Dear Prudence,
My boyfriend, Alec, has friends who are big moochers. He made a few of these pals through work, and he has even invited them to his family’s vacation home. But since then, they’ve gotten very comfortable asking him to use the house for themselves. They’re not gracious about staying there, either: One of their girlfriends blatantly told Alec that they were only friends with him for the beach house! Another threw a party and left the place a mess.
I grew up in a working-class family of six, and I cannot imagine treating a friend like this. I told Alec that I find these people rude and entitled. The last straw, for me, was when we went on a group outing together. His friends ordered extras and only paid small fractions of the bill, walking out and leaving Alec and I with a tab of almost $300. (Two of them ignored my Venmo requests.) I have no desire to hang out with them again, but Alec is torn, and after all, they are his “friends.” How should we handle this?
— Who Raised These People?