How to Deal with a "Mooching" Neighbour

Everyone knows the type, always asking for something, borrowing money never to pay it back, otherwise called a "mooch".  Most peoples first instinct is to help the person out, especially if you know them.  That's the decent thing to do of course.  If I needed a couple dollars or a cup of sugar I could count on my friends to lend me a hand.  However, what if this situation becomes chronic?  What if this person comes over everyday to "borrow" something from you?
If the person is just down on their luck or between jobs then it might be understandable.  If the person is normally not like that then go ahead and help them out, they need it.  But what if they don't need the help or don't deserve it?  So, what do you do about the mooching neighbour?

Ask Questions

Start asking questions.  Everytime the person wants something ask them Why? For what?  What happened to yours?  Why don't you have any?  This will change the persons behaviour slightly so that when they think about asking you for something, they know they will need to answer a question and give an excuse.  You can only have so many excuses.  If they always need a ride somewhere ask why?  Tell them that you're only going out if you, yourself have somewhere to go.  You may also get to the root of their problem with all the questions.

Hide Everything

This part may upset some people because it is forcing you to change something about your life.  No one likes to have their life disrupted by someone else but you may have to.  This is part of the "out of sight out of mind" philosophy.  Put all your loose change in a tin and hide the tin.  Leave nothing out on the coffee table.  If the person sees it they will ask to "borrow" it.  Expensive medication, especially prescription, put it somewhere other than the medicine cabinet.  When you make a meal and you are done eating put everything away in the fridge as soon as you can.

Lock the Door/Don't Answer it

If you just don't feel like dealing with the person just ignore the door.  If the person asks later why you didn't answer tell them you were napping or watching a movie with your wife/girlfriend.  Even being intimate with her.  The person has to learn they cant just come over any time they want.

Don't Be Afraid to Be Annoyed

By this point time your mooching neighbour is probably starting to annoy you anyway so don't be afraid to show your annoyance.  When the mooch asks for something, rub your eyes, shake your head, look down and let out a sigh.  Anything to convey that you are annoyed with this situation.

If All Else Fails

The last resort is straight up telling the person its too much to handle.  Its hard to do this nicely.  Starting with things like. "Look, we cant do this anymore.", "I cant support both of us." , "I need money to replace these things." and so on.  You can also try and make it clear by simply saying, "I cant.".  You can't spare it or you cant afford to give it away.

If, at this point you don't care about keeping this person as a friend then there is no need to be subtle.  Just say, "That's it, you cant borrow anything else from me anymore,  You have taken enough."