Have you done it? How did it work out?

Consider it a gift with no expectation of repayment.

Scrawney;737311 wrote:Consider it a gift with no expectation of repayment.

Agreed. If you aren't willing to give them the money tell them to look elsewhere for the "loan".

If you can't afford to never get it back, I wouldn't do it.

This thread again?

don't ...unless as noted above.

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO

Not recommended.

Depends how much it is and if you KNOW this person to be dependable.

Sonofanump;737338 wrote:This thread again?

This

Generally a bad idea. Give it as a gift, and if they want to repay, that's great. But once money gets involved, there's a very good chance there will be family awkwardness down the line.

Will agree that it's usually better to give than to lend unless the borrower has a long-time record of financial responsibility.

One exception - my father loaned my wife and I the $10K I needed to go back to school for my second degree. We very carefully drew up a formal loan agreement including terms of repayment (interest-only until I got my second tuition reimbursement check from my employer), and specifically listed it in a declaration of his assets. - in short, everyone was aware of the arrangement We even reported the interest income on his taxes.

I treated this just as I would any other debt and was never late on a interest payment. After the second quarter, I essentially signed over my tuition reimbursement checks to Dad as the principle repayment, and was all set to to pay him back at $400 per month for the balance not covered by TR. My "re-graduation" present was a letter from Dad's attorney stating that the balance of debt was canceled.

Dad made market-rate interest on his savings, the money stayed in the family, and I got a degree that essentially doubled my income within three years. It worked out well - this time!

I never loan my family money. If they need it I give it to them.