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A deal is a deal, even if you make it when you’re young, dumb and broke.

In this story, one man struck a deal with his buddy: whoever could save $10,000 first would owe the other one $1,000. Both men were broke when they made this deal, so it was hard for either of them to even conceptualize what that much money would look like.

As the man grew up and shifted his priorities, saving money became easier and easier. So before he knew it, he finally hit the milestone.

But when his friend put his hand out asking for his cut, he suddenly reversed course and refused to pay.

Suddenly the entire friend group was getting involved weighing what was really fair.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for refusing to give my friend $1,000

When I was 20, a friend and I were both broke and constantly talking about how we needed to get our lives together.

That’s when the two decided to make a deal.

One night drinking beers and shooting the ***, we made a deal: whoever saved $10,000 first would give the other person $1,000.

Over the next few years, we brought it up constantly. Whenever one of us bought something stupid, the other would say, “There goes the ten grand.”

Then, one of them really did start improving their money habits.

Eventually, I started taking my finances seriously. I worked extra hours, stopped going out as much, drove an older car, and passed on things I wanted.

His friend, however?

My friend went in the opposite direction. He went out constantly, financed a newer car, took trips, and basically lived paycheck to paycheck.

A few months ago, I finally hit $10,000.

That’s when his friend reminded him of the deal.

When finances came up, he laughed and said, “So where’s my thousand?”

I thought he was joking.

He wasn’t.

His friend wasn’t about to walk away emptyhanded.

He reminded me that we’d shaken on it and that I’d spent years acknowledging the deal.

I told him the entire point was to motivate each other to save money. Giving away 10% of my savings because I actually followed through seemed ridiculous.

He was annoyed, but eventually dropped it.

But when the friend had car trouble, the subject of the deal came up once again.

Then, a month later, his car broke down. The repair is almost exactly $1,000.

He asked me for the money again, except this time he wasn’t laughing. He said he genuinely needs it, doesn’t have enough saved, and could lose his job if he can’t reliably get to work.

I still said no.

This time, his friend calls him out hard.

He told me, “You literally have the money because you spent years making better decisions than me. I’m not asking for charity. I’m asking you to honor something you promised.”

Then he said something that actually bothered me: “You were perfectly happy calling it a promise when you thought you might be the one getting the money.”

The rest of his social circle weighs in.

Now some of our friends think I should pay because a deal is a deal. Others think it’s insane that I’m expected to hand over money I worked for because of something two broke 20-year-olds agreed to.

His friend does have a point here.

What did Reddit have to say?

There’s something to be said for sticking to your word.

Karma is a you know what!

If he mishandles this, his friend may never trust him again.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a brother who is concerned about the trouble with splitting funeral costs equally between siblings.

Maybe this deal was always built on a shaky premise.

It’s hard to play this off as “just a joke” when he continued to reference it for years. The man continually brought it up, used it to shape real decisions, and never once disputed it — that is, until he was actually on the hook to pay.

Backing out says a lot about his character. It tells his friend that he isn’t a trustworthy or reliable person. It teaches his friend that he’s not someone who can be relied on.

In life, you have to follow through, even when it’s hard.