To recap last Friday's entry, my roommate's financial situation is not all that and a bag of chips. This I know, and I'm sympathetic. If she pays her rent a few days late because a check needs to clear, I accept that.
But I think she's trying to take advantage. Before paying her rent, she said "Feel free to say no, but since I'm gone most of this month (she's away for a 3 week fellowship), can I pay less rent?"
I didn't even know how to respond. Clearly, the answer was no, but I felt like I had to have a reason why. So my answer was "Sorry, no, I've already budgeted for the month." Our rent includes utilties, so it's not like our overall bill is less because she's gone. We do have a cable bill, which she won't be using, but again, we aren't getting charged less because she's gone. If she had suggested the idea of subletting, that would be one thing, but I thought it was pretty ballsy of her to even ask.
Now, if she were showing signs of real financial hardship, maybe my answer would have been different. But knowing that she spent her week going to some pretty pricey D.C. bars did not make me sympathetic to her plight.
So if your financial situation is not so great, remember that your friends might be willing to help you out where they can. But don't take advantage of their generosity.