Well, if you can't "train him away from it" by diverting the conversation to him and his interests every time he says something like that, and you like him and want to smooth things out, maybe get a bottle of wine or whatever relaxing material you both enjoy and just talk to him about it, see if he will open up and tell you more about his feelings.
It could be that his financial situation doesn't give him the same options that you have, and despite liking you, he has some resentment, and envy of that.
That's OK, it's natural, you won't be the first person he feels that for, nor will he be the only person to feel it. Maybe there is someone else in your school who doesn't have to work at a campus job or save up, maybe she or he can just buy whatever shoes they want, when they want them, and you might feel a little twinge here or there if you lived with that person.
It's just a part of life, there will always be people who have more money than he does, than you do, and of course everybody has more money than I do.
But just as there are many different ways of being "smart," there are many different ways of being "rich," and part of growing up is to learn to celebrate the ways that YOU have, that HE has.
Maybe there is a class that you have to really study hard for to get a good grade, and he's utterly bored, just writes his papers and takes home his "A" with no effort at all, or maybe he can play the trombone well enough to join an orchestra, and you have always had a secret desire to be a trombone player, but you can barely get the thing to squeak.
You get the idea. Everybody has something that we don't have, and we all have something that other people don't have. We may all wish we had that stuff we don't have, but if we can just acknowledge that, own it, then we can move on to each one sharing what we DO have with other earth residents.
And if your friendship can be the thing that helps him get to that very happy place, the universe will have done you a great honor!
It could be that his financial situation doesn't give him the same options that you have, and despite liking you, he has some resentment, and envy of that.
That's OK, it's natural, you won't be the first person he feels that for, nor will he be the only person to feel it. Maybe there is someone else in your school who doesn't have to work at a campus job or save up, maybe she or he can just buy whatever shoes they want, when they want them, and you might feel a little twinge here or there if you lived with that person.
It's just a part of life, there will always be people who have more money than he does, than you do, and of course everybody has more money than I do.
But just as there are many different ways of being "smart," there are many different ways of being "rich," and part of growing up is to learn to celebrate the ways that YOU have, that HE has.
Maybe there is a class that you have to really study hard for to get a good grade, and he's utterly bored, just writes his papers and takes home his "A" with no effort at all, or maybe he can play the trombone well enough to join an orchestra, and you have always had a secret desire to be a trombone player, but you can barely get the thing to squeak.
You get the idea. Everybody has something that we don't have, and we all have something that other people don't have. We may all wish we had that stuff we don't have, but if we can just acknowledge that, own it, then we can move on to each one sharing what we DO have with other earth residents.
And if your friendship can be the thing that helps him get to that very happy place, the universe will have done you a great honor!