I am a fairly generous friend - I will never refuse to help someone if I can. My friends know this and, generally speaking, are pretty good with reciprocating. But today I've been reminded why so many people don't lend friends' money.
A few weeks ago, a close friend of mine got married. I was a bridesmaid and I knew all the hassles they had along the way. They paid for the whole shebang themselves and were pretty good in keeping it fairly inexpensive - the whole thing, ceremony, dress, flowers, reception cost under $10 000. But a couple of days before, there were some unexpected costs and she asked me to help. I didn't hesitate (well, I did, cos I wasn't sure how much cash I had in the account and it was in between pay) and transfered $200.
Now, I usually don't have a problem with when people pay me back - especially her, because I know they have major expenses. But I got my credit card bill this week and, with wedding stuff (hair, makeup, shoes, manicure etc) and christmas pressies, it's a bit of a big one. Okay, it's huge. And I'm not one of those people who pays the minimum off - I like to pay the whole lot off every month. This month might be a stretch, so I called my friend yesterday and delicately asked if she could pay at least some of it off this week, so I can put it straight to the bill. She said sure, she could pay $100 and she'd do it as soon as she got home last night. Well, she hasn't done it and I don't want to ask again. The thing is, everytime she's asked me, I've transfered the cash immediately - we use the same bank, so it shows up pretty much immediately. I'm a bit peeved because, while the bill's not due til next week, I think the least she could have done was transfer the money when she said she would.
Yeah, so a warning - I may not be as generous for the next few weeks.
