Comments on: Maybe Lend Money To Your Friends

By: » This Week in the Archives: Lending to Friends, Changing Flights, and 40-Year Mortgages on Consumerism Commentary: A Personal Finance Blog

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 01:39:01 +0000

[...] June 8: Maybe Lend Money to Your Friends [...]

By: JP

JP — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:52:59 +0000

I loaned $1400 to a friend back in Feb 2005. Got back $700 of it within 2 weeks and that was it. I still see him on occasion but he never brings up the fact that he still owes me $700. All of my friends tell me that I should say something but I’ve never been the confrontational type. It’s now to the point where we hardly talk. I’ll have a dilemma if and when he gets married (ie. wedding gift) I suppose a card with nothing in it with a memo : “you still owe me $500″ should suffice… DON’T DO IT !!!

By: jim

jim — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 14:24:22 +0000

I wholeheartedly agree.

By: LSD

LSD — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 21:54:47 +0000

If it’s a small amount, sure. Otherwise, let them get money from prosper or zopa(soon to be out in US) if they really need a larger amount.

I think there was a saying, “If you lend money to a friend, be prepared to lose the money or the friend.”

By: FMF

FMF — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 19:51:15 +0000

If it’s an amount you can afford, why not just GIVE it to them?

By: traineeinvestor

traineeinvestor — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:17:09 +0000

I agree that it is a bit of a judgement call. On the few occasions on which I have lent money to friends, I have always considered that the friendship was more important than the money. Maybe I have been lucky – I have always been repaid in full and as reasonably promptly as the friends’ circumstances would permit. Had things worked out differently, no doubt the friendship would have come under pressure. Incidentially, I did not charge interest on the loans.