Pay The Money You Owed Me!

Does money make the world go round? Money is medium for us to buy something. Money is where we store value. This value can be small or big. We can purchase food, pay bills, travel, etc.

Maybe if I have a lot of money, 90 percent of my problem will go away. Yes, that is how money is so powerful. In this article, I will just narrate a not-so-pleasant experience about lending money.

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Here it goes...

So, back when I was in second-year high school. I meet a guy friend. He is funny and really approachable. He is the type of person who is spontaneous. Let us hide his identity in the name of "James".

We got along very well because I want to be around funny people. He lightens up the mood and put a smile on everyone. He makes jokes that are cringe but funny. As we get along, he also told me about his family's business, which is a restaurant.

I said, "Wow, you guys must be rich!".

One day, James chatted with me through messenger.

Non-verbatim

James: Hi, Jiji. I am so sorry to bother you but can you help me?

Jiji: Oh, yes, of course.

James: You see, I need some cash right now. I really badly need PHP500 (USD 10). If it is okay with you, can I get it tomorrow at school?

Jiji: Yeah, sure. When will you pay me?

James: After a week, I will pay you back.

The next morning

I handed him the PHP 500. He never said to me what is the purpose of his borrowing from me. I also thought that I am not in the position to ask any more.

At this point, I am skeptical about why would he borrow from me because he did mention that his family has a restaurant. He also said that their iced tea is "tubong lugaw". It means that they profit a lot from their drinks. Well, in the back of my mind, maybe they have a financial problem.

After a week

James then paid me the owed PHP500. Me, being skeptical about him vanished because he paid. But then my boyfriend (an ex now haha!) back then said that he had a weird feeling about James. He said that he loves to be in different groups, and always bragging about his family's wealth. I shrugged that off because I do not feel weird at that time.

Another borrowing, this time a bigger amount

He then chatted with me again after a few days. Now, James is asking me to lend him PHP 1000 (USD 20). Again, I did not ask him about the purpose of borrowing. The next day I lent him the PHP 1000. As promised, he will pay me back after a week.

This is where it gets strange

After a week, I chatted with him and reminded him about the money he owed me. He said that he cannot pay me right now. I asked him what was the reason. He said he cannot say it. As a friend, it is okay for him to pay a little later because I trust him.

Three weeks, and I am not still paid.

This is where I get bumped. I am chatting with him about the borrowed money and he is not replying and has just "seen" my messages. I try to communicate and talk to him but all I get is "seen". I got tired of reaching out to him because he is not cooperating. I was really sad because PHP 1,000 for me is big money since I was still a student and always on a budget.

The money owed was never returned.

Lessons I learned

1) When someone is trying to borrow money from me, I will just say that I will give them the money I can afford to give rather than lending from me because I do not like being in the position of begging for my money to be returned.

2) Be an observer. Sometimes, manipulative people are the ones who will get your trust. They will make you happy all the time. Now, I do not believe that they have a restaurant. Maybe he is just making that up to appear rich to others.

3) Trust is very rare. I will never destroy my trust in anyone just because of money. Trust opens a lot of opportunities and trust is only once given (For me) unless you proved that you will never do the bad stuff again.

That is it for today. Thank you for reading. I will see you at the next one.

Banner edited from Canva. Images from Unsplash

Thank you!

Date Published: June 28, 2022

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