I used to think that having a generous friend was a blessing.
Someone who could help me out in times of need and whom I could return the favour to if he or she helped me and needed it back.
I was not stingy with my friends and in the end, one of my close friends took it as a given that I would always lend him money and this did not take care or his finances
Afterall, I believed what goes around comes around but I was wrong about it.
My friend always takes it for granted that I will lend him money whenever he needs it, and because of this, he never ever thinks about his spending habits.
It all started when he borrowed a few hundred dollars from me and promised to pay me back soon. I thought it would be a one-time thing, but it wasn’t.
He kept coming back for more, and I kept giving it to him, because afterall he did pay me back the money which he borrowed, though sometimes it took a little longer.
He would find new excuses each time he had to borrow money, such as his car broke down or his salary had not come in yet.
I mean I was fine with it but as time went on, I started to get frustrated and felt like I was a convenience.
He never seemed to learn his lesson and he never changed his spending habits. He was always living beyond his means and spending money that he didn’t have.
I tried to talk to him about his spending habits out of concern because he was my friend, but he always just gave me a ‘Ya bro, i know’ as a reply and every other month still continued to borrow money from me.
One day, I had finally had enough. I told him that I was not willing to lend him any more money and that he needed to change his spending habits.
I told him that I was done and that he needed to start taking responsibility for his own finances.
He got angry and accused me of not being a good friend. He said that I should be more understanding and that I should always be willing to help him out.
I refused him and though he reluctantly sucked it up, I realised that he did not contact me as much anymore which made me feel that our friendship was based on me lending him money only.