Do you lend money to friends?

[MadJeffBarn]

A very close friend of mine has asked to borrow £50 until Tuesday. I've never lent money to her, so have no idea if she'll be able to pay it back, and it is a substantial amount of money to me. But I agreed because she's recently single and struggling with three children to feed. I just know money can break the strongest of relationships so it always makes me feel slightly uncomfortable. So do you lend? Has it ever gotten in the way of a friendship? Do you have limits on how much you would lend?

I only lend small amounts which are insignificant to me. If the person regularly failed to pay it back, I would stop lending altogether.

When someone needs a larger amount, I give it to them instead of lending it. The warm fuzzy feeling is better when you give than when you lend, and there is no risk of being let down.

This has got me thinking that it’s not about the money,
It’s all about the friendship.
I wouldn’t randomly give/lend money or anything else generally
But a very close friend needed a loan recently, I didn’t even stop to think.
I would give her the shirt off my back.

Some people are fine to lend money too. Other's aren't.

I won't lend if it's for non-essentials or if it's self-inflicted. One friend spends all her wages on designer clothes and taxi's. I won't buy her lunch anymore because she won't pay me back.

I eventually got some money back that she'd borrowed years ago for new clothes. We fell out over it and the friendship is nothing like it once was.

Another friend won't budget and wastes her money on costa coffee, eating out and designer baby clothes. She is very badly in debt and often can't pay her rent. She spent all her compensation money on holidays and I refused to be a guarantor (for a new place after she was evicted) because she had the money to pay for the rent but decided to go on holidays instead. Another friendship ruined.