A few years ago, in 2011, an acquaintance of mine called me up and asked me to loan him $1,000. I always try to help people whenever I can, be it helping them move, tutoring them, or giving them money, and since I had a good salary and substantial savings, I agreed immediately.
He said he needed to go to a funeral or something. I think he was surprised I had agreed so readily, because he then said "Well, actually, can I borrow $1,100?"
"Sure, no problem," I said.
Then he asked me to wire him the money, as he needed it ASAP. It would have taken a day or two for a check to reach him by mail, as I was in Georgia and he in North Carolina, but whatever. He needed it now. So I spent $20 to send it via Western Union.
He swore up and down he'd pay me back, and being the naive person I am, I trusted him. The first payment of $100 came about 6 weeks later, when he was in town, and I got it without a problem. After that, I had to send him repeat reminders to get anything. And it was like pulling teeth.
Now, all this wouldn't have been so bad if he were in a bad financial position. I've loaned money to people who promised they'd pay me back in 3 months, and it ended up being eight, but I sympathized because they truly didn't have any money. I've been there, and it sucks. I totally understand. Plus, they actually tried to pay me back ASAP.
What bothered me wasn't the fact that this fool had a job that paid well. Or that it was taking a lot longer than he'd promised. What bothered the shit out of me (and I'm sure you all can sympathize) is when I'd go on facebook and there would be a post on his wall saying how much fun he was having traveling around, visiting friends, club-hopping, going out to eat or for drinks, or even gloating about a watch he'd just purchased. Those outings were probably setting him back at least $50 a night. Fifty motherfucking dollars he could have been using to pay me back.
A few weeks after the first payment, when I still thought he'd be paying me back regularly, he called me and asked if I could co-sign with him on an apartment lease. I almost would have, too, if I hadn't remembered a conversation I had with someone just a few days prior, in which they told me that they readily give money to friends and family, but will never loan their credit. I politely refused, and it's a good thing I did, as he ended up losing the apartment.
You may be wondering why I helped him. I'm naive and very trusting, and I tend to believe people are generally good and will do what they say.
Over the next 18 months, I got back a total of $700, culminating in a phone call in October of 2012 where he asked me how much he still owed me. I said $400.
Him: "Really? I thought it was $350"
Me: "No, it's $400"
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| Plus that 20 I had to spend to send you the money, dipshit |
Me: "You know what? If you just send me $200 by November, we can call it good."
Him: "Really? That's great, thanks so much. I'll be sure to send it to you. Thanks, man."
You can probably guess that I received precisely zero dollars the following month. I never heard from him again, and we are no longer friends.
On the plus side, he'll never ask me for money again.
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| Yaaay. |
