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Loaning money to individuals (including friends) is like credit card debt. Many imagine that even though they do not have the money to buy what they want, it will suddenly appear in their account when it comes time to pay the bill.
If people need money bad enough and can't get it anywhere, but from friends and family, one should either 'gift' it to them or decline. Assuming the person has learned their lesson and will suddenly become a better money manager, is as 'wishful' as them hoping the money will suddenly appear.
There are obviously anecdotal exceptions to the rule, but the choice is often: "Do I want to risk our friendship by not loaning them money? OR Shall I risk our friendship by putting them in debt to me -- with a limited probability of being able to repay the debt?" Remember, they are the one putting the friendship in jeopardy by "borrowing" money in the first place. -- And more often than not, it isn't the first and won't be the last time.
Geez, by all the stories on C-D I must be the only person in the history of time to ever borrow money from a friend and pay it back on time, with interest. Did it three times with two different friends.
The difference is I didn't ask, they offered. We worked out terms ahead of time, more for my benefit than theirs. I wanted to be sure I could pay it back without putting myself in another bind.
This was in the early Nineties. Would I loan money to a friend today? Maybe, but all of our friends are pretty well-off, so it's not likely to come up. I certainly would not loan money to anyone I didn't know well.
Business of 'lending' ends friendships. Bails outs and gifts can happen but can sink your ship when your friend/family could never get by anyway....Stinks when you have to say 'NO' but can be your undoing to give some people money if needed over and over. Better job, tubes tied or drug rehab therapy would be better but most people just have to walk away if you are in business of lending to same friend/family..
I loaned a friend $300 a month for health insurance premiums because she'd broken her leg and couldn't work for a few months while it healed (flight attendant).
A month after she went back to work, she won $1200 lottery and put a down payment on a new Infiniti with it.
After 15 years of similar behavior, I dumped her cold turkey.
Last edited by convextech; 10-07-2016 at 08:42 PM..
Once a "friend" asked me for some money (500 Dollars) and told me that he will return it next week. I asked him to write a Post-Dated Bank Check with a date of next week to me and then I will give you the money. He never called me back again.
If you get a judgment against him in court, there are companies that for a percentage will trail along behind him waiting until he has money to grab.
I knew someone that was ripped off for $18,000 and he said it was totally worth it no matter how long it took just for the principal of the thing.
I would like to know more about this.
My husband is an HVACR contractor and another contractor owes him $10k on a job. This dude would start demoing someone's home, get a down payment, and haul butt. Did it to several military families here in Georgia.
I followed that guy online all the way to Seattle and got him arrested and jailed for two years, but he is back doing it again in Texas.
We already have a judgment, tried to garnish his checking account but he never has money in it.
I recently gave $300 to my brother to help him out on his move. He got a job offer and he had to move from a city in the west coast to Florida. Even though I do not have much, I gave him the money so that it could be of some help.
Never, ever loan money to your friends. It can only end badly. If a friend asks me to lend him money I am going to say that I am in a tough financial situation and cannot help him/her at the moment. If I lend a friend money and they do not pay me back, it will ruin our relationship. Family, like my brother, it's different though.
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