One of the great things about being a Nigerian is the ability to adapt to every situation, there has been oil boom, oil glut and oil doom – through it all we all live still having the mindset that someday things will be fine; well that’s about the common hope we all can relate with. This is 2017, the year of high inflation and economic recession, most government workers are being owed salaries and even the business sector is suffering an untold strangulation.
All these boils down to one thing – most individuals, households and families are living on less and at some point those who are living even in more less look up to others for financial assistance. This is where the real test of friendship, relationship and partnerships goes through an intense test.
In this article, I will consider three kinds of people around us who may come for monetary help;
- Neighbors: These are the ones that live with us in the same environment, they may even be our next door neighbor or in same line of shop. They always monitor and observe you before coming for help. Maybe you just bought a new car, announced your promotion in the office or you even fry chicken every Sunday – hardly did they know you may be spending from a credit from a salary advance. It is always hard to say there’s no money to give in this situation, neither can you say you are on salary advance, although there’s nothing wrong with that too. Well in this situation the simple rule is to be clear in your response – you do not want to promise to give out the money on a later date or saying no out rightly without a reason, You’ll come off politer in the situation by simply being considerate enough to answer their request in a timely manner. That being said, allow yourself at least 24 hours to ponder over the request, as you won’t come across well if you give the situation absolutely no thought.
- Your Junior colleagues: Sometimes in an office as a senior staff, your junior colleagues may have urgent financial need and come to you for help, depending on the amount, you may have to hold on to a simple rule – ‘no borrowing in the office’. The rule will have to apply to everyone in the workplace to avoid been looked on as a biased superior. You simply respond politely that you don’t borrow money out, however you may offer a little token as a show of support – in that way your colleague will not be completely disappointed even though you didn’t offer all he/she wants.
- Your girlfriend: This is the most difficult situation to come out from without a crack in the relationship especially if she is a new girlfriend. First thing you should do is consider your relationship with that individual. It’s one thing to consider giving to someone who you’re extremely close to and who you’ve known well for years. Be honest with her and let her know your financial situation. If she feels or knows that you’re well-off, it can leave you feeling pressured and guilty for not wanting to give her money.
There are also other people that have access to us for one need or the other especially in this era of social media where friends on Facebook can easily send a private message requesting for help. Don’t forget we also have schoolmates, church members and casual friends who may also come for help, the keyword here is politeness when giving answers to their request.
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