“I pretend to be broke so people stop asking me for money": A clever solution

Loading player...
Every Thursday around this time, we detail some of the wildest confessions from the streets of Mzansi. We get YOU to weigh in on your unfiltered thoughts.

Here's what anonymous shared with us:

“I pretend to be broke, not because I am, but because the people closest to me won’t stop asking for money.

It started with small favours. ‘Can you help just this once?’ Then it became expectations. Family members are counting my salary before I even get paid. Friends making plans with my wallet in mind. I tried being honest. I said no. I explained boundaries and suddenly I was ‘selfish’, ‘forgetting where I come from’, ‘acting better than everyone else’.

So now I lie. I complain about being broke. I downplay promotions. I hide wins, because it’s easier than being guilt-tripped by the people who raised me and grew up with me.

They say money shouldn’t come between family and friends, but money already has. So tell me… am I wrong for protecting myself, or wrong for lying to the people who expect me to provide?"
19 Feb English South Africa Society & Culture · Personal Journals

Other recent episodes

Your Big Walk playlist that means something

As we build up to the Suncoast East Coast Radio Big Walk, we’re creating more than just a moment on the Durban Promenade, we’re creating a shared soundtrack to it. I think we can all agree that music has a way of carrying us through, whether it’s that final stretch…
19 Mar 7 min

Who are you walking with and who are you definitely not walking with?

For the Kiddies Hotline this week, we’re tying it into the spirit of the Suncoast East Coast Radio Big Walk. We want to know… who are you walking with and who are you definitely not walking with? Are you teaming up with your bestie, your mom, your dad, maybe even…
18 Mar 1 min

Whose shoes are you walking in and how has it changed you?

There’s something powerful about this year’s theme for the Suncoast East Coast Radio Big Walk, Walking In Your Shoes, because it’s not just about the physical act of walking; it’s about perspective. It’s about pausing for a moment and asking yourself: whose life would I better understand if I walked…
17 Mar 10 min

Gone then back: A daughter's struggle with a deadbeat dad

A father who vanished for years has suddenly slid back into his child's DMs and no, it was not to apologise, not to reconnect, but to ask for money. This week's confessor had to take their own dad to court just to get help with varsity fees and even then…
12 Mar 10 min

Ziya Mohanlall : A cricket prodigy at just 14 years old

if you needed a reminder that the future of South African cricket is looking incredibly bright, this next story will do exactly that. At just 14 years old, a Durban Girls’ College learner is already making serious waves on the cricket field. Ziya Mohanlall, who’s only in Grade 9, has…
12 Mar 5 min