Ten reasons you shouldn't loan money to friends

Most of us will, as we grow up, at some point be hit up for a loan by a friend. Most of us agonize over the decision, but there's no reason you should. To prepare you against that day, consider this list of ten reasons you shouldn't loan money to your friend.

1. Your impression of your friend will forever after be colored by the memory of that loan, whether or not it was repaid promptly. When he walks into the room, some part of you will always hear a giant sucking sound.
2. There are no terms for such a loan that will not feel either miserly or foolishly generous. Every friend views himself as a sub-prime candidate.
3. You will lose confidence that your friendship is based on common regard, and begin to wonder if his bonhomie is that of a car salesman.
4. Your friend will forever be looking for a way to repay the favor or,
5. failing that, will come to resent you for the debt of that favor.
6. You will become an enabler of her profligate ways, sharing responsibility for any self-destructive choices she makes with your money. Yes, you helped pay for the Harley she wrapped around a telephone pole.
7. You will learn something about your friend you would be better off not knowing. He's a QVC junkie?
8. Every time you pass on buying something because you can't afford it, you'll think of the money you loaned to your friend.
9. People drift apart as their natures diverge, but the bond of the loan will keep you tied together like a bad marriage.
10. Other friends will also start to view you as a lender of last resort.

Of course, there are many offsetting reasons to go ahead and make the loan. But you don't need any help with thatdecision, right?