There are those tricky situations that can mess things up for good. Those awkward times of betrayal when your friend dates your ex, they talk behind your back, or you run into “real world” issues that a happy friendship can’t fix. One of those issues can be lending your friends money. If I can suggest anything, it’s don’t do it. Ever. Once problems arise with receiving the money, everything can go downhill. Personally, I tend to be nicer about getting the money back or give them extra time when it’s a friend because there should be a level of trust there that they can handle it on their own. Besides the trust, when it comes to the real situation it can be incredibly awkward trying to bring up the subject to the friend that tells them you actually need the money soon but not being negative about it. For example:
“Hey, do you happen to have that money from the other day?”
“Oh, no sorry I forgot. I’ll get it to you soon tho!”
(5 more months pass)
In some cases the problem will resolve itself quickly when both sides are responsible human beings. Unfortunately, the majority of the people I’ve come across are not. Chances are they take advantage of the leeway you give them to pay them back and it never happens. Either you forget about it or realize you have to be harsher to get things moving. Lets say you actually stand up to the friend and tell them you need the money now because the situation has gone too far. You now have pissed off your money-stealing friend, which turns everything in to a fight. The morals of your friend become an issue and now you’re arguing over lifestyles and capabilities to handle real life situations, rather than what kind of nail polish to wear. Sometimes these fights can’t be rekindled back into a peaceful friendship. And now your close friend turned into an enemy you didn’t even know about.
