Is It a Bad Idea to Borrow Money From Friends and Family?

a friend lending moneySometimes we might find ourselves a little short on cash. If you’re reading this, it’s very likely that you’ve experienced this feeling and/or situation at some point over the course of the last several years. In that time, we’ve dealt with some pretty serious economic issues here in the United States. Things were good for quite a while, but the recession that took over several years ago hit a lot of people square in the wallet, and a good amount of individuals are still doing everything that they can to recover. Unfortunately, life doesn’t really have a tendency to put itself on hold just because you’re in need of some money or are unable to meet your financial obligations. Some months are just a little tighter than others, and these days it’s not uncommon for people to be feeling like a little financial help would be really nice, no matter where it comes from.

When you need some money in an emergency situation, there are a lot of places that you can turn to. Sometimes, though, these more “official” channels can just be a little too complicated, or take a little too much time. When you need some help, and you need it quickly, you might be thinking about asking a friend or family member to let you borrow some money. This can be a good idea, or it can be a bad one, based on how you go about setting up this kind of loan.

When you’re borrowing an amount that you don’t think you can pay back in one fell swoop, the first thing you need to do is make sure that you’re able to clearly define the terms by which you’ll repay the loan. Borrowing money from friends and family members is not a bad idea all the time, but you definitely have to make sure that you’re able to pay back everything you borrowed. It’s never a nice thing to use your good relationship with someone as a method by which you avoid paying back your debts. So long as you don’t exploit something like this, borrowing money from friends and family isn’t the worst idea in the world.

Things like fast cash loans can be unnecessarily risky. If you know someone with the means and the desire to help you out, it’s on you to make sure that you’re able to help that person to not regret doing so. Make sure you pay your debt back in a timely manner, and be up front about everything. Financial issues can get pretty complicated and uncomfortable pretty fast, so if you’re going to borrow money from a friend or family member, you want to make sure you pay it back right away. Otherwise, it’s perfectly normal to rely on the people that you love and keep closest to you for a little bit of financial help from time to time.