a little less a little more

I am in this situation where we (hubby & I) have loaned out of compassion, an amount of money to some friends whom we have known for as long as we have been married.

Of course they approached the hubby when they wanted to take out the loan and although I manage the moolah at home, I agreed to help out for reasons that I shall not divulge. Then recently they approach the hubby again for another loan (the first one only settled 25%) for a business venture during a recent sporting event.

Hubby again agreed to give a loan after the she-counterpart promised to pay back in cash the full amount no later than 2 days after the event. This time though, I had to pass her the cash just so she is aware that I know about this (apparently they thought I did not know about the first one but like seriously??). So it's been a while now and we have yet to see a single ringgit in repayment.

And she went on to say "If it goes well, we'll pay back the loan amount plus token." to which I replied "It'd be enought to get back just the principal amount. Don't worry too much about the token." I was being honest although the husband thought I was being too blunt.

And the dear husband thought he would let me have the enviable coveted role of being the debt collector this time after of course he tried to call them but to no avail. So I sent them a message (yes both to the husband and wife) asking them when they want to settle lah. And yes, they gave excuses as in 'delay in payment from vendor lah or whatever lah. give us a week'.

Fast forward two weeks (I gave one week in addition lagi) I sent him a message again asking the update & he gives me the excuse of still not receiving payment from the other party. So I 'brewed' a little white lie. Not wrong kan? I mean really, should it be my concern that he cannot get the other party to pay up? How he manages his finances is not my concern right? How him not being able to meet his other half's absurd demands is not my effing problem right?

I know I may lose the friendship but truth be told, I really don't give a shit although I have known her for so long. I am not being a person's friend just so I can be taken advantage of and for me to take advantage of them also.

If it's a genuine reason that one needs help (financially, emotionally) I try to help to the best of my abilities. But if one thinks I am gonna be there to catch them everytime they fall and think its all free (and ditanggung halal after that), I think not!! I'm just gonna let them fall smack flat on their face and won't even bother to ask what happened.

Yes, I know it may sound cruel but is it sometimes that you have to be cruel to be kind?