No, for those people who would “ride for me” and vice versa I have loyalty and don’t mind helping them with money, but I’d expect to stay involved in their lives.

If they scuttle off, then they weren’t real at all, and I got played. I guess this supports OPs point, so I kinda get it.

However this group of people is not very large, most people I know aren’t getting money willy-nilly.

You shouldn't loan money to those people though, just give it without expectation of repayment.

Why not? I've borrowed thousands of dollars from family at times, lent thousands of dollars to them at others, and we've always repaid each other eventually.

It's normal to forgive a loan to family if circumstances change, or to give money no-strings-attached if they need it, but it's equally normal to loan money to help with cash flow problems and then expect repayment eventually.

>I've borrowed thousands of dollars from family at times

Is this common? Such a thing is unthinkable to me, and even friends from more businesslike families than mine have expressed major shame to me that they had to get a couple grand from their dad to cover closing costs (paid back within weeks)

Really? In my experience people pay back. When I was a student I and my friends ofent had to cover each other when buying tickets or whatever.