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What to Do When a Friend Owes You Money
It’s so annoying to have to repeatedly ask people for money they owe you.
It’s a conundrum many know all too well, sometimes with painful results.
A friend or family member needs to borrow a significant sum of money. Of course, you want to help, but the stories about relationships ruined by failed repayment of loans are troubling. What would a wanna-be Good Samaritan do?
Indeed, it’s likely that you’ll face this problem at some point if you have a bit of cash cushion lying around. A survey by Bankrate found that 60 percent of U.S. adults have lent money at some point to a loved one. Of those, 37 percent said they lost money and 21 percent reported the experience hurt the relationship.
This is an experience that Ezra Cabrera knows all too well. A few years back, a childhood friend borrowed $6,000 from the content marketing manager to pay necessary bills, like rent and utilities. “She lost her job at a time when she was diagnosed with depression. It was a tough time, and I felt nothing but sympathy for her,” Cabrera recalls by email. “After a few days after she got the money, I received a call from her mom, asking if my friend was staying with me because the landlord said that her apartment was empty. Apparently, my friend ran away with my check and left her debts at home.”
