TOEFL essay: It is sometimes said that borrowing money from a friend can harm or damage the friendship. Do you agree? Why or why not? Use reasons and specific examples to your answer.

I don’t think it’s a very good idea to borrow money from a friend. It can cause resentment and awkwardness in the relationship. How do you approach your friend without making him feel he has to do this for you? It’s unlikely he’ll feel as if he can turn you down. Can be turn you down without insulting you? Probably not.

How do you know whether your friend can afford to lend you the money? He may be embarrassed to admit he’s a little short of funds himself. Or he might not want to disappoint you. So he lends you the money and then he needs money, too.

There’s also the question of when you’ll pay back the loan. It’s awkward for your friend to ask for a deadline for repayment. Besides, if you’re short of funds, you may not be able to predict when you’ll pay him back. What about interest on the loan? If it’s a small amount of money, this doesn’t matter. However, if large funds are involved, and you won’t be paying it back for a while, should you offer to pay interest? Should your friend ask you to pay interest? All these issues can result in hurt feelings and can harm the friendship.

It’s possible, of course, that if you borrow money from a friend and pay it back in a timely fashion, this will create a special bond between the two of you. You’ll know that you can count on your friend when you need help. He’ll know you’re trustworthy.
However, more often than not, money issues between friends are an embarrassment. If you need money, it’ s better to go to a bank for a loan.