She Sold Our Eras Tour Tickets To Pay Off Debt. We Never Spoke Again.

Money and friendship don’t always mix. Especially when someone ghosts on a Venmo, sells Eras Tour tickets out from under you, or “forgets” to mention they pawned your jewelry. (Yes, that happened.)

Whether it’s with family, close friends, or a roommate you met online, conversations around money can be tricky. But that’s no reason to avoid them. Getting more comfortable talking about money with the people closest to you is one of the best things you can do for your financial health and your relationships. Still, when expectations are unclear, money drama can escalate quickly.

We asked Elite Daily readers to share the moments money actually ended a friendship, from one-off betrayals to long-term resentment. If you’ve been there, you’re not alone.

The Eras Tour Friendship Ender

In 2023, a friend snagged four face-value, amazing seats for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. It was a miracle, basically. We planned a girls’ weekend around it. Fast-forward a year: tickets were reselling for thousands of dollars.

After a few months of us not really hanging out, this friend asked if I wanted to spend a Saturday shopping and catching up. At this point, the concert was a few months away. After the whole day together, she says, "I have to talk to you about something, and I don't want you to be mad at me."

She had sold our tickets — without telling any of us — because she “needed the money” to pay off her $10,000 credit card debt.

I was crushed. Not just because I missed out on a once-in-a-lifetime concert, but because it felt so calculated. At that point, tickets were selling for thousands and were extremely difficult to get. I was devastated because my chances of attending one of the Eras shows were now slim to none.

It also made me mad. She lives with her partner, has a dual income of more than $200,000, and a house that is well below their means. Meanwhile, I live alone and manage everything on my own. She could have found another way to pay off her debt without sacrificing a once-in-a-lifetime experience with friends. That day, I knew our friendship would never bounce back. We haven’t spoken since. —Anonymous, 38, Nashville

The Disneyland Bait & Switch

During the pandemic, one of my closest friends, a personal trainer, was struggling with her business. When she asked for help covering her phone bill, I didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t a ton of money, and she needed it for work. I was also fully prepared to never ask for the money back.

Then she posted on social media that she’d bought a Disneyland Annual Pass. If you grew up in Orange County, you know: those passes aren’t cheap. (Hint: It’s way more than a phone bill.) I was shocked. If she could afford that, she could have covered her phone bill without asking me. Instead, she chose to ask for money and then splurge on something that was not a necessity.

I vented to a mutual friend, who told her that I was upset. She texted me saying she “didn’t know the money came with stipulations” and she would pay me back ASAP. But it wasn’t about the money. It was her principles and priorities. I told her that if she was really struggling to pay for her necessities, then she shouldn’t be wasting her money on a Disneyland pass.

After that, she started talking about me behind my back. She called me a horrible friend. When I confronted her, she denied it. I told her we couldn’t be friends like we used to. We haven’t spoken since. —Taylor, 34, California

The Imaginary Slight

When I moved in with my boyfriend, I passed my cheap room in a multi-bedroom apartment to a close friend. I had lived there for years. Rent changed depending on who was on the lease and how we split the expenses, but at that point, everyone paid their share evenly.

She moved in and accused me of lying. She was convinced I had paid less and was now trying to scam her. I hadn’t. I gave her a great deal on a rare, affordable room in New York. But she didn’t believe me. And that hurt more than anything. I never really got over it. And our friendship was never the same again. We stopped hanging out altogether. —Anonymous, 28, New York

The Electric Bill Ghoster

It was the Fourth of July. I came back from hosting a yard party and found our entire college house had no power. When I called the electric company, they told me we had a huge unpaid balance. It turns out that one of our roommates had been pocketing other people’s money and skipping payments. We had to fork over $300 just to get the lights back on. We were shocked.

The roommate admitted to what they had done, said they’d “make it right,” and then moved out without paying the bill. After they left, I realized some of my grandmother’s heirloom jewelry was missing. One night, a friend of theirs drunkenly blurted out: “He pawned those, didn’t you know?” I never heard from the roommate again. —Shannon, 33, Wisconsin

These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.