DR. WALLACE: I'm a college student with an acquaintance who is a casual friend, and we end up doing a few things together from time to time.

It's not like this person is a really close friend of mine, but we do have things in common and are friendly, and we can speak intelligently about our classes and things we have in common. But the negative thing is, this particular person will regularly short-pay what is rightfully fair if we go out and get some food together. He promises to make it up the next time, but that doesn't happen. The next time comes around and I'm lucky if I get half the expenses at that time.

This person also asked me for a few very small loans of pocket change for specific things that he needed, and I gave out $5, $10 or even $20 a few times here and there. None of it has been repaid!

I don't really want to cut this person off, but I don't want to be taken advantage of continuously either. What's my best move from here? — Have a Financially Encroaching Friend, via email

HAVE A FINANCIALLY ENCROACHING FRIEND: People who take advantage of others in the manner you've described continue to do it because their encroachments are not called out, due to the discomfort some see as confrontation if they simply ask for their money back or for a future expense to be paid to balance things up.

You actually have three choices here. One is to do nothing and allow the encroachment to continue, to your ongoing frustration. A second option is to no longer eat meals together or be willing to make small loans to this individual. Just talk briefly after class or at school — nothing more.

The third and most logical one would be to simply propose an outing to get food in the near future when the conversation is comfortable, but before you leave, calmly ask the other person to pick up the tab entirely this time to start making some inroads into what is owed back to you. State this calmly and watch for the reaction. Things may work out well, or they may not, but that's out of your control, and however things resolve, you'll feel relieved.

I'M LITERALLY STUDYING AS HARD AS I POSSIBLY CAN!

DR. WALLACE: I'm a senior in high school, and I'm on the homestretch now of my final year. I'm really pushing myself hard to get the best possible grades I can, as this will enhance my opportunities to be accepted into one of the colleges I'm targeting.

For the past six weeks, I've been studying quite diligently, and using every free moment I have to keep pushing myself. It's gotten to the point where I literally fall asleep at night with a textbook in my hand and wake up with it next to me. My grades are improving, and I am doing pretty well, but I have to admit the grind of my brutal study schedule is bringing me down mentally a bit. I don't want to give up, however, because I only have a little more than a month to go, and I feel I can grind it out to the finish line.

I don't know every single study trick, so I thought I would hit you up to see if you have any suggestions, as I'm taking my studies quite seriously for the next month. — Making My Big Final Push, via email

MAKING MY BIG FINAL PUSH: I commend you for the diligence and effort you are putting into your studies, especially as you make your final push toward improving your grades in preparation for college next fall.

However, instead of encouraging you to push yourself even harder or to try to come up with some unusual study trick or technique, I think I have something much more practical for you.

Get in the habit of studying hard but taking regular breaks for 15 to 20 minutes every hour or hour and a half, no matter what! Use this time to go out for a brisk walk, do some exercise such as light weightlifting, jogging, shooting baskets or whatever you enjoy doing to get your blood flowing and allow you to do some deep breathing. During these breaks, relax and give yourself credit for the past hour or hour and a half of diligence studying. Use your break to review what you feel are the most important points of what you've learned in your last study segment.

Studying hard, taking regular breaks to review the material mentally while burning some calories and then returning to your studies in this alternating manner will give you the best chance of improving your grades toward the end of the school year. I wish you success over the next month, and I'm rooting for you to be accepted into one of the colleges you desire to attend.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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