I’ve recently mentioned the money problems which I’ve experienced lately. Even though I made an arduous effort to cut down on my spending I still ended up being penalised again by my bank for going over my overdraft limit. (Though when I looked through my statement, it appears that they overcharged me last month so I’m going to have to sort them out tomorrow, but that’s another story.)

I personally prefer not to borrow money from friends or even family if I can help it; if I need extra cash I’d rather borrow it from a financial organisation so that it’s all straightforward and clear.

Several years ago, while I was studying, during the period I was seriously interested in music, and also when I moved in with the Ukrainian I ran up a few debts, on a series of credit cards and loans but on the whole I was in control of my debt and paid my bills on time. To simplify my life I eventually decided to consolidate my debt into one loan (which was a flexible one which allowed me to pay back more than the minimum monthly repayment if I wanted). The amount of debt that I had at the beginning of that loan was £7,000 (about US$13,550) and though for a while I just paid the minimum £50 per month I eventually decided to pay it all off, which I did by cutting my outgoings, and selling stuff.

So now I’m on a part-time income, and I’m finding it difficult to manage financially, but I’m coping. So forgive me for not feeling any sympathy for Miguel, who is being paid a lot more than me but keeps on asking me to lend him money. Miguel also has a housemate who has been helping him to pay his rent and bills for the last year or so, but now he’s booting him out as he “needs his space”…

I have lent Miguel money several times over the years (the most being £300 which I lent him a few months ago) and for the most part he has paid me back (apart from £50 which I lent him years ago).

Also last week he invited me to lunch, then asked me to pay for his meal when the bill came. I wasn’t very amused and felt that he should have asked me beforehand. Last night he asked me to lunch again, and when I said that I couldn’t afford to pay for him again he mentioned that he’d paid for me a previous time; the difference was that I’d told him that I couldn’t pay when we’d initially arranged to meet and he offered to pay for me. Then he offered to cook for me instead…

Now I know that “a friend in need is a friend indeed”, and I really don’t mind helping someone out if they’re in a serious jam but I think that these requests for money are becoming too much of a regular occurrence. I’m not the only friend that he regularly asks for money, and it’s starting to feel like he uses us like an interest-free overdraft.

So last night I closed the Bank of PJ and told him that I couldn’t lend him any money. Which was not a lie.

Written by PJ | Posted in my life

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