--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I try not to borrow, first you borrow…" description: "\"I try not to borrow, first you borrow then you beg.\" — Ernest Hemingway" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg" --- # I try not to borrow, first you borrow then you beg. ![“I try not to borrow, first you borrow then you beg.” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg) > “I try not to borrow, first you borrow then you beg.” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advises against borrowing, suggesting a cycle of dependency and pleading **In simple terms:** Avoid borrowing to prevent becoming a beggar Key Takeaway Be financially independent and responsible Themes finance responsibility dependency Mood cautious thoughtful Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - personal budgeting - loan negotiations - friendship obligations Key Concepts economic behavior social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - Is borrowing always negative? - How can one ask for help without feeling indebted? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex financial relationships ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrow/) [Borrow Beg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrow-beg-1612423/) [Borrow Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrow-borrow-2594964/) [Finance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finance/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Lend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lend/) [Try Borrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/try-borrow-2594963/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) ## Related quotes > [“I think perhaps I can too. But I try not to borrow. First you borrow. Then you beg.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-think-perhaps-i-can-too-but-i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [If you would know the value of money; go, and try to borrow some! For, he that goes a borrowing, goes a sorrowing! and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-you-would-know-the-value-of-money-go-and-try-to-borrow-some-for-he/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If you would know the value of money, go and try to borrow some.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-you-would-know-the-value-of-money-go-and-try-to-borrow-some/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“If you would know the worth of money, go and try to borrow some.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-you-would-know-the-worth-of-money-go-and-try-to-borrow-some/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [We are all of us richer than we think we are; but we are taught to borrow and to beg, and brought up more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/we-are-all-of-us-richer-than-we-think-we-are-but-we-are-taught-to/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“How to get money: earn it, steal it, borrow it, beg for it, or inherit it. So, who do I have to kill to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/how-to-get-money-earn-it-steal-it-borrow-it-beg-for-it-or-inherit-it/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“There are two sure ways to lose a friend, one is to borrow, the other to lend.” Besides,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/there-are-two-sure-ways-to-lose-a-friend-one-is-to-borrow-the-other/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Guys, if she just wants to be friends then borrow $250 from her & never pay her back. Like a real friend would.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/guys-if-she-just-wants-to-be-friends-then-borrow-250-from-her-never/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [Nine of 10 whites in Chicago borrow from top-drawer banks and mortgage companies, which the industry calls prime lenders. They lend to people with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/nine-of-10-whites-in-chicago-borrow-from-top-drawer-banks-and/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [The old-fashioned idea is that responsibility falls upon those who borrow and lend. Money was not borrowed by campesinos, assembly plant workers, or slum-dwellers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-old-fashioned-idea-is-that-responsibility-falls-upon-those-who/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Don't worry if you borrow, but worry if you lend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russian-proverb/don-t-worry-if-you-borrow-but-worry-if-you-lend/) [Russian Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russian-proverb/) > [Don't borrow money from a neighbor or a friend, but of a stranger where, paying for it you shall hear of it no more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cecil-1st-baron-burghley/don-t-borrow-money-from-a-neighbor-or-a-friend-but-of-a-stranger/) [William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cecil-1st-baron-burghley/) > [Before asking a friend to borrow money ask yourself which is more important, their friendship or their money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/before-asking-a-friend-to-borrow-money-ask-yourself-which-is-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Borrow from your friends, and when they ain't got any more money, make new friends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-corey/borrow-from-your-friends-and-when-they-ain-t-got-any-more-money-make/) [Irwin Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-corey/) > [“Dreams are the kind of things you can—when you need to—borrow and lend out,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/dreams-are-the-kind-of-things-you-can-when-you-need-to-borrow-and/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Borrow quotes > [Borrow trouble for yourself, if that's your nature, but don't lend it to your neighbours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/borrow-trouble-for-yourself-if-that-s-your-nature-but-don-t-lend-it/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [Do not borrow the productions of other men's brains and pens and recite them as a lesson; but make the most of the talents,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/do-not-borrow-the-productions-of-other-men-s-brains-and-pens-and/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A poet ought not to pick nature's pocket. Let him borrow, and so borrow as to repay by the very act of borrowing. Examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-taylor-coleridge/a-poet-ought-not-to-pick-nature-s-pocket-let-him-borrow-and-so-borrow/) [Samuel Taylor Coleridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-taylor-coleridge/) > [“Dreams are the kind of things you can—when you need to—borrow and lend out,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/dreams-are-the-kind-of-things-you-can-when-you-need-to-borrow-and/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Experience is the only good 'tis safer to borrow than to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-panin/experience-is-the-only-good-tis-safer-to-borrow-than-to-buy/) [Ivan Panin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-panin/) > [Scientists have odious manners, except when you prop up their theory; then you can borrow money of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/scientists-have-odious-manners-except-when-you-prop-up-their-theory/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [U turned ur bck oN tomorw,c0z u 4gt Yestrday.i gave u my love in borrow.. bt u jst throw it away..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xresh-atish/u-turned-ur-bck-on-tomorw-c0z-u-4gt-yestrday-i-gave-u-my-love-in/) [Xresh Atish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xresh-atish/) > [“You can always borrow ideas; but unless you improve them very significantly, never behave as if they are your own!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/you-can-always-borrow-ideas-but-unless-you-improve-them-very/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [How strange! When people borrow money, they bow to you and when you collect it, you have to bow to them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/how-strange-when-people-borrow-money-they-bow-to-you-and-when-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To be successful, keep looking tanned, live in an elegant building (even if you're in the cellar), be seen in smart restaurants (even if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-successful-keep-looking-tanned-live-in-an-elegant-building-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“acquaintance, n.: A person whom we know well enough to borrow from, but not well enough to lend to.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/acquaintance-n-a-person-whom-we-know-well-enough-to-borrow-from-but/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [Borrow my umbrellas, my clothes, my money, and I will likely not think of them again. But borrow my books and I will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-mcginley/borrow-my-umbrellas-my-clothes-my-money-and-i-will-likely-not-think/) [Phyllis McGinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-mcginley/) > [The new American dream is one of responsibility. What is the bottom-line number that you're going to be able to pay back toward a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/the-new-american-dream-is-one-of-responsibility-what-is-the-bottom/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) [Browse all 268 Borrow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/borrow/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I try not to borrow, first you borrow then you beg.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-then-you-beg/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Borrow" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-then-you-beg/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0da/ernest-hemingway-83_finance_i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-the_1872685.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I try not to borrow, first you borrow then you beg.” — Ernest Hemingway", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I try not to borrow, first...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-then-you-beg/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-try-not-to-borrow-first-you-borrow-then-you-beg/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```