There is a common saying, “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” In my opinion, this is sound advice because the cause of many disagreements is money. Even among good friends, who would willingly share whatever they have, borrowing money can lead to problems. As a result, borrowing or lending money has cost many people a friendship. Why is this so? There are several reasons.

First, when friends ask favors of us, e like to oblige them. This may be why some people lend others money when they really cannot afford to do so or when it is inconvenient for them. Then, after they have parted with their money, they begin to feel regret and to blame their friends for their feelings. Second, people have different concepts of money. What may be a small sum to one person may be a significant amount to another. Also, different people have different concepts of spending and saving money. When friends borrow money from each other, these differences may become more obvious and lead to friction. Finally, people also have different conceptions of time. What may seem like timely repayment to the borrower may not seem so to the lender. And in the case of friends, terms for borrowing money are usually not spelled out in advance because such an act seems unfriendly.The result may be worry, distrust, or hurt feelings, all of which are detrimental to a friendship.

Given nil the disadvantages above, I have to agree that borrowing money from a friend may damage the friendship. Because people have different ideas and feelings about money, it is best to make any lending agreement clear to both parties. However, friends are often reluctant to do this. The result is too often a broken friendship. Therefore, as far as friends are concerned, I believe it is best to be neither a borrower nor a lender.