A woman has hit back at her friend for going on holiday with her but with hardly any money.
Keeping anonymous on parenting forum Mumsnet, the woman expressed her frustration after she was invited for a weekend away with her friend, only to find that the pal - arrived with little spending money.
After just two days in Berlin, the woman took to the forum AIBU [am I being unreasonable] to vent and explained that her pal had arranged the trip, but after a 'three day night out' appears to have been left out of pocket.
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She explained: "I’ve recently become friends with a girl I used to work with, we only worked together for six months and were friendly then, but have been spending some time together recently, going for the odd cocktail etc. She’s always been nice enough.
"She asked if I’d be interested in going to Berlin with her for the weekend, and I said yes. So here we are now and my issue is, my friend turned up with no money hardly. She turned up at the airport with €60 and only seven pound for a four day trip. We have no food included in our room.
"I wouldn’t have minded but she’s recently been on a three day night out, meals out, cinema and whatever else. Now we are in Berlin and she can’t afford anything and I’m having to subsidise us.
"Even at the airport with a four hour wait, she couldn’t even afford a coffee so I have had to cover it."
The woman went on: "She’s also so angry. If I go into a shop to look at anything or, if we go to a bar, it’s obvious she’s uncomfortable as she can’t afford anything and then it puts me on the spot. She’s also being very sweary and angry! This trip was her idea and she’s been abroad to European cities before so she knows they’re pricey.
"We've got two more nights and I honestly don’t know how to stop feeling so awkward. I brought enough money (280 euros) but it’s now draining so fast."
She later added: "I don’t mind the odd, oh do you mind getting me a coffee but I was looking at souvenirs yesterday and she kept saying really obviously “oh mum would love that, and I don’t get paid til Monday” about a €40 bottle of perfume! And then looking over at me! I think she’s down to her last €10 now."
The comment section quickly accumulated over 600 replies with some suggesting that it sounds like it was planned while others encouraged her to simply 'ditch her'. A number made suggestions on how to make the holiday work for both of them.
Making a connection to the infamous Anna Sorokin/Delvey who conned the elite of New York, someone replied: "Does her name start with an 'A'?"
One said: "Sounds like she's deliberately brought you along to use you. It won't be the first time she's done it either."
And another argued it sounded like it had been premeditated: "Sounds as if she has planned it perfectly!"
"It's not absolutely impossible to have a weekend away on the tiny budget she has. There are things you can do for free and you can eat cheaply. That might always have been her plan. The problem is that wasn't what you had envisioned so your expectations are clashing. You just need to have an honest chat about it", a third replied.
A fellow Mumsnet user replied: "That'd annoy me too, you've paid a lot for the break and can't enjoy it as she prioritised spending money on whatever else. She evidently assumed you'd be happy to subsidise her so doubt she respects you much. I'd be honest and say you aren't going to be giving her money but you want to enjoy it so you're going to have a day by yourself."
"Ask if she minds if you go off for half a day to do some shopping while she does something else", one said.
"I would just say to her you don't have enough money to keep subsidising you both so she can either withdraw some more/pay by card or you will both have to go off and do your own things", a second added.
But one hit back: "She’s mugging you off and you’re allowing it. She’s not a real friend, she’s a chancer. Just do stuff by yourself for the remainder. Bet she magically finds some money the minute you stop the gravy train."
Another suggested three things the poster can do: "The issue is she has no money and you shouldn’t have to sub her so what can you do now?
- Lend her money, being clear she needs to pay it back (risky if she doesn’t; do you have money to lend anyway?).
- Tell her you’re going to go and see X, Y, Z and you’ll meet up again later as you know she can’t afford that - does she have any ideas for free stuff you can do together tomorrow?
- Subsidise her and accept you won’t have the weekend you wanted and everything needs to be cheap - but ask her to get over her attitude!"
A sixth interjected: "Have you had an adult conversation about it? What was her expectation? Did she honestly expect you to subsidise her?"
And another added: "I've been skint before but my answer to that was not to go to Berlin and expect someone else to pay for me. So why did she even suggest this if she couldn't afford it?"
