Nothing tests a friendship quite like an unpaid debt.

One man found himself stuck in awkward limbo after fronting the cash for a joint gift while his friend kept dodging repayment.

Now he’s left wondering whether asking for his friend’s share makes him greedy — or just logical.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA for asking a friend for money?

So, a friend of ours had a birthday some time ago, and we decided to buy him something even though he didn’t celebrate.

We agreed to buy a gift together and split the cost.

On the day we planned to buy the present, my friend said he couldn’t.

But ultimately they decided on a joint gift.

He told me, “You can buy your thing instead, and I’ll buy him something on my own.”

I then suggested that we buy something else that would be more fitting as a joint gift, and he agreed.

So I bought it.

From the start, his friend was a little shady about the money.

After that, he said, “I’ll give you the money if the thing you bought works,” which seemed weird to me.

How am I supposed to know if it works? He told me to just give it to him and ask.

Anyway, today I suggested that we give him the present, and again he said he couldn’t (and he does have a reasonable excuse), but I don’t know.

It feels like he might be dodging it.

He moves forward with giving the gift, but the awkwardness still lingers.

So I decided I’ll just go and give our friend the present and say it’s from both of us.

But I’m not sure if I should ask him for his share of the money.

He feels awkward about asking for the money, but still feels entitled to it.

I feel weird about it. I don’t even really care about the money, and I don’t want to sound greedy.

But at the same time, if he agreed to split it, I don’t feel like I should even have to ask him.

He wishes his friend would just be honest about whatever’s going on.

If he’s actually having money problems, he can just tell me. I honestly don’t mind.

It’s more about agreeing to something and then possibly trying to avoid it, although maybe I’m overthinking and he isn’t dodging it at all.

AITA?

Money is one of the most awkward topics to breach with a friend.

What did Reddit think?

Maybe it’s time to leave the joint gift ideas in the past.

Sometimes you just have to be a little confrontational.

Sometimes technology can take some of the awkwardness out of it.

This conundrum is about more than just the money.

If his friend committed to going halfsies, then he needs to honor that.

You can’t pay with excuses in the real world.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.