I just posted my comment on Tenaj's blog. I want to add that this has happened to me several times in life. So when you give money, think of it as a gift and not a loan and then you'll have no expectations. I rarely lend money to anyone. The other day I picked up lunch for a coworker who was stuck in the office. She insisted on paying me, so I took her money. However, I would have considered it a treat had she not stuffed the bills into my pocketbook. Did I expect her to offer? Of course! I've only known her for a few weeks and was doing her a favor. However, not knowing her true character, I took a chance. This was only a small amount of money, but I'm sure she would have made good on any amount because of her character. Apparently the people who borrow or take without giving back are lacking in character.
Sorry to go on, but here's a situation that bothered me a long time ago. I became friendly with a cashier in the cafeteria located in the building where I worked. She invited me to her home for dinner and a movie. Later that evening her 11 year old son and I were chatting and playing Super Mario Bros (you can tell this is old! lol) and mentioned he was sick (think he had asthma or allergies) and she told me she didn't have the money for a doctor. She had a good insurance plan but needed the $20 co-pay. I insisted she take the money, since she "obviously" needed it. After all, what good, loving Mom would let her son suffer unless she truly was broke? One day I went downstairs during my break to get a sandwich and she was very, very excited. A friend of hers in Chicago had purchased concert tickets to see Wings. I was puzzled since we lived in NH, plus the tickets themselves had to cost quite a bit. She explained that she was flying out to Chicago for the weekend to stay with her friend and attend the concert. I don't remember exactly what I said, or maybe I said nothing at all and she was reacting to the look on my face. What I do remember verbatim is what she said to me. "But, Nancy, this is PAUL" (guess her son didn't fall into the same category as a former Beatle.)
Needless to say, we all have stories like this. I have hundreds of them. Sometimes I didn't loan money, but I let someone stay in my home . When I lived in a singlewide, a man I knew (or thought I knew) told me he was flat broke and needed a place to stay. Of course I didn't want a friend to go to a shelter, so I told him he could stay on my sleeper. One Friday after getting paid, he took out of his pocket over $1,000 cash (that's net pay in 1988) He had no apologies, just that he was saving all his money for a boat. I told him to find another couch to sleep on!
I hope the people here didn't give away too much to ungrateful moochers.