Woman Accuses Friend of Putting Her in ‘Awkward’ Position After Asking to Borrow $2,000

A woman shared on the U.K. community forum Mumsnet that she is “struggling” with a dilemma after her close friend asked to borrow about $2,000 to pay for a car repair
The woman — who explained that she is single, just bought her first house and has $5,000 in savings to “cover any emergencies” — said she is reluctant to loan the money
However, she is worried that it will be “an awkward conversation” if she declines her friend’s request

One woman says she is “struggling to make a decision” after her friend asked to borrow a large sum of money.

She detailed her dilemma in a post on the U.K. community forum Mumsnet, explaining that her friend needs the money — “roughly $2k, maybe a bit more” — to cover a necessary repair to her car after the vehicle failed to pass an inspection.

“My friend and her partner both have poor credit scores due to previous debt and they’re unable to use a credit card to cover the cost. They can’t afford to sell the car and buy another one and they also don’t have any savings,” the OP (original poster) wrote, clarifying the couple’s financial situation.

The OP, meanwhile, has around $5,000 in savings — but she went on to outline three reasons why she is reluctant to loan the money to her friend.

She first explained that she is single and just bought her first house. “My savings are there to cover any emergencies, if I lose my job or something in the house needs fixing,” she noted. “I don’t have a partner or any family to support me financially if something goes wrong.”

As for her second reason, the OP shared that her friend’s partner received “a large payout from his previous employer last year (around $22k), which they used to live off instead of working.”

She noted: “I think it was careless [of them] to not save any money.”

The OP said her final reason for being hesitant about loaning the money is that she has “no way of enforcing them to pay [it back] if they decide not to.”

She concluded her post by acknowledging, “I know it will be an awkward conversation if I say no, though. I feel like they’ve put me in a crappy situation.”

In the comments, the general consensus is that it would be “a terrible idea” for the OP to agree to her friend’s request as it’s likely she will “never see that money again.”

“No, No, Nope, No, No!! Do not even consider it,” one person wrote, while another added, “This would be a hard no from me. You can’t give away 40% of your savings. Which is what you would be doing. Return the awkwardness to sender.”

One commenter wondered how the OP’s friend and her partner will be able to afford to pay the money back “with poor credit, debt and no savings.”

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Another person agreed, also pointing to the fact that the couple has already “blown $22k,” an indication that “they are extremely bad with money.”

“You would be very irresponsible to lend them ANY money,” they wrote, also noting, “They are a couple with double the earning power should they choose to work, as opposed to you, being single. They should be ashamed to ask you. Say no, and don’t lend a penny.”

Yet another Mumsnet user assured the OP that “any awkwardness is their fault, not yours.”

“They shouldn’t have put you in this position,” the user said. “However awkward it is to say no now it’d be a million times worse having to chase her for the inevitable inability to repay you. Just say no and don’t feel bad or give an inch.”

Someone else chimed in to share some wise advice they were once given: “Do not lend money you are not prepared to lose.”

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