Bank Of America Survey Shows That Money Is A Major Stressor In Friendships

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Friends are the bread and butter of a person’s life — at least, for most of us. We’d do anything for our closest pals… apparently including walking away from the friendship if the person doesn’t pay us back the money they owed us from six months ago. Yep, money affects more than your romantic relationships. They affect your friendships, too, and in serious ways.

According to a recent Bank of America survey, 44 percent of participants reported that money is a major stressor in their friendships. Fifty percent of them also said that they’re more comfortable talking to their friends about their family drama, weight and love lives than they are money.

What we can gather from the survey is that money is somewhat of a sore subject within friendships, but it doesn’t stop there. The participants not only reported feeling uncomfortable about discussing money, but also said they don’t believe lending or owing money to a friend is good for the relationship. A serious 77 percent of participants believe IOUs are toxic to friendships while a whopping 53 percent reported ending friendships over money owed (and 34 percent of that group would be willing to stop talking to their buddies if the amount of money owed was just between $11 and $100).

Unsplash/Dani Vivanco

Thankfully, we millennials have found solutions to really awkward issues like owing and lending money to friends. Apps like Venmo and ChasePay not only allow friends to remind each other about money owed, but also make it a swift process to boot. No more scraping together the change in your wallet to cover your portion of the ice cream you’re sharing with your best bud. You can just send them the change online instead.

Money’s tough, you guys. And when you mix it into your friendships, you’re asking for trouble. Our advice? Don’t owe your friends any money, and if you do, pay them back promptly. Otherwise, you might be joining the statistics above, and no one wants that.

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