Should You Lend Money to Friends? More People Are Open to the Arrangement.

When Kelly McCain learned that her best friend of 22 years owed money to a former girlfriend, she didn’t hesitate to transfer $10,000 to her friend from a high-yield savings account that was reserved for emergencies.

Ms. McCain, 44, provided the loan in December with no interest, repayment timeline, written agreement or collateral.

Her friend, Kate Williams, 38, said she planned to fully repay the loan by mid-2027 and “would rather die” than not do so.

“This was an emergency,” Ms. McCain said. “We all get into financial pickles, and I’ve seen her get out of them before and come out on top, so I was just very confident in her ability to be true to that loan.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/23/business/loans-money-friends.html