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What do you do about a friend that borrows money from you but never pays you back? You know they need money every once in awhile but you

don't have all the extra money to spread around. And they never pay you back. How do you handle such a situation?
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fabliaux
fabliaux
Marked as Best! March 22, 2010 05:05 PM
I lent a friend money years ago. We no longer speak. I suspect she thinks I'm just being a B***h. We now have mutual friends on facebook and know that each other still exists. I won't contact her and she won't contact me. She still owes me about $1000. I've given her trade-in credit for the other amount that she owed me (as in we went to New Orleans for Marti Gras one year and I never paid her for that because she never paid me for the first debt).

But frankly, you should not give out money that you want back. In other words, if you want to give it as a gift than do it but don't loan money to friends with the intention of getting them to pay you back. You could have them sign a loan note; however, I suspect you would have to take them to court and then a court order that they will then never pay you either.

So, tell the person no. If he or she stops talking to you, then at least you won't have to listen to him or her beg for money anymore.
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sue_p
sue_p
March 22, 2010 05:17 PM
I've never loaned a person more then a twenty, and that was only after I was sure I could afford even that, and my friends, if they couldn't afford to pay me back usually babysat or helped clean my house to pay it off, so it wasn't a loss when one compares what one is getting in return labor. Trust me, I always made sure I was paid back one way or another after I had learned the trade and barter system...
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unwirklich
unwirklich
March 22, 2010 02:46 AM
Well my general rule as far as lending money is not to lend money I can't afford to lose. It doesn't matter to me what the persons track record paying me back is.. if I'm going to need the money, I don't lend it even if I don't need it right now. If someone asks me to borrow money I share this rule and nothing more. I don't feel guilty when I can't help someone.
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lidyax2
lidyax2
March 22, 2010 03:12 AM
Simple. I would stop lending them money. I would not ask them to repay me if they can't, I would just let the money go. But I wouldn't lend it again to them either. I have an uncle who is just like this, he always gets into financial problems, always borrow money, and oftentimes don't return it. This habit will never stop. People like this leeches people's kindness and generosity. Maybe when you refuse to lend them money, they get their wake up call that they can't always rely on someone else's favor for their lives.
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thebandit
thebandit
March 22, 2010 03:31 AM
I'd stop lending them money. When you lend someone money, there's generally the expectation that you're going to get it back. This person has broken that promise multiple times. Regardless of whether they need money or not, they've gone back on that trust. And since I don't have much money to begin with, I can't afford to have it broken much more.
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bklynj
bklynj
March 22, 2010 04:56 AM
Just tell them you don't have it anymore. Tell them you are a little short yourself and if they could pay you a little back from what they owe you it would be really helpful right now. If you keep lending you are just a suckers bet or a sure thing. Years ago I had a friend who did this and then instead of paying me back went out and bought an expensive stereo. When we went to his house to see it I was so mad I took the stereo.
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sue_p
sue_p
March 22, 2010 04:40 PM
Having been through this situation, I have learned never to loan them anymore until they have paid back what they already owe me.
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