (and perhaps an early one at that).

In this Reddit post, we have a 30-something who grew up poor and now identifies as lower middle class, earning around $46,000 a year in a moderate cost of living area. They want to pursue a career in banking or wealth management and are aiming for a six-figure income.

They’re wondering how they can go about expanding their social circle to include friends who are more well-off. Their goal is not to mooch off of their wealthy friends, but rather, be inspired by them.

They also worry that their current set of friends might judge them for wanting to climb the corporate ladder and better their finances. So they’re hoping to find people who will relate to their goals.

I can see why finding some new friends is important to this poster. But I don’t necessarily think that focusing on finding wealthy friends is the right way to go about things.

It’s a matter of connecting and being on the same page

The advice I have for this poster is the same advice I’d give to anyone who feels their friends are holding them back or aren’t supportive of their goals — get new friends. However, don’t base your choices on the amount of wealth those people have.

It’s important to befriend people who share your values and who you have a good connection with. But whether someone in that category earns $50,000 a year or $500,000 a year should almost be irrelevant.

It may be that you meet a friend at the gym or a local volunteer group who earns half of your income but, like you, is seeking upward mobility. You may find that you’re both on the same page and can encourage each other to meet your respective goals, in which case that person’s income shouldn’t matter one bit.

It’s also worth noting that people who earn a lot more money aren’t necessarily good at managing it. So being around higher earners isn’t necessarily going to help your financial situation. Plus, if you start spending time with people who earn more than you, you may be tempted to overspend to keep up with their lifestyles.

A financial advisor can help

If there’s an aspect of your social life you find unfulfilling, then it’s a good idea to expand your circle or even try to make a completely new set of friends. But don’t rely solely on your friends to meet your financial goals. To that end, find yourself a financial advisor to work with.

A financial advisor can help you make the most of your paycheck and help put your money to work for you. They can also help you track your progress toward your long-term goals and offer support and encouragement — backed by firm numbers — along the way.

But remember, it’s important to be able to get financial advice from someone objective, and friends don’t always fall into that category. So even if you manage to find like-minded people who are supportive of your upward financial mobility, it still pays to work with a professional who will tell it to you straight.