I'd like some advice about how to tell a friend not to get engaged to a spendthrift.
My friend (we'll call him Mike) has always been "cheap". We used to make fun of him in college for pinching pennies so hard. He'd sneak no-name beer into college bars to save on $1 draft beer, or bring Mcdonalds double cheeseburgers ($1 each in our college town) to dinner in his jacket pockets to save money on dinner, or (last example I promise) buy a bunch (50+) of mcdonalds cheeseburgers on $0.49 day to put in his freezer and heat up later.
Anyways fast forward to now, about 5 years after graduating college. He has been single and works in IT now, making good money. He saved a lot of money up during that time. About a year ago things all changed.. He met a girl online that is really not good for him (in my opinion). She has over $100k in school debt (masters in counceling) but makes $10/hr at her main job with no benefits. Since there are no benefits she also works at starbucks 20 hrs/wk. Because of this she's always tired, wont go out, constant headaches, they fight a lot, etc etc.. on to the financial part...
They go out to eat every day, along with other bad decisions, so he's not saving money anymore. He pays for 80% of rent since she can't afford it. She wanted a $1500 puppy so he bought it for her and now it has expensive health issues that he's covering. She has a $26k Jeep that she can barely afford, an HOUR commute in it getting 13mpg, and a bad shopping problem. In total $100k in school debt and $21k Jeep loan at......get this.... 14% interest! How is that even possible? Also she has very bad credit, and he's now buying her a much needed Iphone 5.
There's even more to it than I just listed but you're probably getting bored with my post at this point so I'll end the list there for now. Obviously it's a train wreck.
So he said something about getting engaged and I thought WTF? I explained that her debt would now be his debt if he went through with it. He understands and starts going off on how bad she is with money, but later the getting engaged thing comes up again.. How do I tell him (without losing him as a friend) that she's TERRIBLE for him and that it would be the mistake of a lifetime to marry her?
On top of the financial stuff, all of the eating out has made him gain a lot of weight. It'd be a less terrible situation if they got along well or if she treated him well, but neither is the case! I want to sit him down and say "So what are the GOOD things about her that make you think you should get married? List them".