Because it’s happened before with a mutual friend.

To put in some context - I’ve known him and some other mutual friends for a few years, and in all of that time he’s only asked for money like 4 times. The first couple, some mutual friends helped and he didn’t return the money for months. The third, a mutual friend called out how he’d spent the money on what all of us mutual friends (except the friend from the post) have started to call “low priority but still important things.” He got absolutely pissed (he does when being called out on stuff, which is quite rare to begin with), had a major fight and broke off the friendship. This was the fourth time of him asking money, and the first between me and him.

From what he explained to me before asking for help, he could have been able to afford the certification this month, but instead spent the money on one of those “low priority but still important” things. I didn’t want to give him money because he has taken months to pay it back for no reason in both the previous cases, and I lied in fear of that friendship-breakup happening again, cause honestly outside of the whole intense burst after calling him out thing, he’s a pretty great person.