It can be tempting to let somebody else foot the bill without them knowing.

This is one of the dangers of our convenience-based society, where every device we own is linked up to our bank details: all it takes is one opportunistic person to decide that they don’t want to pay for something, and all of a sudden, your hard-earned dollars seem to be disappearing without explanation. Too many of us do not learn the lesson of being careful about our financial safety until it is too late.

What’s worse is that the people who take advantage of this kind of thing can often be those whom you trust the most. Family members can prove to be your worst enemy when it comes to matters of money, usually because they think that they can use you for it without facing any consequences. It goes without saying that, even putting aside the ethical implications, this is a bad decision to make. The amount involved doesn’t always matter, as it is the breach of trust and the ensuing disagreement that is going to cause the real problems. Nobody wants to think that somebody they are closely related to is using them for money.