Do you lend money to family or friends?

United States
December 10, 2006 4:01pm CST
I loaned my brother $200. Over 2 years has passed and I've only gotten $160 back. The worst part of loaning the money wasn't not being paid back, it was the way it changed our relationship. Once he got the money, he seemed to avoid me at every turn. He wouldn't answer my phone calls, and didn't answer the door when I went to visit him. I was not calling or going to visit to ask about the money I loaned him, I was just attempting to hang out. But, he obviously saw me as a creditor, because he began treating me like one. I rarely talk to my brother now, not because I'm mad that he didn't repay me, but because he doesn't want to be around me. It's ruined our relationship, and I won't ever loan money to anyone again. Have you ever lent money to a family member or a friend? If you have, did you get your money back? Did it change the relationship?
1 person likes this
148 responses
@jeffaim (215)
• United States
11 Dec 06
that's sad. especially with such a small amount of money, it should not ruin a relationship like that. i would try to repair the relationship instead of trying to get back your last $40 that he owes you. Maybe for christmas say that instead of buying him a present you just make him a card saying that you forgive the rest of his debt to you and hope that you can spend more time together as friends and brothers like you used to (and never lend him money again!).
@wahmoftwo (1296)
• United States
11 Dec 06
What a good answer!
@jeffaim (215)
• United States
11 Dec 06
thanks!
• United States
12 Dec 06
That's a good idea, jeffaim. It is something I would consider doing, if he didn't just recently leave me with an overdue, deliquent bill to pay. (I put cable in my name for him years ago because he didn't have the money for the deposit. He called me recently to tell me he tried to turn the cable off and they wouldn't do it because it's in my name. What he didn't tell me was that there was $98 on the bill that he didn't pay and it was going to collections.) Actually I would forgive this $98 bill as well, if I thought it would bring our relationship back to where it used to be. But, I just don't think that will happen. We live less than 5 miles apart and haven't spoken in over 2 years. By his choice, not mine.
@remaster74 (4064)
• Greece
10 Dec 06
No way! I have a friend that used to borrow money and she never gave them back. She always complains about no having money but she always buys stuff, you know!
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
10 Dec 06
and that pisses me off!!! she gets to buy stuffs and she can't pay you,huh?
• United States
11 Dec 06
I have lost couple of good friends because of this money issue. It is not only about money. It is about the attitude also. They say something while taking and will forget that in the next minute when we give the money. I had a stiff with my wife also for not being able to manage my friends and my finances. If anybody can give a suggestion, please let me know. I have tried writing down everything so that i can follow up. Nothing materialised from that except that my wife saw my list one fine day and we did not talk for 3 days. It will be funny to read this, but it was one hell of a time for that 3 days. Neither you can get back the money you gave nor you can convince your wife that you will get it soon.
• United States
12 Dec 06
That sort of thing always bugs me. How can you have the money to buy new nikes, a new car, and eat out everyday, and then complain that you can't pay your light bill? I know people like that.
@maryannemax (12156)
• Sweden
10 Dec 06
oh yes. i can feel your concern. sorry to hear about that though. i had been allowing my friends to borrow money from me. atleast, in the past. but i learned my lessons not to. i had loaned money to three friends. really big ones. i am a pharmacist and i just earn like 6thousand pesos per month. but i can manage to save money since i am really thrifty. and some of my friends needed money for emergency. one needed 10 thousand pesos, one needed 15thousand pesos and one needed 26thousand pesos. this this not happen at once. month after the other. three consecutive months. and i trusted them since they are really close to me. but however, when i get to ask for the money back (with no interest), they usually give me execuses. sometimes, they don't feel like talking to me. they started avoiding me. huh? seems like i am the one who owe them money? i never tried to talk to them after months of avoiding me. i never contacted them anymore. and since then, i never considered them as a friend. i might be rude. but hey! i don't deserve such treatments.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Dec 06
Hmmm ... you trusted too much and ended up hurting yourself! For such large amounts you would have been prudent to ask for a repayment scheme from each of them, I think - like so much a month (perhaps without interest but I would suggest a very small amount of interest). That way you keep your friends because they respect you for being honest and not gullible.
• United States
12 Dec 06
Maryannmax, that is just how I felt... Like I had been the one who borrowed, and didnt pay it back. Like you, I am very thrifty and can save money even when my family and friends often make more than I do, but they spend it all. So, when someone needs money, it's me they come to.
• United States
16 Dec 06
Well I do not lend people money because I never have it to give, but I do offer to people whatever I can...a little story of how I learned the hard way.... About a year ago my brother, 21, had bad credit and wanted a cell phone. He had a job, all he needed was the credit and signature to get him into a contract. I was against the idea, but he lived with me and I know how hard life can be on the road without a phone, so I finally gave in. He was very responsible for the first few months, and my conscience was alleviated thinking I misjudged him and he was being responsible with it. Well, in May he moved out. Took the phone with him. He was very hard to get ahold of regarding the bill, and when he did pay it was only in partial payments. In July he had not paid me in full in a few months, and then he started racking up a huge phone bill thereafter-totalling up to over 500 dollars!!! I was angry and hurt and kept calling him telling him he needs to pay it and he kept giving me excuses. Then one day I called him and threatened if he didnt pay it in full I would terminate it. He yelled at me saying he was only a little behind and that he would pay me next week. Well next week came, no money and yet another phone bill statement came with monthly charges of another 200 dollars. I immediately shut it off, and a month later lost my phone (same compamny as his cell) because he never paid me and I could not afford to pay his and mine. This has caused very bad blood between us and we do not talk anymore. He ripped me off and he knows it. And he blatantly doesn't care.
• United States
17 Dec 06
princess, I understand how betrayed and hurt you feel. I think it's horrible when people do this to someone who was helping them out, especially when it's a family member.
10 Dec 06
I do lend money to family and friends, ive had no problems ever getting the money back, then whenever i need to borrow some money, i can.
• United States
11 Dec 06
Right on man! Money is the root of all evil! Don't let it come between you and the people you love.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Dec 06
The correct quotation is "The LOVE OF MONEY is the root of all evil"!
@Goranimal (315)
• United States
10 Dec 06
I used to, but now i dont give a dime to any friends or family, if they have a problem paying a bill or something like that then i will pay it for them, but no longer giving them money.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Dec 06
That is surely 'giving them money'! But to give (where you can afford it) is much better than to lend. If your friends are generous, they remember that and will give back, if not, then they will forget ... and so they will be forgotten.
• United States
12 Dec 06
If it was a bill I could understand asking to borrow some. But, I've had my sister ask me to loan her money to buy a TV because her's was old. Now, that just isn't right, if you ask me.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Dec 06
I do sometimes 'lend' money. I have one daughter who, with the best of intentions, will ask to borrow money. Sometimes I see it back but more often she will forget. My other daughter is fortunate - her husband has been left quite a bit of money, so they don't need to borrow. My son is in finance, so if he asks to borrow, I know he will set up a payment scheme to pay it back! Whenever I 'lend' money, I do it on the basis that I may never see it back, so (privately) I call it a gift. If I ever lent a large amount of money (say several hundred dollars), I would do it with the proviso that it was paid back in regular payments (with or without interest) and that those payments were set up as a standing order from a bank. It's only fair, I think, that both parties know exactly where they stand, then there can be none of this 'I'm not speaking because I haven't paid what I owed', which is silly because it has nothing to do with your love for the person at all.
@owlwings (43910)
• Cambridge, England
11 Dec 06
By the way, for those who like to quote 'Money is the root of all evil', they have it wrong! The correct quotation is 'The LOVE of money is the root of all evil'!
@prue187 (517)
• United States
11 Dec 06
I have loaned my family and other relatives some money. Some of it I got back, some I haven't. It is not the wisest thing to do. As the bible says "The borrower is servant to the lender". Unfortunately this "borrowing money thing" ruins lots of relationship. Sometimes you get the connotation that your a bad relative when you ask for the funds back. At times I'll just let it pass even though it sucks. Like what you said your being treated like a collector, this part is normal. Since you lend your brother some money, everytime he sees you he'll be thinking that your going to ask for it. $160 is not worth losing a brother, just tell him that you don't care about the debt and tell him he don't need to avoid you. Hope this will help in restoring your relationship with him.
• United States
12 Dec 06
I tried calling over a year ago to tell him to forget the debt, just stop avoiding me. He wouldn't answer the phone. This past week is the first time I have spoken to him in over 2 years. He called to tell me he tried to turn the cable off months ago and they wouldn't turn it off because it's in my name. He didn't have the money pay the deposit on the cable (about 12 years ago) so I turned it on for him. When I called the cable company to have it turned off they told me it had a $98 overdue bill and it was going to collections. My credit is very good, and of course, I didn't want the bill my brother ran up to ruin my credit, so I told the cable company to send the bill to me. This $98 bill will not be paid either, and I will end up with no relationship with my brother plus lose $298. Now that just sucks.
• United States
11 Dec 06
I have loaned money to family and friends before and I usually look at it as an investment and figure I won't get it back. Most of the time, I don't get it back. I have had trouble with loaning money to friends before and they started doing the same thing, avoiding me as if I were a collector. So, I just sat down and had a talk with them. Told them I didn't want them to feel that way and that my policy is: if I can't afford to loan it and not get it back, I don't loan it. That way, there's nothing to hold over our relationship. Once I had this talk with them and told them I didn't want them avoiding me like a bill collector, it was all good again. Not to say I loaned them money again or that they even asked for it again, neither happened. But, at least we could save our relationship. My best to you.
• United States
12 Dec 06
Thank you for the good wishes. The problem for me wasnt getting the money back (altho I was saving for a purpose), it was the way I was treated once I came back from the bank with money in hand. When I gave him the money we discussed other ways he could pay me back if he had a hard time getting the money together. Like baby-sitting my 10 year old sometime when I went shopping. He never offered to do anything, he just avoided me. It really hurt my feelings that my brother avoided me, and wouldn't answer the phone when I called. I said to myself, "I thought what I did was a good thing?" But, I felt like I was treated like am enemy.
• United States
11 Dec 06
I have loaned money and although I haven't had arguements about it thats only because I won't argue or request for the money back. Since that is the case I will not ever let any friend or family money.
• India
11 Dec 06
but if your family person ask what would you say
@BunGirl (2638)
• United States
11 Dec 06
When I loan money to people I care about, I always consider it a gift rather than a loan. This way if I get repaid I will be glad, but if I don't I won't be surprised. I think lending money can often be the wedge that drives friends (or relatives) apart.
• United States
12 Dec 06
I can afford to give a $10 gift. I can not afford to give a $200 gift. My brother knows I make very little money, but he also knows I will do without in order to save (for emergencies). For some reason, he (and other members of my family) seem to think that if I have money and they don't I should give it to them. Even tho I do without, and they spend all they have. It's lopsided to me, and I won't put myself in that position again.
• United States
11 Dec 06
Don't lend what you wouldn't give. Otherwise you end up complaining about $40 freaking dollars, rather than seeing that oyur relationship is WAY MORE IMPORTANT. I let a friend "borrow" $200 dollars when she was in a hard spot. But I figured it was no big deal if she ever paid, or if it took her 10 years to pay me back.
• United States
12 Dec 06
If it is only "$40 freaking dollars" why doesn't he pay it back? I don't understand people who get all up in arms when someone asks to get back what belongs to them. If it isn't a lot of money why not just pay it back, instead of getting mad at the person who was only trying to help YOU out?
@darr195 (110)
• United States
11 Dec 06
I just loaned a close relative my Christmas shopping money because of an emergency. They promised I'll have it back a few days before Christmas. I believe they will pay me back as promised.
• United States
12 Dec 06
darr, I really hope you get the money back. And, I really hope it was an emergency. I don't know your relative, and I am not saying he/she lied, but I've seen it happen too often to trust. Good luck to you hon, and merry Christmas.
• United States
11 Dec 06
I use to loan people money. But not anymore. If I got back the money from everyone. I would be alot happier. And yes it does change realtionships. I do not talk to these people anymore.
• Italy
11 Dec 06
i have loan.. money.. to my friend.. but.. no money came back.. so i decide to never loan.. i naver ask loan to everyone.. maybe my friend.. don't understand nothing.. when.. they ask me money.. they must be come back money to me.. i'm too good.. and then..they take advantage for me
@chaptermm (730)
• United States
11 Dec 06
yes if friends ask me for money i will lead
@mansha (6298)
• India
10 Dec 06
we have been giving away money to his family most of my married life.Notr parents (I do not mind that) but siblings.Fact is we do not expect it back too,that is why I wrote giving away money.It had not bothered me at laa till now but recently someone told me during coversation that we gave money because we wanted to and not because they needed it.I was shocked because whenever we gave the money we had to forgo something we wished to purchase.we never had surplus money and now still we have been giving money but it has now started bugging me as I have to compromise on my children's needs so many times.I will tell you an example.we had many visitors recently and all shopped we paid the bill for few itmes for them.Thsy left and we were tight but never mind that.Hubby wanted to send something to his niece so we purchase a toy worth $7 or 350 INR my son was asking for a toy worth 4$ or 200 rs INR we didn't get him that.we didn't get him anything at all.I am still feeling guilty about it.what do you say to that? should I from now on start refusing to compromise or let the trend continue.
• United States
12 Dec 06
Mansha, I think your comments demonstrate the lesson I learned about loaning money. To loan, we had to save money. That means we had to do without something (or our kids had to hear "no" when they ask for something). But, the people we loan money to seem to take advantage and either borrow over and over again or spend all their money on things they "want" then ask us to loan them money to pay their bills. They are being unfairly selfish when they do that, and I would not let it continue. I would tell them no if they ask again.
• United States
17 Dec 06
Never never never loan money to family. If it comes down to that.. Give it to them and save all the heart ache of not getting it back and hurting your relationship.
• India
11 Dec 06
never lend money to anyone it causes a great difference in ones behaviour. i loaned money to one of my close friend but now he always tries to hide from me.
@nhtpscd (1416)
• Australia
17 Dec 06
Yep been there done that and got stung by my brother. Yep been there done that with my sister and has paid. I still talk to my brother but will never open my purse to him again.
@porwest (90823)
• United States
10 Sep
I do not lend money to friends and family. Ever. Period. It never ends well.