Some People Claim That Borrowing and Lending Goods and Money is Always Unwise

Source: moneyandcredit.blogspot.com/2007_12_30_archiv…

Or: http://web4.canr.msu.edu/msuedirector/director/newsletters/2007/january/image009.jpg

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Borrow some Money

There was another friend who borrowed some money from me because he said he was broke. He even opened is wallet to show me that it was empty. So I parted with some of my money and that seemed to be the end of the story. I still see him once in a while but there is no mention of the debt. I am too embarrassed to ask him. He probably has forgotten the whole matter or deliberately refusing to repay me. What am I to do, lose another friend?

My policy now is not to lend anything. If it is unavoidable to do so, I will assume that the borrowed thing or money will not be returned. In that way I spare myself the agony of waiting for something that may never return and also the possibility of souring a friendship. I have transformed lending into giving. It eliminates the problems associated with debts. However, I am extremely careful I do not become a Santa Claus.

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Pay Debts

On borrowing things, my grandfather’s words again guide me. I make sure I pay my debts. The point that I realize is not to borrow anything as far as possible. When one borrows something, the feeling of owing something hangs like a dark cloud over one’s head. Until the debt is paid, the feeling prevails.

Source: www.abc.net.au/…/2007/08/22/2012008.htm

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Story Book

There is a story book in my house which bears the name of one of my friends. The manner through which it came to reside permanently in my house was unintentional but nevertheless it was the result of borrowing on my part. I borrowed the book from a friend in a higher form. He did not require the book anymore. By the time I finished with the book and rediscovered that it was not mine, my friend had gone overseas for further studies. To this time, many years later, I cannot return the book to him. I have no idea where he lives. Even if I were to be able to return the book to him he would probably laugh at the triviality of the matter. Till that time, if the time comes, I still carry a feeling of un-payable debt at the back of my mind.

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Feeling of Gratitude

I know a story of a man who borrowed some money from an old man. Before he could repay the money, the old man died. How would one pay one’s debt to a dead man? The only consolation he could derive from his predicament was to repay the debt to the old man’s next-of-kin, but the feeling of gratitude is not the same.

Lastly, I know of scroungers who borrow virtually everything they need. They borrow sugar, milk, clothes, shoes and anything you can thick of. There is no hint of shame in their faces. It is more correct to refer to them as takers, as opposed to givers. They take things with or without permission, constantly leaning on the fragile bonds of friendship. I suppose most people just tolerate such takers, as long as the borrowing is not too unbearable.

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Pleasant Without Being a Borrower

To avoid all these problems associated with borrowing and lending, the best thing is not to borrow or lend. When Shakespeare wrote “neither a borrower nor a lender be”, he was probably very much away of the folly of being a party in this not-too-pleasant transaction. Life is definitely more pleasant without being a borrower or lender.