Franklin points to the unequal way a debt may be experienced by the two people involved. A creditor has a direct interest in remembering what is owed and when repayment is due, while a debtor may be more inclined to overlook, postpone or minimise the obligation. The remark uses humour to describe this difference in incentives.

The saying also carries a practical warning about borrowing. A debt does not become less real because the borrower stops thinking about it, and the person expecting repayment is unlikely to forget. Franklin’s wider point is therefore about financial responsibility and the obligations created by credit. Borrowing may provide immediate benefit, but it also creates a continuing claim on future resources. The quotation encourages people to take debts seriously and to remember that lenders and borrowers often view the same obligation from very different positions.