“I’m Not Making $100 Come Out Of My Bank Account”: Friend Refuses To Pay, Loses Ticket

If you’re a fan of Ariana Grande, were you lucky enough to get tickets to one of her 2026 tour shows? If not, you’re in good company: reportedly, more than one million people were queued up on Ticketmaster for the presale, and over six million overall across the whole of North America.

One woman managed to get the concert tickets for herself and her friends, but one friend had trouble paying her back. As time went on, she grew more and more frustrated and considered selling the BFF’s ticket to another friend. Torn, she asked the internet whether doing that would be a jerk move.

A woman bought her friend group tickets to see Ariana Grande next year

A diverse group of young people at a lively outdoor event, woman raising hands with joyful expression.

Image credits: Cason Asher / unsplash (not the actual photo)

But one friend kept making excuses and wouldn’t pay her back

Woman refuses to wait longer for friend to pay back money after buying concert ticket, considers selling it instead

Text about a woman refusing to wait for friend to pay back money after a ticket presale plan was established.

Text excerpt showing frustration over a friend refusing to pay back $20 despite repeated requests for months.

Text about woman refusing to wait longer for friend who won’t pay back, discussing ticket resale and payment plan.

Woman refuses to wait longer for friend who owes money and won’t pay her back, considering selling the ticket.

Woman refuses to wait longer for friend who won’t pay her back, expressing frustration over unpaid debt.

Woman refuses to wait for friend who won’t pay her back for tickets and considers selling the ticket instead

Two women in a park having a tense conversation, one refusing to wait any longer for friend to pay her back.

Image credits: sloomstudio / envato (not the actual photo)

Text message discussing confusion over a friend who won’t pay back money and considerations to sell the ticket.

Text on a white background explaining that F3 is attending due to FOMO and dislikes Ari's new album around which the tour centers.

Text discussing a woman hesitant to wait longer for a friend who won’t pay her back, risking their friendship.

Image credits: messageinabottle15

Lending friends money is always tricky, and sometimes it may even cost the friendship

When you’re short on cash, who are the first people you’re going to? Friends and family, most likely. The bad thing is that they might not pay you back. In the UK, 33% of adults say they’re owed money either by a colleague, a family member, or a friend. And most never get that money back because it’s just too awkward to bring the loan up and keep pestering the other person.

So, are all the times when you lend a friend some money doomed? As licensed psychotherapist Barton Goldsmith, Ph.D., LMFT writes for Psychology Today, “If you want to lose a friend, lend them money.” And a fairly recent poll proves that: 20% of Americans say they’ve ended a friendship because of disputes over money.

It’s not like people are borrowing thousands of dollars and then leaving their friends dry. It’s more about keeping up with their friends’ lifestyles that they can’t afford. Going out for dinner, buying fancy clothes, and going to concerts add up over time, and the expenses are just too much for the person to handle.

In that same survey, almost two out of three respondents said they spend money they can’t afford on social activities with friends. The top three ways people overspend with friends are dining out, birthday celebrations, and buying clothes and beauty products.

Finance expert Lindsay Bryan-Podvin told CNBC Make It that people should not be afraid to tell their friends about their financial boundaries. If they’re your real friends, they’ll understand that friendship isn’t measured by income.

“[With] my friend who cares about me and my wellbeing and my financial goals, I can trust that I can say to them, ‘Hey, I can’t [buy] VIP Beyoncé tickets with you,'” Bryan-Podvin added.

With the ever-rising ticket costs, attending concerts is becoming a luxury

If you’re a fan of live music and performances, you probably know that there’s a lot of discussion about how concert tickets are becoming unaffordable. After Live Nation CEO Michael Rapino’s recent incredibly out-of-touch comments that concerts are “underpriced,” music fans are perhaps angrier than ever.

He claimed that the average ticket price is around $72. Yet, as Business Insider reports, the average price of a concert ticket for the top 100 tours in 2024 was $135.92. In 2019, the average was $96.17, compared to $25.81 in 1996.

In a 1993 interview for MTV, Nirvana members were astonished to learn that tickets to see Madonna cost $50, while they only charged $17 (taking inflation into account, today that would be $34.93).

But today’s world is very different: there’s dynamic pricing algorithms, all sorts of hidden fees, and scalpers. Some artists are willing to intervene and opt out of dynamic pricing. Ariana Grande, for example, decided to opt out for her Eternal Sunshine Tour, and so did Taylor Swift for her Eras Tour.

Yet that doesn’t solve the situation either. For Grande’s upcoming tour, there were plenty of tickets with inflated prices available on resale platforms even before tickets at face value were available. As of now, the resale prices for seats in the upper bowl vary from around $400 to over $600.

The saddest part is that not much can be done about it. The tickets for Grande’s tour were sold out in minutes in the U.S. and in less than 15 minutes in the UK. She addressed the situation in a post on social media, writing: “i care very much and [my team and I] will do, and are doing, everything we can.”

And it’s not like the friend was broke: “She doesn’t drive, doesn’t have a job, and her parents pay for her expenses”

Reddit conversation about a woman refusing to wait for friend who won’t pay her back and selling the ticket.

Screenshot of a Reddit conversation about a woman refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay her back.

Reddit comments discussing a woman refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay her back for a ticket purchase.

Alt text: Reddit conversation about a woman refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay back the ticket cost.

Some netizens sided with the author: “She is the one who is not listening”

Comment discussing refusal to wait for a friend who won’t pay back money owed for a ticket purchase.

Commenter explains frustration with friend who won’t pay back money for a ticket and refuses to wait longer.

Screenshot of online comment discussing a woman refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay back money.

Text conversation discussing a woman refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay her back for a ticket.

Comment text discussing selling the ticket and frustrations over a friend who won’t pay back money owed.

Comment discussing economic reality and financial limits related to waiting for a friend who won’t pay back money.

Comment discussing a woman refusing to pay back $100, emphasizing the issue of her not repaying despite having money.

Screenshot of a forum comment discussing selling a ticket and a friend refusing to pay back money owed.

Woman refuses to wait longer for friend who won’t pay her back for tickets, stressing payment responsibility and fairness.

Screenshot of a forum comment discussing a woman refusing to wait longer for a friend who won’t pay her back.

Text post discussing frustration with a friend who refuses to pay back money owed, highlighting trust and repayment issues.

Comment about refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay back a ticket and suggesting to sell it instead.

Screenshot of an online comment discussing a woman refusing to wait longer for a friend who won’t pay her back.

Reddit comment explaining refusal to wait longer for friend who won’t pay back ticket cost.

Comment stating a friend has money but is dodging payment, in a casual online discussion about unpaid debts.

Comment about friend who won’t pay back, discussing refusing to wait longer and group purchase payment issues.

Screenshot of an online comment where a user states the friend is not listening about paying back a ticket debt.

Screenshot of a forum comment discussing selling a ticket due to a friend refusing to pay back money owed.

Screenshot of a user comment discussing a friend refusing to pay back money and advising to sell the ticket.

Screenshot of a message discussing a woman refusing to wait for a friend who won’t pay her back for a ticket.

Others thought this was a great opportunity to help a friend in need: “Money comes and goes”

Screenshot of a comment discussing refusal to wait for a friend who won’t pay back money owed.

Screenshot of a forum comment discussing ticket spending and frustrations with a friend who won’t pay back money.

Screenshot of a social media comment discussing a friend refusing to pay back money for tickets, highlighting waiting frustration.

Screenshot of online discussion about a woman refusing to wait longer for friend who won't pay her back.

Screenshot of an online comment discussing a friendship conflict about someone refusing to pay back money owed.

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