To have forgotten I owe someone 63p?

[listsandbudgets]

In short went out for a coffee with a colleague and she suddenly said "I've been going through my accounts and you forgot to pay me back the 63p I paid for your chocolate bar just before Christmas".

I have some vague recollection of her grabbing us both some chocolate at a petrol station and when I offered her the money her waving it away and saying "don't worry about it just now we'll sort it out sometime" (or words to that affect).

AIBU to have forgotten about it and be a bit embarrassed to have been asked for it months down the line?

I did pay it back when she asked by the way - life is too short to war over 63p - in fact I gave her 70p as I was short on change wondering if I should account for the 7p and ask for it back in September!

Wow, if this is a 'thing' then I owe and am owed loads of random small amounts of money. Some of these people are complete strangers!

And I am tight, but the odd 50p-£1 here and there isn't going to make or break our finances. And if these people are decent friends, it can often go both ways.

I'm trying to think of anyone I owe/who owes me small amounts of change and for the most part, it's gone back and forth so much I haven't a clue how much the current bill is!

I used to work with a woman who I quite liked but she got on all our nerves..forever borrowing 50p here & there for her lunch..if you borrow 50p off 5-10 people then you are fine for lunch money, aren't you? Nobody would raise it with her though..that usual awkwardness re. talking about money, which allows people to take the piss. When someone finally did say it, her whole stance was "but its only 50p!"

But that isn't the point - there's too much entitlement over other people's money - it isn't yours, full stop. As tight as someone can be deemed for not wanting to lend out money, then just as tight and mean is the person who borrows small amounts and wilfully "forgets", then feels they gain the moral ground by complaining about the person they got the money from in the 1st place "as the amount borrowed was sooooo small why does it even matter?"

If it doesn't matter (a) you don't need it or (b) should be no hassle to pay it back, should it? After all, you remember to ask...

Anything under a fiver I'd let go without a second thought, which is tricky because it means I forget if I owe someone that sort of amount too! I feel awkward accepting money from friends and would happily buy drinks/dinner etc without expecting them to reimburse me, knowing they'll do the same for me another time. It just seems so petty to specifically ask for anything less than £5 back to me. I'd rather there was just a bit of give and take.

Luckily my DP is even more relaxed than me about money and would happily hand over £20 to someone without expecting it back. However, XH was at the other end of the spectrum. He has asked me to reimburse him for things he's bought the DCs (£10-15) while they're with him, conveniently forgetting the times I pay for extra copies of school photos, tickets for dance shows, joint birthday presents from us both etc for him and never expect him to pay me back.

And he comes and helps himself to my stock from the business I run (we used to run it together, so he still considers that he can have stuff for free even though it's now nothing to do with him!) Sorry that rant just popped out! Can't bear tight arses.

Funnily enough one of the things that first drew me to him was his generosity. How times change!