I lost a close friend after lending him $81 for cosmetic surgery

After reading a fellow reader’s story where he lent money to a friend and was ignored when he asked for it back, I feel inclined to share a similar story that I have personally experienced.

I have heard many stories, both funny and tragic, about losing relationships over borrowed money. However, not everyone has the foresight and resolve to refuse money requests from close friends.

One of my closest friends is someone I have known since college. We studied and often played football together. During our time in school, he did not have any income while I took advantage of my free time to work part-time and earn some extra money.

Whenever we went out to eat or hang out, I was almost always the one paying the bills. I did not think much of it, knowing he could not afford to pay. In fact, even when he went out with his girlfriend, I would give him some money just in case he needed it.

Later, after graduation, my friend landed a job at an oil and gas company with a fairly good income, even higher than mine. However, old habits die hard, and I still ended up paying whenever we met up or hung out.

After not seeing each other for over ten years, my friend suddenly asked to meet in 2005. Since it had been so long, I casually agreed. After chatting for a while, he asked to borrow VND10 million. At that time, this was a significant amount, so I curiously inquired about what he needed the money for, and his response was "for cosmetic surgery."

I found his request very strange, but as a long-time friend, I could not bring myself to refuse. However, I knew it would be difficult to ask for the money back later, and pressing him for repayment could jeopardize our friendship.

In the end, I reluctantly handed him exactly VND2 million. I decided to consider it a gift rather than a loan, even though my salary at the time was only VND1.8 million a month. I thought that, in the worst-case scenario, I would just have to accept it and move on. What I did not expect was that he cut off all contact with me afterward.

Have you ever lost a friend over borrowed money?