loaning family money

[ultrarunner]

I still manage a few low income rentals... when it comes to electronics and gadgets I am way behind the times...

A 7 year old couldn't understand how/why I did not have a smartphone... she showed me hers...

Same with cable... never lived in a home with cable and all my subsidized tenants have cable and high speed...

They all get oodles of discounts on things like utilities....

 

[PRCWI]

Not many of us here, I would bet, would turn down anyone who got rid of their phone, TV, car, credit cards and still didn't have enough for food.

Yep definately not. I've helped out many who didn't

 

[Bird]

It's been over 50 years now, but if my memory serves me right, we didn't have a phone...couldn't afford one...for the first year or so we were married.

Having a phone was a requirement on my job, but it was just a basic phone; none of the caller ID, call waiting, voice mail, etc., etc. that we now have, but my parents were in Alaska and hers in West Virginia. So one Saturday, we'd call her parents, next Saturday mine, and the calls were limited to 10 minutes or less; usually about 5 minutes. Couldn't afford any higher long distance charges.

 

[kenmac]

The mindset with people today, really feel that their internet, high dollar cell phone and cell plan, new car payment,800 cable channels 70'' 4 k tv is a necessity

Many of us here grew up without any of this stuff..we know it isn't necessary for survival..
Go back to the basics.
I've had a smart prone for yrs for business.. My wife just got a $35.00 smart phone last yr..
Her plan,,, for 35.00 per mo with 2.5 gigs of data.

 

[4570Man]

I have borrowed money from family before, but I paid it back. I bought my truck from my grandpa. I still owe him money, but I am making payments. As for the OPs question, no I wouldn't have loaned him money. And $200 for a water bill? I would have bought the pistol, but I'm not a fan of buying stuff for twice what it is worth.

 

[turnkey4099]

My 25 year old brother in law called my wife today and said his water is turned off. His girlfriend and her young son live with him. It's $200, which too me, is not something I'm willing to loose or have in the wind for weeks and months. He says he gets paid in two weeks, and so does his girlfriend. I know for a fact, he has not paid his mom and his uncle back in the past. I'm thinking of telling him that he has to give me his pistol (only about $150-180 value) until he repays. How do yall feel about keeping collateral on family. I know it seems crappy, but I can't afford to not get the money back,

If you make the loan, get collateral but realize that you will wind up with the collateral, not he money. 2 people with paying jobs can't keep up with their bills says they have no clue on handling money...assuming, of course, they haven't had a major financial loss of some kind recently.

Harry K

 

[Texas Dawg]

I saw this quote a while back and I think it really fits in to the situation at hand.
"Your ability to accept is determined by your consciousness. We all know people who have more money than they know what to do with, and we all know many people who never have enough. Why the difference? If a person who has virtually nothing is given a large sum of money, within a very short time that person will have nothing again. If we divided all the money in the world equally, in a short time the rich would be rich again, and the poor would be poor."
-- Robert Anthony in his book, "The Advanced Formula For Total Success

 

[jerrybob]

Don't lend people money...it gives them amnesia!

 

[ultrarunner]

Probably true... it's a lifestyle as well as being frugal and throw in waste not want not...

I have known people that the best thing they ever did was marry the right spouse... unfortunately, the opposite is also true.

 

[PILOON]

Either we live right or are blessed.

Our daughter borrowed from us to buy a cottage and the payback was very prompt.
Our son got into a bind due to a not so sane ex who had problems that were deeply covered up (her parents masked them).
WE helped him to 'bail out' of the mess but he worked over time and two jobs to repay us.

But as teens both worked and had to pay their way for their luxuries. School, books and essentials were on us.
Both graduated with honors, daughter has 2 girls (both in university) is a CPA and in charge of a department of major fortune 500.
Son is research marine scientist and tops in his field.(just married late in life)

I think we did something right along the way!