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How I Learned Not to Lend Friends Money

By Marlon A. Walker
Black College Wire

I almost lost a friend to money.

She didn't become addicted to it or anything, but it ripped our friendship to shreds. My friend and I were like family. When I came to FAMU, she made herself responsible for my well-being.

She always set a plate aside for me when she cooked. She introduced me to her friends. She made my new situation feel like something I've known and cherished for years. She was like my sister, until I opened my pocketbook.

I saw that my friend, my sister, was in a bind, I had to help. After all, I had the money to spare for the time being. She took it, somewhat hesitantly, and we went on as if nothing had happened.

Then I needed the money back.

It was not paid back in the time we had agreed upon because of other situations that came up. It got to where I became paranoid, thinking I was being avoided for fear that the topic would come up. There were instigators in the circle who took time out of their lives to go back and forth with "he-said, she-said" talk, adding their two cents to make the situation worse.

Eventually, she repaid me, and I had my sister back.

She started nagging me about not making it to class again. She also started making my decisions for me. The fact that she was doing the things she used to do, the things I had longed for her to do, brought some normalcy back to our relationship.

But it may never be the same.

I am finally learning not to open my wallet for friends who find themselves in a jam. The topic of money, except for the famous "FAMU Net Check Waiting Game," is now off topic for my friend and me.

The next time I even think to pull the wallet from my pants pocket, I'll think about the consequences. Especially when I think that I almost missed out on having one of my best friends of my life.

Someone once said that you could not put a price on friendship. That person obviously never lent a friend any money.

But I have, and now I know to keep my pocketbook closed.

Marlon A. Walker, 21, is a senior newspaper journalism student at Florida A&M University from Detroit. He writes for the Famuan and can be reached at