Keep laying around and watching TV, and pretty soon you may not have any boyfriend to worry about! Many women would give anything to have a boyfriend as thoughtful and attentive as yours, Missy. And there are probably plenty of women with their eye on your boyfriend right now, so you'd better ask yourself whether you're willing to let this one get away!

Dear Answer man,

My friend has always had trouble when it comes to girls. Two years ago, myself and a few other mutual friends of this troubled soul confronted him about how silly he was acting about this one girl. He was mad at the time but has thanked us many times since for showing him the light.

Well, he's at it again. Everything was normal for a while, a woman free period in his life. He is 20 now. He had a new job, a new car, and was saving up to go back to school. Then he got involved with this girl (who I have never met). But I do know what he does for this girl, and it is just too much. She lives 40 minutes away, so he calls her every night for hours on end. He brings her roses when he visits her every weekend, and sometimes during the week. He goes to visit her, even if she has to work when he can manage to be there. Then there are the gifts, necklaces, bracelets, and not the cheap stuff either. Call me cheap, but $300 bucks seems extravigant to me. Especialy when you consider they've been 'dating' (I thought I should add some scare quotes somewhere) for only 2 1/2 months.

The problem is he's running through all the savings he had, and will not be able to go to school, something he had wanted to do. Also, I can picture him knocking her up, and then having to get married. This is something that happens way too often in the small town where they live, and I don't want to see my friend in that position. Of course there is the selfish aspect as well; since he started to see this girl, he has completely stopped seeing his other friends, at least with any regularity. The question is, should my friends and I confront him about his new found ass-hole-ishness? (I also wanted to hear your take on the situation)

Sincerely,

sympathetic friend

Dear Friend,

You're a good friend to be so concerned about your pal's personal and financial well-being. Often, friends feel threatened when they see members of their group getting interested in an outsider of the opposite sex.

This girlfriend sounds like a goldbricker, all right. But your friend will just have to learn his lesson on his own. Unfortunately, he seems to have been down this road before, without learning his lesson the first time. But he's an adult, and it's his life. All you can do is be patient and hope he comes to his senses on his own. Try to be supportive without picking on him. The last thing he needs is to hear a lecture from his friends.