"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" - yeah, thanks Shakespeare.
Apparently, people who loan money to friends and family are too afraid to ask for it back, particularly when the amount is less than 50 euro. And we Irish are really generous loaners, with the average person losing around €260 a year in unpaid loans to friends a family.
Have a look at some of the things the listeners of the Early Breakfast have lost thanks to borrowers who basically never give the stuff back. Some will make your eyes water!
- “Paula, I lent some guy a pound for the bus when I was 13, and joked that it came with interest. Long story short he now owes me over 30 million euro!”
- “Loaned my Gameboy to a neighbour back in 1994 and not only did I not get it back, he denied ever borrowing it. Lesson learned.”
- “Paula, I borrowed a portable DVD player from a friend years ago. When I went to watch a film, I realised it didn’t work. Brought it back to my so called pal who made me cough up to replace it. Looking back, I was too gullible, should have stood up for myself!”
- “One of my mates who I won't name, Paul, borrowed £100 from me and gave me back €90. He said sure euro ain't worth as much now as it was when he borrowed the £100” - Kev from Monaghan on way to Cork
- “Paula I lent my brother €100 so he could attend my sister’s weeding this time last year! He keeps saying I'll pay you back but still no sign. Think it's time to write it off!” - Tommy
- “Hey Paula. I give the National Lottery a few quid to keep the ship afloat every week. Not one red cent have they given me back. No more!” - Kev, Tipp.
- “If I got all the money back that I loaned out, I would probably have my mortgage paid!” - Shamie in Dundalk
- “Lent a tent to a friend going to a festival last year it was worth about €400. .....he and his girlfriend left it behind them because it was too much bother to pack it up” - Graham
- Don't give out money you're not willing to lose is what I was taught!
- “I gave my son a loan of my car to pick up his new baby. My grandson is 2 and I still have not got it back. In fact, he came down about 3 weeks ago for me to put new tyres on it, LOL!” - Paddy
- “Hi Paula, I bought my wife a bike for her birthday 5 years ago, her sister borrowed it 3 weeks later and it hasn't been seen since. My sister in law claims that their cousin took it but of course the cousin denies it. What bugs me is that it's been swept under the carpet to keep the peace.” - Mick in Laois
- “I lent an old friend 300 quid. He then deleted me off Facebook and cut me off completely. I don’t even care about the money; if he couldn’t pay me back he should have just said. I’m not a monster!”
- “While I have givenmoney to plenty of friends, I no longer have any expectation of ever receiving it back - and I let all my friends know this as well. If I'm giving someone money it's because I can afford to give it - and I don't need it back!” - Rob in Carlow
- “I worked with a chap years ago and we were having a factory night out. He was broke, so what he did was he went around and asked everyone for a loan of a pound, saying he was short for lunch. I questioned him on this when I saw him asking a few people, and his way of thinking was this; noone will leave you short for lunch and noone will ask for a pound back. He had a great night out!” - Jayo
- “If you lend someone money and you never see them again, it was money well spent Paula!”
- 'Paula. Listening to your stories about lending stuff that have never been returned. Here's my story. Giving my age away. So it was the mid 80s when Christy Moore released his Ordinary Man album. I purchased this in cassette format and it was played to death in our car. My brother borrowed the cassette and in turn his friend borrowed it from him. Then the friend’s girlfriend borrowed it and we never got it back. Don't worry I was told, we can buy another one which we did. But here's the thing. The original album had the song They Never Came Home on it. When this was banned we couldn't purchase the album with this song!” - Eamonn in Offaly
- “Took me a while to learn not to let people borrow books. Especially ones you haven't read yet!”
- Hi Paula remember the SSIA back in the good times? Well, I started one in my own name and then my sister said she could start one for me in her name if I paid into it. Ok. At end of 5 years, my own SSIA came to 15K. I put it in another long term investment then the crash came it sank to 3 grand, it recovered to 7K and it’s still invested. Now the other one in my sister’s name came to 10K, and she asked me for loan to change the car. No problem. She paid back 2K and I'm still waiting for the other 8K. I asked her recently about it and she wants to set up a standing order - 50 euro month as she can't afford anymore as kids in college!” - John
- “Paula I loaned a lad my football boots a few months ago as I was injured. My recovery is slow – my Achilles snapped – but I still go to see the team play. He keeps wearing my boots, they were new and now they’re wrecked. I really wish I was the one wearing them in!”
- “Loaned a friend a wallpaper steamer and another friend my first ACDC record, Highway to Hell. Unfortunately both are now pushing up daisies now. Sigh!”
- “When in college I lent this girl money as she said she had no money for food as her money was stuck in the bank and it was a Saturday. I gave her 100 euro which was a lot then and still now. She came back to the house with a new weave! Insult to injury, the 'hair' fell out that morning as it was all over the bathroom floor. She was distraught... as was I!” - Colum from Offaly
- “When I’m low on money, my buddies pay for me, and when I have money, I pay for them. If your mates are decent, it’s no problem!”
- “Paula, never give friend or family a loan unless you are prepared to lose it. Consider it a helping hand rather than a loan!” - Eamon, Ashford.
- “All of my friends have an automatic 100 euro line of credit with me until they default once by not paying me back. I never actually tell anyone they now have bad credit with me or that they had credit in the first place!”
- “Hi Paula. That lad whose sister owes him 8k. 50 per month means she'll have him paid back by Christmas 2030. At those rates I'll take 8k too!” - Pat in Carlow
