Search icon

News

29th Aug 2017

Here’s how much money Irish people lose lending to loved ones every year

Money, money, money.

Darragh Berry

“I’ll get you back next week, promise.” Famous last words.

Know someone who’s a bit of a sponge? Well, it would seem that it’s something of a national epidemic.

According to the Irish Examiner, Irish people are far too generous when lending money out to loved ones.

A new research survey conducted by Circle shows that on average, an Irish person can lose around €260 every year loaning money to friends and family.

A fifth of those surveyed admitted to giving cash away every month but never getting it back because they don’t have the courage to ask for it.

“A big reason for never getting money back is the awkwardness of asking someone close to you if you can get that money back that they owe you,” said Matthew Fox, a spokesperson for Circle.

“Also, the fact that you don’t keep tabs of who owes what and what amount makes it even harder to keep track, so the majority of the time, you just leave it.”