If you needed another reason why mixing friends and money usually ends up badly, here’s five of them.
(And to the letter-writer: I think I’ve got a great “hassle-free” New Year’s resolution idea for you!)
(Thanks to Kristen in Leesburg, Virginia for forwarding!)
related: Two birds with one snowman
140 responses so far ↓
#1
Ni
How unbelievably (and AWESOMELY) tacky! HA!
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:54 pm rating: 41
#2
Jonathan
Oh, is it Jubilee time already?
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:55 pm rating: 5
#3
Canthz_B
He’s making a list and checking it twice,
telling his friends that deadbeats aren’t nice.
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:56 pm rating: 120
#4
Ian
Over $5.50? Seriously?
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:58 pm rating: 82
#5
Sock
“dear friends, I am an anal control freak. Sometime during the last year, I paid for something that cost mainly very small amounts (except for the $89.37 guy – don’t forget those 37 cents dude!) for you and you never paid me back. Instead of asking you about it in person or even calling, I’m going to send out a MASS mothereffing email including everyone who ever owed me anything. Pay up bitches.”
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:58 pm rating: 101
#6
notolaf
Oddly Specific
Nov 29, 2010 at 8:58 pm rating: 13
#7
visa
Old debts: $159.09
Alienating the deadbeats in your life right before the gift-giving season: Priceless.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:03 pm rating: 134
#8
Courtney
Something less serious than an outstanding debt of $5.52? That’s hard to imagine.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:06 pm rating: 31
#9
farcical aquatic ceremony
C’mon, that’s just mean–Rick Springfield doesn’t have that kind of money!
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:17 pm rating: 20
#10
Canthz_B
Gift list:
Mary – wristwatch
Bill – leather wallet
Frank-
golf clubs$5.50Nov 29, 2010 at 9:25 pm rating: 158
#11
QuikLives
Seriously, while this would have been better addressed individually, and most of the amounts are small, I’m team letter writer here. I don’t lend money anymore – and it’s for this reason. Just because they’re small amounts doesn’t mean the other people get to blow it off.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:25 pm rating: 54
#12
SP
Wow. Dude, ever hear of “pay it forward”? I can’t imagine how many people in my life who have paid for things, and I have done the same. We NEVER keep score. It always somehow works out. And, I’d rather have my good friends and help them out when they need it than live a lonely existence and keep score like that. The one friend who did keep score is no longer my friend. And I was the one paying for most everything with him, but he would conveniently “forget” unless it was him paying. I feel sorry for you. Truly.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:44 pm rating: 58
#13
stratonick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAuSTQUa3tM
Good advice for our letter writer.
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:44 pm rating: 4
#14
Nuki
Team deadbeats!
If you lend me $5.50 (or buy me a beer when I have no cash or whatever that $5.50 is) I don’t consider it a Note Payable with a payment due date… it’s more of “hey I’ll catch you next time”
Also:
Team Notewriter! Who borrows practically $90 and then forgets about it? DOOOOOOUUUUUCHEBAAAAG
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:46 pm rating: 28
#15
Canthz_B
What?! No accrued interest?
What a pal!!
Nov 29, 2010 at 9:51 pm rating: 24
#16
Danielle
Scorekeepers are the worst.
I understand the $89.37 and maybe even the 29.72 but the rest don’t seem to be worth the tacky email.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:00 pm rating: 26
#17
LVM
Its always the scorekeepers who owe the most money! my score keeper friends will ask for the $20 that i owe and when i kindly offer to write that debt off because of the $40 or so they owe me, they happily change the subject!
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:21 pm rating: 20
#18
Diana
Given the amount he lent out, he’s got plenty of dough in his mattress somewhere. Probably in quarters.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:29 pm rating: 6
#19
mystic_eye_cda
To me, it’s the fact that they couldn’t write 6 different e-mails! YIKES!
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:29 pm rating: 21
#20
Walker, "Tex" (a stranger)
I’m surprised he’s willing to take a personal check.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:29 pm rating: 22
#21
Melodie
I hope she got it in writing. One time a friend of mine loaned me $100, then said I didn’t have to pay her back, then said “And YOU owe me money!” straight out of fucking nowhere a couple of months later.
We’re not friends anymore, but for unrelated reasons.
I swear to god.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:31 pm rating: 13
#22
Na
Why not, as a Christmas gift to THEM, he/she could just forgive their debts? Most of them being minimal amounts of money, that would be much more hassle-free.
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:45 pm rating: 31
#23
Na
“If you lend a person $50 and then never see that person again, it was money well spent.”
Nov 29, 2010 at 10:48 pm rating: 60
#24
Roundredhead
I never lend money that I can’t afford to write off. In fact I don’t consider it a loan when I pay for something for a friend, it’s a gift. If later they feel like giving me the money for it that’s cool, if they don’t, I have the pleasure of having helped them out. This may sound like I’m being generous to them, but actually I’m the one who gains the most from not having to stress about it. My friends help me out in so many ways, the very least of which is with money. I suppose if someone was always mooching it might become a problem, but it’s never happened to me so far (and I’m in my forties.)
Nov 29, 2010 at 11:28 pm rating: 44
#25
JetJackson
I would send a check for $300 and a note saying they obviously need it more than me if they are chasing people for $5.50.
This type of person is going to hate nothing more than to be in someone elses pocket.
Nov 29, 2010 at 11:36 pm rating: 21
#26
Amber
Good lord. That sounds EXACTLY like my psycho ex-roommate.
Nov 29, 2010 at 11:43 pm rating: 4
#27
Xyzzy
Bleargh… Reminds me of my ex’s family — his siblings and parents all not only kept meticulous track of every penny they spent on or lent one another, but charged one another interest, no matter how little the loaned amount was!
Nov 30, 2010 at 4:02 am rating: 3
#28
WMDKitty
Team Forget It.
Seriously, it’s just money.
Nov 30, 2010 at 5:49 am rating: 2
#29
aaa
Is the notewriter sure they doesn’t celebrate Festivus? It sounds like they have a good head start on the Airing of Grievances. And the Feats of Strength can always come when they try to actually collect this money.
Nov 30, 2010 at 7:22 am rating: 46
#30
Canthz_B
The note writer should be charged with strong arm snobbery.
Nov 30, 2010 at 7:32 am rating: 6
#31
Jacquie
I am so using this letter today on my customers who have the attitude that $99 for an ad is not really a bill they need to pay. Screw that, I want my money! If I owe someone 10 cents I pay them right away and expect the same. I applaud the author.
Nov 30, 2010 at 7:46 am rating: 7
#32
Canthz_B
Sure, go ahead and insist on the $5 or $6 back.
Because, you know, trying to repo a burger and fries is a pretty shitty experience!
Nov 30, 2010 at 8:35 am rating: 10
#33
lolsuz
Notewriter lost me on the first sentence. What kind of asshat spells out Chanukah and then abbreviates Christmas down to Xmas? Unless every recipient of the email is a member of the local Fuck You Christians Association and Ladies Auxiliary, that little detail speaks volumes about Notewriter, and what he really thinks about his audience. Even if every recipient was Jewish, why mention *that other holiday* at all?
I’m a “militant atheist” and I don’t pull that crap. I may vehemently eschew religion, but I don’t vehemently eschew my fellow humans… especially those I claim to be my “friends”.
+1 bullshit sandwiches to you, Notewriter. You’ll find yours in your stocking on “Xmas” morning. Whether you put up a stocking or not… sock drawers are easily enough found.
Nov 30, 2010 at 8:43 am rating: 10
#34
Thorbjørn
For those of you, who think paying back what you owe is something to be taken lightly:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1334393/Giuseppe-Raeli-Italian-odd-job-man-serial-killer-murdered-5-victims-non-paid-bills.html
Nov 30, 2010 at 9:22 am rating: 2
#35
wicked opinion
Scorekeepers live in mansions….but they have no friends.
Nov 30, 2010 at 10:50 am rating: 1
#36
SqueakyWheel
If the amounts were not so piddly, I would be on the side of the notewriter. The $89.37 is the only one that strikes me as truly in need of repayment, and even that …
Despite the injunction against not loaning money you cannot afford to write off, many people will loan what they can’t actually afford, because their friends say they are in need. They are willing to put themselves into what they perceive to be a short-term tight spot to help a friend out. How do I know? I did the same thing.
Now, if six bucks, or five, is going to break the bank for you, you’re in a very rough spot, and probably ought to be better asking for help, not giving it. Like I said, the almost ninety dollar loan I can see as a big deal (for me & my house, that’s our phone, internet, and water bill for the month) – everything else is ridiculous.
But I have to say – no matter what, sending the e-mail to all of them = majorly tacky. They’re obviously acquaintances, most likely they know each other, and now their own private business is being aired in this manner. It’s rude, and shows a marked lack of manners.
Nov 30, 2010 at 11:00 am rating: 10
#37
monop
oh, man. at first glance, i want to call the notewriter out for being a total douche about small amounts of money. i suppose it’s relative, though.. and as a person who always, ALWAYS ends up overpaying on bills because my friends are short (short on cash and short-sighted; if you don’t have the money for that premium beer, maybe you shouldn’t order five rounds of the stuff) this note does put a little smile on my face. i’d never actually pull something like it, though.
Nov 30, 2010 at 12:47 pm rating: 4
#38
Sarah Ashley
I’d never send out a mass email about something like this, but I understand where the note writer is coming from. It’s frustrating to lend money and then have your friends just “forget” about it … which is why I don’t let friends borrow anything anymore. Cash, clothes, books … nothing. (Especially since I once let a friend borrow a book and she gave it back to me with the cover ripped off…)
However, the 5.50 and 6.00 is a bit impractical. I’d just have them buy me a latte the next time we get together.
Nov 30, 2010 at 1:04 pm rating: 3
#39
Adriana
I don’t disagree with the notewriter’s sentiment (pay your debts, losers), although I think it’s kind of silly to fret over $5, but whatever. That being said, I hope he/she BCCed everyone who received this mass email. Not that the initials make the borrowers all that anonymous, but the emails and names attached will be visible to everyone, removing all doubt.
Also, it would have been much more in the Christmas spirit to just send the emails individually.
Nov 30, 2010 at 1:44 pm rating: 1
#40
Rene
Umm…my initials are RS, but I didn’t borrow money from anybody that I remember
Nov 30, 2010 at 2:30 pm rating: 2
#41
sduck
Maybe I’m in the minority here, but I believe that if you borrow money from someone – no matter how small the amount – you’re obligated to pay it back promptly. IMO, waiting for the lender to come around asking for it is WAY tackier than this person’s e-mail.
I’m not a big fan of splitting a restaurant tab down to the penny either. But my guess is that our e-mailer has a bunch of friends who have a regular habit of waiting until the check comes to announce that they don’t have quite enough money to pay their share. He’s forced to cover them, they promptly forget about it, and he never sees that money again. Now he doesn’t have enough money to cover his Christmas shopping, and he’s fed up. Can’t say I blame him.
Nov 30, 2010 at 2:53 pm rating: 10
#42
owerhuwsefnowei@iosfoiuwe.com
It’s money. It comes and goes. Keeping track down to the penny for an amount under 10 dollars shows that you have a pathological issue about money, and likely aren’t very much fun.
Nov 30, 2010 at 3:43 pm rating: 4
#43
Liz
A mass e-mail (as if initials weren’t anonymous)?
$14??? $5?
You waited until CHRISTMAS to collect that $90? Is this just out of the blue, or have you been bugging and this is the last straw before you call Judge Judy?
General life advice:
Don’t lend money you need back. It’s in the freaking Bible.
If your friends keep taking advantage of you at lunch, don’t go to lunch with them. Write off the loan and the friendship, because they’re using you.
$5 isn’t worth it. Really. If it keeps happening, just don’t return calls and mail. If it doesn’t… geez. Take it for the team.
It’s a matter of class, in my opinion. Of course people should pay loans back, but a note like this is tacky any way you slice it.
Nov 30, 2010 at 3:51 pm rating: 8
#44
Divvitar
This is why you should never borrow money from an accountant.
Nov 30, 2010 at 8:16 pm rating: 2
#45
LoriDD
Don’t lend your “needs” for someone else’s “wants.”
Nov 30, 2010 at 8:22 pm rating: 7
#46
shannon
I would send the note writer a receipt of a charity donation in that amount, in their name.
I had a friend who would keep a dry erase board of any monies owed or borrowed by others. I never let people borrow CASH but if they need something I believe in karma and paying it forward.
Nov 30, 2010 at 9:15 pm rating: 0
#47
Kel
Who writes a CHECK for $5.50 anyway?!?
I LOVED this PAN! So super PANny!
Dec 1, 2010 at 12:52 am rating: 1
#48
Canthz_B
Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
I loaned Hamlet cash,
And the crazy fucker screwed me!
Dec 1, 2010 at 1:00 am rating: 0
#49
TA
Dear friend,
While I really appreciated the reminder of when Chanukah is, I was offended by your abbreviation of Christmas. I had planned on paying you back the $5.50, but what with the “forgive and forget” nature of our friendship, I consider the Xmas offense to be worth $6.00. Feel free to send a money order for what you owe me. . . or we can call it even.
Find another way to fund your holidays,
TA
Dec 1, 2010 at 2:45 am rating: 5
#50
Splint Chesthair
Reminds me of an acquaintance who had to go overnight camping for a weekend as a requirement for some sort of club qualification in high school. He had never been camping before and begged me and a couple of friends to go with him. I declined several times before it got too pathetic and I gave in and agreed to go. I brought my own tent and gear and some snacks.
We spent an unremarkable two nights there where I got to hike and fish and enjoy the outdoors so I wasn’t too bummed.
That monday at school he presented each of us with an itemized invoice including our share of the campsite rental fee, the food he brought (I did have some hotdogs), and the gas he used to drive us there.
I’m not sure if he begged me to go along because he really wanted me to go, or he really didn’t want to pay that much.
Dec 1, 2010 at 7:45 am rating: 6
#51
Kimmy
The only thing wrong with this note is that the writer failed to mention that he was actually celebrating Festivus
Dec 1, 2010 at 8:19 am rating: 0
#52
Somethingtosay
Fair enough, people often never pay back money even when you ask 50 times (when they PROMISED), and it gets sickening. I can see doing it this way, it’s completely understandable. Basically: Don’t give me anything for Xmas, just MY MONEY BACK. Thanks.
Dec 1, 2010 at 4:47 pm rating: 1
#53
sydney
If I owed this person $5.50 I’d write them a check for $2.75 and let them know I’d be paying in installments.
Dec 6, 2010 at 9:41 am rating: 1
#54
chuck
I have a friend that I always seem to owe money for this and that, (such as her driving me a couple blocks to whatever, or eating a cheap dinner at her house to hang out) while I constantly treat her out to dinner and drove her miles upon miles wasting away entire weekends just so she can get errands done, and I’ve never asked for any of it back. I’m getting tired of being her friend, and friends with all other people who feel the need to calculate to the penny how much each person owes for dinner including tax and tips for every single meal.
And she’s been known to overcharge too. She’ll charge you for all the ingredients of a cooked meal even though she probably only used 20% of the ingredients, and keeps all the leftovers to eat later. God I hate folks like that.
Jan 7, 2011 at 5:32 pm rating: 2
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