This question isn't super FI-focused, but whatever it's the daily thread. Plus, most of you will be in a similar position as I am so hopefully you can relate.

How do you handle giving out financial advice? I have friends who talk to me about some bad financial moves they're thinking of making. Am I being more of an asshole by giving unsolicited financial advice or by sitting idly by while they make mistakes I could've warned them about? So far I've stuck with the latter approach. Here's an example:

My friend recently graduated and has typical student loans. He works a low paying job and basically no savings, but told me he's thinking of buying a car. His reasoning is that he will need to spend $700 for tires on his current car (that otherwise has no mechanical issues), but "so-and-so's car payment is only $150 a month." We've all heard this story before.

On the one hand, it's not my place to tell him how to live his life. On top of that, I make a great deal more money than he does, so I could very well be out of touch with his situation. It just seems cruel for me to not at least mention it's probably not a good idea before it can't be undone, but I wasn't asked so I don't want to be an asshole. This is just the most recent example. So, do you try to help your loved ones or just sit by while they fuck their shit up?