Lifestyles of the poor and nameless

Last Friday I got into an argument with a guy that I've been friendly with for the past year. His name is Mike. He's 24 and a little 'hood, but he's pretty smart and very interested in business start-up and finance. Most of our conversations have focused on these topics, as well as "what's wrong with the Black community." We've talked about possibly starting a business together someday.

Several months ago, I found out that Mike doesn't have a bank account. He told me that he doesn't trust banks. He thinks they're basically robbing people since they give such low interest rates (1% is about the usual these days) and then they charge such high interest rates when they lend out money. He said he prefers to save his money at home because then he knows where it is and has access to it whenever he wants. I call this the "mattress money theory". I told him that any interest is better than no interest, and he should really consider opening something.

Since that discussion, I signed up with ING Direct through my brother. I told Mike about it and he said he wasn't interested. I couldn't understand how he could invest so much energy in trying to "get rich" but then ignore something that pays instantly. He said he didn't have enough money to start the account. I told him there was no minimum. If he had $1 he could get started, and they'd give him $25 as a bonus. He said he'd think about it. I told him I'd get $10 if he signed up (hey, I'm all for full disclosure).

A couple months went by. I told a few people about ING. Some said they were interested but couldn't afford to open the account. Some were just plain skeptical. Some people I pushed (because they're always complaining about lack of money or trying to hustle for more) and others I never followed up with.

Mike was one of the people I pushed. He was always trying to get me into some business idea, but in order for a partnership to work, the partners need to have similar financial beliefs and credit histories. I found out that the ING interest rate increased and I told him about it. He repeated his mattress money theory. Then he blew up and accused me of trying to scam him for $10, and said I wouldn't have told him about it if there was no referral fee. I was disgusted and offended by that. Yes, I struggle with money too, but to say I'm going to scam a person for $10 is wild. The only reason I pushed him, was because he was the biggest "hustler/aspiring entrepreneur" I know who didn't even have a bank account. I remember back in the day when I worked at a dot com and told my friends to buy the stock--- it was at $2/share. Everyone cried "I'm broke!" 6 months later, the company merged and the stock went to $13/share. Hotjobs.com/Yahoo!...who woulda thought? If I find a way to make money, I want my friends in it too. Plain and simple.

In the end, I sent Mike $10 through PayPal to let him know that it wasn't the money I was after. I just happened to truly believe in what I was saying. 2 days later, he wrote me an email and said that the real reason he wouldn't sign up is because he was broke and too embarassed to say so. I haven't responded to his email yet because I can't think of what to say. I really don't care if Mike is broke. It's a temporary stage anyway. I can understand him being defensive about it, but going on the offensive and attacking MY character? That's a bit much. It's the 3rd time in a year that I've found myself defending my integrity to him. He's inherently skeptical of people, even when they're trying to help, as I do. It's a real turnoff. I think it's time for me to cut him loose.