UNITED STATES—Money I do believe it is indeed the root of all evil people and if there are people who think I’m full of it that is your problem not mine. There are people who will do anything to get their hands on more money and as a result it places you in that dicey situation where you are forced to decide do I really want to lend this money?

Yes, we’re talking about lending money to people, particularly family members. Well I have learned from my experience it is NEVER a good idea to lend money to family. Why? It can lead to squabbles, fights and worst of all fractures in relationships that sometimes do not repair themselves. I mean just watch a few episodes of “Judge Judy” and you will see exactly what I mean.

In the past I would lend money to family all the time, but as of late, nope, not anymore why? In the past, money I gave to people with the intention of it being paid back was never paid back to me. It is not so much about the money being paid back it’s the fact that someone told you they were going to do something that they completely ignored and failed to acknowledge as if it doesn’t matter.

Do not sit here and tell me you’re going to do something and then you don’t do it. That’s important because you just lied to my face. So how am I to trust you that is the thing that troubles me the most, you lied so your word means absolutely nothing. Once you break the trust with me I can no longer look at you the same, especially when I know you did it with malicious intent people.

Family lies and it’s unfortunate, but it is what it is people. When you give money to family, you should NOT expect to get that money back. It’s just that rule people and I don’t think a lot of people realize that. If you don’t want to lose that money do not give it out. I’ve been placed in situations where I have given out hundreds of dollars with the expectation to see it back, but guess what: it never happened! I remember once loaning over a $1,000 to my brother and not see that money back until like 2 years later when I expected to have that money back in a week or two. Yeah, how about interest people did you forget about that?!

People don’t think of that when they loan you money they just hope to get money to do what it is they want to do and whatever happens after that, they could care less. Some people will torch a relationship by not paying a family member back. I’ve seen it happen with my aunt who now forces people to sign a promissory note if they choose to borrow money from her. I don’t blame her because she does it with good intentions, only to get screwed in the long run.

The best advice I can give is that you need to know in your gut if you’ve giving money to a family member 90 percent of the time you should NOT expect to see it back. Especially if it’s a family member who has a history of not paying people back or worse it is someone who you have never allowed to borrow money from you. If you have lent money to a family member who has paid you back that is a sign they are trustworthy. If it’s a family member you don’t have a track record with you might want to be weary people for your own financial security and future.

Written By Jason Jones