A friend/old colleague sent me a message if he could borrow money from me. It's a very small amount but the problem is I know that he also borrowed money from my office BFF/direct boss and he hasn't paid her since. He also borrowed from her books worth P2k+ that he has not returned. My office bff is too nice and polite that I had to ask him to return the books but no reply! Knowing his history, I DO NOT want to lend him money. I cannot make excuses that I don't have money since it is small but I am not giving away money for reasons I do not know. Now my office BFF and I are having a headache on what excuse to make!

I don't this to affect our friendship because he is a nice guy and he used to treat me out a lot. I think something happened in his life that he refuses to talk about because my office BFF and I noticed his change in lifestyle. He is not anymore the galante guy that we used to know. He even gave up his postpaid number!

I don't mind lending money to friends in fact I see it as a sign of deep friendship once money comes in na. Several years ago my close friend and I were at the mall and she saw an item that she really wanted that was on sale only until the next day. It had a discount for cash purchase. The problem was it was a Saturday and the max withdrawal of her ATM for 2 days does not cover the amount so I offered to lend her money. She paid me the full amount on Monday night (banking day). Among my close friends we don't mind lending each other huge amounts because it's just a matter of convenience or not having access to money. Pero if you don't know when the payment is parang ang hirap.

Should I just give the money and think of it as "tulong"?