Author Topic: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money  (Read 39819 times)

Jenny1974

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Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« on: May 09, 2017, 11:03:53 AM »
Ok . . . I'll start.  I was once asked to borrow $1,500 from a "friend" who wanted to buy her underemployed DH new rims for the truck they can't afford.  I politely explained that I am not in the business of making bad investments.

You?
« Last Edit: May 10, 2017, 02:46:27 PM by buchanaj »

gardeningandgreen

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #1 on: May 09, 2017, 12:08:04 PM »
This one wasnt from me(my sister knows better) but my sister asked my parents and my grandma for money for gas to get to a town an hour away because she claimed her husbands dad was in the hospital because he had a heart attack. Found out the next day that they got money from both my parents and my grandma and his dad was not in the hospital and had not had a heart attack.

MgoSam

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2017, 01:35:25 PM »
How much gas money does one need to drive an hour back and forth? Seems like a shitty and inefficient way to burn bridges.

Zikoris

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #3 on: May 09, 2017, 01:45:51 PM »
Probably cigarettes. I have a simple policy of "Never ever lend money to anyone", though every once in awhile someons till asks.

TravelJunkyQC

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #4 on: May 09, 2017, 02:20:36 PM »
Not my money, but my partner's. He was asked by our neighbour to borrow 2k to pay her mortgage. Because she refused to get a job that was "beneath her" or not "fulfilling" to her, as an MBA graduate and former insurance rep. Fair enough, but if you're about to lose your roof and your credit is maxed out, perhaps now is not the time to get choosy.

He said no.

She now sells essential oils in an MLM.

We don't speak to her much anymore.

gardeningandgreen

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2017, 03:05:19 PM »
How much gas money does one need to drive an hour back and forth? Seems like a shitty and inefficient way to burn bridges.

I have no idea. Her husband isnt allowed around our family any more due to drug issues and stealing. So they arent the smartest ones.

Drifterrider

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #6 on: May 10, 2017, 11:58:31 AM »
I loaned money in high school at a then reasonable rate.  I held your collateral until you repaid me.  Only lost money once:  10 cents.  That was when I starting holding collateral.

Chase is not my name. :)

tarheeldan

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #7 on: May 10, 2017, 12:13:50 PM »
Hm...the "thing" really isn't that dumb, but situation is nutty. I became Treasurer of a small non-profit organization. Shortly afterward, one of the members asked for a personal loan out of the Treasury because he'd crashed his car and wanted to lease or buy another brand-new one. Then they started telling me about their financial situation and it went even further downhill from there. It was an emphatic "No."

I can't resist: "asked to borrow money" implies one was encouraged to take out a loan. "asked to lend money" would work.

solon

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #8 on: May 10, 2017, 12:17:32 PM »
I can't resist: "asked to borrow money" implies one was encouraged to take out a loan. "asked to lend money" would work.

I'm with you! Every time I see this thread it takes me a second to remind myself what it's really about.

In other news, I've never been asked to loan money. Maybe word hasn't got out yet that I have some.

nobody123

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #9 on: May 10, 2017, 12:38:57 PM »
My alcoholic uncle who I hadn't spoken to in years once asked me to borrow $500 for bail money for his alcoholic girlfriend's daughter who was arrested for a drug offense.  I had never met GF or daughter, although another uncle had so I knew they actually existed.  I lied and said I didn't have it.  Inside my head I wondered if there was any possible scenario where I would ever see a cent of that $500 again.

Goat-e

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #10 on: May 10, 2017, 01:16:39 PM »
Did you mean "lend" money?

DTaggart

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #11 on: May 10, 2017, 01:23:10 PM »
I can't resist: "asked to borrow money" implies one was encouraged to take out a loan. "asked to lend money" would work.

Oooh! My FIL asked my husband and I to get a $15k home equity loan and then "loan" (give) him the money so he could pay off his high interest debts, does that count? :)

Spoiler alert: we said no.

MgoSam

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #12 on: May 10, 2017, 01:26:30 PM »
How much gas money does one need to drive an hour back and forth? Seems like a shitty and inefficient way to burn bridges.

I have no idea. Her husband isnt allowed around our family any more due to drug issues and stealing. So they arent the smartest ones.

Ahh, I need to stop and consider the other person's intelligence (or lack of).

Vindicated

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #13 on: May 10, 2017, 01:28:04 PM »
Wow, I'm really surprised by these stories.  I'm interested to hear more, although I don't have anything juicy.

The only time I can recall ever being asked to lend someone money was about 1.5 yrs ago.  A former coworker, who I hadn't spoken to in 5+ years, contacts me on Facebook to ask if I can loan him $50 so he can buy work clothes for a new job he's starting.  It really seems like he's trying to turn his life around.  I respect his former GF, who has two of his kids, and don't mind taking a chance to put him in a position to make her life a bit easier.

Well, I gave him the $50, and heard back from him several times over the next couple of days, as he said he would have the money to pay me back after a few shifts (it was a restaurant server job).  Then he stopped responding.  Every few months I send him a message asking if he's got the $50 yet.  I think I'll send another one today.

ketchup

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #14 on: May 10, 2017, 01:40:52 PM »
I fronted someone a new fancyish laptop when I was 18 and got burned (naively assumed everyone is decent with money and would prioritize paying someone back, I saw about $0).  I tolerated a little too much bullshit with a tenant in a rental house when I was 23 (but got paid back for that mess at least).

Never again.  Expensive lessons, but lessons none the less.  If I give someone money in the future, it'll be a gift, not a loan.

druth

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #15 on: May 10, 2017, 01:54:28 PM »
Not as dumb as some other examples, but I lent a friend money because he couldn't pay his rent.  Rent is not rediculous, but what is is that he couldn't afford it because he had just bought a new $500 suit that he "needed"(he works at a laundromat, it was not a work necessity).  I really lent him suit money.  For the record I did get the money back relatively promptly. 

YogiKitti

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #16 on: May 10, 2017, 02:43:16 PM »
A mutual acquaintance once asked to borrow $300 from my husband in the same conversation where she admitted to spending $600 on fast food. He told her that I handle the finances, so she would have to ask me. I guess she changed her mind.

Jenny1974

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #17 on: May 10, 2017, 02:49:26 PM »
Ok  . . I corrected the title.

Just thought of another good one.  Co-worker asked me to lend her money to replace the carpet in her house . .  that she ripped out knowing she didn't have money to replace it.  The best part is, within a couple months of asking, she took out a 401k loan to get a boob job.  Of course, she'd rather I pay for her carpet!  Needless to say, I said "No".

afuera

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Borrow Money
« Reply #18 on: May 10, 2017, 02:58:17 PM »
My BIL is going through a divorce and trying to sell their house since his wife and kid moved out.  He asked DH to borrow money a few times (a few thousand here and there) and we were happy to loan him some to help him through a tough time.  The first couple times he paid us back within a week or two but the last time he didn't and then asked to borrow a little more just to get him to his next paycheck where his raise/promotion would go through.  We told him we wanted to help him make a plan so that he didn't have to keep asking to borrow money and we wouldn't give him more money without letting us see where its all going.  He was a good sport/very desperate and linked everything to Mint and gave us the login.  We quickly realized that while his income is more than enough to cover his bills and high eating/drinking out expenses, he was >20K in debt and spending 3K+ at casinos every month.  There were multiple times where we could see the money we loaned him go into his account (he insisted on transfer via facebook since it was instant) and 5 mins later most of it was withdrawn at the casino ATM.
We tried to talk to him about priorities and what he could do to fix his situation but he kept insisting that he couldn't make any progress regardless of what he did. Last week he told DH that he went and talked to a guy about filing for bankruptcy.  I'm just writing the 2K he still owes us off as a loss and moving on at this point.

eddie

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #19 on: May 10, 2017, 05:20:45 PM »
I'm a really slow learner.

2004 - 22yo.  I'm in the Marine Corps Reserves and a few of us were flying back home from NC after a deployment.  We had to personally pay to for our extra bags to fly back with all our gear.  We were supposed to get reimbursed, but only up to a certain amount per person.  I loan a buddy around $200 to ship his bags back because he didn't have any $ in his bank account.  But I had to put the receipt in his name because I maxed out my allowance to ship my own gear back.  I never got paid back.

2004 or 2005 - In college.  A classmate (I went to a relatively expensive private school) was behind on his tuition payments.  I loan him around $900.  He drops out of school a few weeks later and I never hear from him again. 

2006 -  My best friend is engaged to a girl who lives in WA, half way across the country.  He wants to move there for a few months to remodel the house she just bought and asks for me to loan him about $20k to pay for materials and his living expenses.  Why on earth would someone even consider that.  He was and still is like a brother to me.  I lived rent free on his couch for about 9 months while in college.  He helped me a ton with my dad in 2005/2006 when my dad was going down a huge spiral of ruining his life with alcohol.  We spent lots of Friday and Saturday nights pulling my dad out of bars.  We fixed up my dad's house to sell to keep my dad from getting foreclosed on.  That was a ton of work.  My friend's family life was also pretty messy and I think he just wanted to get out of town and try to build a productive relationship with this girl.  He and the girl ended up breaking up within a year though.  He actually made decent efforts to pay me back for a couple years but he had a lot of family problems.  Two of his siblings had addiction problems and all the associated legal/financial problems that ensue.  He helped them both with treatment programs.  He was the stable person in the entire family.  After several years I just told him to forget about paying me the rest back.  In total I ended up getting about $12k back from him.

I will never loan $ again.  I might give some $ to a close relative in the right situation, but never a loan.

frugalecon

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #20 on: May 10, 2017, 05:40:41 PM »
Friend who was in debt to family, friends, and the IRS, and who had been unemployed for two years, though who had landed a part-time gig of uncertain duration, asked to borrow $1000 for a vacation. I declined and explained my reasoning, which resulted in being attacked for being unempathic.

The part-time gig didn't last long, and two months later I paid the dude's rent so he wouldn't be evicted and homeless. No acknowledgement that I had been right before, and subsequently was attacked as an insulting, lecturing, condescending, haughty prig when I wouldn't provide funds for another trip.

meghan88

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #21 on: May 10, 2017, 05:54:40 PM »
Ok  . . I corrected the title.

Just thought of another good one.  Co-worker asked me to lend her money to replace the carpet in her house . .  that she ripped out knowing she didn't have money to replace it.  The best part is, within a couple months of asking, she took out a 401k loan to get a boob job.  Of course, she'd rather I pay for her carpet!  Needless to say, I said "No".

LOL!!  Good one.  Mine:

I loaned 20K to my bro-in-law for something business-related.  He had to keep it from my sis, as she would have (rightly) freaked.  My bro-in-law and sis both mean a lot to me, BUT they are spendy, whereas I am a frugal, bike-riding, coupon-clipping, anti-consumer saver who earns way less than my bro-in-law.

He swore that he'd pay me back in a year.  I loaned the money on the explicit condition that he would in fact pay me back within a year.  It took two years, during which period I had to listen to excuses and watch them buy a new (albeit lightly used) Lexus, and go on vacations.

So it wasn't a "stupid" thing per se, but it was very annoying.

More recently, I've been tapped to make a donation to a family member's theater project.  Not a loan, but I feel obliged to shell out, and theater is not really my thing.

Other than that, I've been suckered two or three times, a long time ago, by street-corner solicitations to loan someone $10-20 so that they could call some sort of assistance to get back to / into their cars which they were locked out of and/or contained medication that they urgently needed.  The first time this happened was when I was working as a bike messenger, barely earning a living myself, and soaked in rain and street grime.  I was a soft touch back in the day.

frugalecon

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #22 on: May 10, 2017, 06:16:39 PM »


Other than that, I've been suckered two or three times, a long time ago, by street-corner solicitations to loan someone $10-20 so that they could call some sort of assistance to get back to / into their cars which they were locked out of and/or contained medication that they urgently needed.  The first time this happened was when I was working as a bike messenger, barely earning a living myself, and soaked in rain and street grime.  I was a soft touch back in the day.

Crap like this pisses me off, because it screws anyone who legitimately does need help. I got snookered once by a woman who asked me about the location of the nearest women's crisis center, and then ultimately spun a tale of needing to get to Bakersfield, and her soon to be ex husband trying to take her kids, etc., and $35 would solve it all. I was so naive I insisted on driving her to the train station. She had no choice but to play along. When I figured out I had been had, I was pretty disillusioned,

Hargrove

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #23 on: May 10, 2017, 06:22:19 PM »
Wow. These stories are horrible.

I was once the guy. A friend loaned me money to kill my credit card debt acquired during unemployment. I got out of college just after the recession hit. Then he told me it wasn't his money he lent me and his family member needed it back.

I was pretty angry. I was going to take the debt seriously in the first place, but I wouldn't have knowingly taken it from a stranger in his family. I ate an awful lot of ramen noodles and walked to work to start working on it. After a few months, a different friend at work actually offered to loan me the balance so things wouldn't be so tight. So, he lent me someone else's deceptive financing on my credit card debt. I did ultimately take him up on it, but I paid him something like 40% of my take-home every week. I was only a clerk at the time, so he was a pretty generous guy.

FIREfly34

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #24 on: May 10, 2017, 08:29:43 PM »
A coworker once asked to borrow a rather large sum of money from me, knowing that I was low income and had student loans, to fund their antimustachian hobby. I didn't  even dignify that with a response.

JAYSLOL

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #25 on: May 10, 2017, 08:53:36 PM »
Wasn't me that got asked, it was my dad.  He was the trustee(?) of a fund put aside for a young man who had some health problems/disorders who was not able to look after the money himself because of said disorders.  His family, on behalf of his sister, asked to borrow a significant amount (i think it was $30k+) from the fund to use as a downpayment for a house for her.  And she was just starting college, with no job.  And the market here is stupid overheated.  Besides the fact that the money is not to be used for that kind of thing, and can only be used for the young mans well being.  Of course he said no. 

clarkfan1979

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #26 on: May 10, 2017, 09:00:22 PM »
I was renting a room in a single family home from a women when in grad school. Apparently, she was renting the house from someone else and not paying them rent. She asked me to pay two months rent in advance and I would get some sort of a discount. I agreed and we were evicted in less than 2 weeks.

SwordGuy

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #27 on: May 10, 2017, 09:12:36 PM »
A friend of mine loaned money to a young woman we both knew to help her with her rent.  She was supposed to pay him back come payday.    She didn't, and instead spent her paycheck on new clothes, then wrote him a bum check.

This pissed him off.

So he took the canceled check that had bounced and waited until her next payday.  He showed up at the bank bright and early the next day and cashed the check.   She went out and spent that paycheck on more clothes at lots of different stores.s
All her checks bounced so she was out gobs of money in fees.

Sweet revenge.

Rowellen

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #28 on: May 10, 2017, 09:15:13 PM »
Great stories. I have a few to add.

In 1993 an acquaintance asked to borrow 40 cents for a pay phone. She didn't pay me back. I have never forgotten.

In 2000 I bought concert tickets for myself and some friends. They all paid me back except one who kept putting me off. She didn't pay me back. And she ditched me at the concert for some other people she knew. She still owes me $15.

My husband lent $100 to a mate for car repairs. DH was a groomsman at his wedding. They are no longer friends and the $100 is still outstanding. I could tell some stories about his financial situation but I won't go on here. Suffice to say he is the epitome of antimustachian.

Sydneystache

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #29 on: May 10, 2017, 09:21:33 PM »
2006 -  My best friend is engaged to a girl who lives in WA, half way across the country.  He wants to move there for a few months to remodel the house she just bought and asks for me to loan him about $20k to pay for materials and his living expenses.  Why on earth would someone even consider that.  He was and still is like a brother to me.  I lived rent free on his couch for about 9 months while in college.  He helped me a ton with my dad in 2005/2006 when my dad was going down a huge spiral of ruining his life with alcohol.  We spent lots of Friday and Saturday nights pulling my dad out of bars.  We fixed up my dad's house to sell to keep my dad from getting foreclosed on.  That was a ton of work.  My friend's family life was also pretty messy and I think he just wanted to get out of town and try to build a productive relationship with this girl.  He and the girl ended up breaking up within a year though.  He actually made decent efforts to pay me back for a couple years but he had a lot of family problems.  Two of his siblings had addiction problems and all the associated legal/financial problems that ensue.  He helped them both with treatment programs.  He was the stable person in the entire family.  After several years I just told him to forget about paying me the rest back.  In total I ended up getting about $12k back from him.

I will never loan $ again.  I might give some $ to a close relative in the right situation, but never a loan.

That last one wasnt so bad. You stayed with him rent free for 9 months so the $8K loss you could mindfully balance out. Good karma is all I can say.

Sydneystache

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #30 on: May 10, 2017, 09:36:57 PM »
I was pretty angry. I was going to take the debt seriously in the first place, but I wouldn't have knowingly taken it from a stranger in his family.

But a debt is a debt. How can you take it less seriously because of where it came from? That's like saying, I borrowed from a Rothschild and I know how well off they are so I will take my sweet time paying it off.

You should be firstly angry with yourself that you got into debt, not with your friend who was trying to help you out and had to ask a member of his family to help you because he felt that sorry for you. How do you think that would have gone down on said family member? Alternatively, maybe said friend used the excuse of a family member to ensure you paid the debt asap.

Presumably you did not pay interest on said loan....

As Polonius said to Laertes before he went to uni: neither be a lender nor borrower be.

Sydneystache

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #31 on: May 10, 2017, 09:52:03 PM »
I was renting a room in a single family home from a women when in grad school. Apparently, she was renting the house from someone else and not paying them rent. She asked me to pay two months rent in advance and I would get some sort of a discount. I agreed and we were evicted in less than 2 weeks.

Ouch! That really must have hurt.

I have one from DS: when he was in Year 5, his then best friend asked him for $10 for some toy or something. He came home bawling his eyes out because a) he didn't have an allowance at the time b) he had to ask money from me. Needless to say, I said if he were a true friend, he would never ask money off you (he was 10!) and what was so special about the toy? I have a feeling DS must have told him about his bank account where his birthday money goes into (which I have been transparent with eg taking him to the bank to deposit money).

They're no longer best friends.

Hargrove

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #32 on: May 10, 2017, 10:15:59 PM »
But a debt is a debt. How can you take it less seriously because of where it came from? That's like saying, I borrowed from a Rothschild and I know how well off they are so I will take my sweet time paying it off.

I literally said I was already going to take it seriously - ergo, the source did not change that. Why do you hate raspberries?

Quote
You should be firstly angry with yourself that you got into debt, not with your friend who was trying to help you out and had to ask a member of his family to help you because he felt that sorry for you. How do you think that would have gone down on said family member? Alternatively, maybe said friend used the excuse of a family member to ensure you paid the debt asap.

My actions were my responsibility, and... his actions were my responsibility? You'll have to work on that one. The story was supposed to be about the second guy who helped my broke bum in a bizarre situation, but we can talk about raspberries instead if you want. I know you're not a fan of them.

Sydneystache

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #33 on: May 10, 2017, 10:19:11 PM »
What raspberries?

bunchbikes

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #34 on: May 11, 2017, 04:30:55 AM »
When my wife told her mother that my business was doing really well, rather than being happy for us, her reaction was to lay on the guilt and imply that we should be helping with her eye-surgery costs.

This coming from a family who just bought a brand new minivan, because they are all too overweight to fit, or get in and out of, normal cars.

Nope.
« Last Edit: May 11, 2017, 04:33:06 AM by CargoBiker »

valsecito

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #35 on: May 11, 2017, 05:19:15 AM »
Quite the opposite story here, to balance:

Sister got into a total loss car crash, needed a new one for work. I heard my sibling was planning to take a loan at the bank. Realised it would compromise her ability to get a mortgage soon. I offered her an interest free loan, myself.

She hesitated to accept, but took it in the end. Paid me back far earlier than agreed, to the last cent. The experience really strenghtened our bond.

I would do this again without hesitation. Or if I would be in need myself, I'd not hesitate to ask her for help.

(My other siblings though, not a penny, ever. I'd rather eat my shoe. Even if it had dog shit on it.)

le-weekend

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #36 on: May 11, 2017, 06:43:10 AM »
Ok  . . I corrected the title.

Just thought of another good one.  Co-worker asked me to lend her money to replace the carpet in her house . .  that she ripped out knowing she didn't have money to replace it.  The best part is, within a couple months of asking, she took out a 401k loan to get a boob job.  Of course, she'd rather I pay for her carpet!  Needless to say, I said "No".
Of all of these, for some reason this one makes me the saddest.  What a mess her head / life must be.

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MishMash

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #37 on: May 11, 2017, 07:58:06 AM »
My brother asked to borrow 1k...to fund his bankruptcy

Yup, I gave it to him, and surprisingly, he paid it back.

Jenny1974

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #38 on: May 11, 2017, 09:42:39 AM »
Ok  . . I corrected the title.

Just thought of another good one.  Co-worker asked me to lend her money to replace the carpet in her house . .  that she ripped out knowing she didn't have money to replace it.  The best part is, within a couple months of asking, she took out a 401k loan to get a boob job.  Of course, she'd rather I pay for her carpet!  Needless to say, I said "No".
Of all of these, for some reason this one makes me the saddest.  What a mess her head / life must be.

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You got that!  This girl is a hot mess is ALL areas of her life.  Surprisingly, she is a really good employee because if her job depended on how she managed her life, she'd have been fired YEARS ago.

Hunny156

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #39 on: May 11, 2017, 03:20:29 PM »
When I was in my early 20's, leaving Citibank's ATM one night after getting paid.  Can't recall, but I had pulled out 3-5 $20 bills.  As I'm walking to the car where my now-hubby is waiting, a woman came up to beg.  Big sob story about the kids at home without food, and how anything could help.  Hubby was about to reach in his pocket, but he had way less money than I did (he owed me $$, lol!), I felt a wave of pity and compassion for these starving children, sitting in a cold and unfurnished apartment.  Out came one of those crisp $20 bills, and in an even dumber move, we even agreed to drive her to the grocery store!  When we got about 1/2 block from the store, she thanked us and insisted to get out right there.  We let her out, and watched her run away, in the opposite direction of the store.  Guess I helped finance a drug habit that night.

A week later, same Citibank ATM.  Same woman, same sob story!  I told her she wasn't going to get me for a second time, but she clearly had no recollection of the incident.  I stopped going to that ATM.

As for hubby and his loan to me, I kept a spreadsheet to track it all over the many years we dated.  It was a considerable amount, but once we got engaged, I destroyed the spreadsheet.  21+ years later, I can say that was one of the best investments I've ever made.  :)

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #40 on: May 11, 2017, 05:08:45 PM »
I used to be a lender on prosper.com, so I've been asked to lend money for all sorts of ridiculous things. Weddings, divorces, making a movie, catching up on 8 payday loans, buying a new car because the borrower's professional image depended on looking successful. (That last borrower defaulted, natch.) My favorite were the many requests for loans  to pay off the borrowers' credit cards, other loans, etc., "so I can be debt free." 

Mezzie

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #41 on: May 11, 2017, 06:12:13 PM »
A coworker once went around asking people to donate sick leave to her so she could take a vacation to Jamaica.

KodeBlue

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #42 on: May 11, 2017, 06:12:34 PM »
A clerical employee who makes far less then I wanted to borrow $50 to buy lottery tickets. Even though she didn't get the money from me she did manage to buy her tickets; she took a $50 cash advance on a credit card. 

Dollar Slice

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #43 on: May 11, 2017, 06:37:46 PM »
As I'm walking to the car where my now-hubby is waiting, a woman came up to beg.  Big sob story about the kids at home without food, and how anything could help.  Hubby was about to reach in his pocket, but he had way less money than I did (he owed me $$, lol!), I felt a wave of pity and compassion for these starving children, sitting in a cold and unfurnished apartment.  Out came one of those crisp $20 bills, and in an even dumber move, we even agreed to drive her to the grocery store!  When we got about 1/2 block from the store, she thanked us and insisted to get out right there.  We let her out, and watched her run away, in the opposite direction of the store.  Guess I helped finance a drug habit that night.

There is a somewhat well-known scam where someone will hang around outside grocery/drug stores and go so far as to get you to buy a big pack of diapers for them (it can't be a scam if you're buying the actual diapers for their poor starving kids, right? and maybe you'll throw in some baby food or formula or whatever else they need...) and then as soon as you leave they go back in and return the diapers for cash.

MgoSam

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #44 on: May 11, 2017, 08:04:09 PM »
The people that are making bank  in the weed business are the ones that order several greenhouses and want them tomorrow and yes we have cash.
Amazing times we live in.

I've seen a lot of people try to make bank with the green crop but most of them walk away with their tail between their legs. It takes a lot more than desire to get started.

RWD

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #45 on: May 11, 2017, 08:48:39 PM »
I used to be a lender on prosper.com, so I've been asked to lend money for all sorts of ridiculous things. Weddings, divorces, making a movie, catching up on 8 payday loans, buying a new car because the borrower's professional image depended on looking successful. (That last borrower defaulted, natch.) My favorite were the many requests for loans  to pay off the borrowers' credit cards, other loans, etc., "so I can be debt free."

I was a lender on Prosper as well, back in 2007. I put in $7k on three-year loans. I only got $5k of that back. My last payment (debt recovery) was in 2015... Other than the lost money, my biggest regret was complicating my taxes for nine years.

mwulff

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #46 on: May 11, 2017, 11:46:34 PM »
I guess I have the opposite story to tell. A friend of mine who is rather poor, through no fault of his own due to a medical condition, and his wife (who is stupidly spendy) had the misfortune that her Honda actually died.

He used to be a mechanic so he had been maintaining the vehicle but alas eventually time eats even a Honda.

Now being a smart guy he actually prepared for this scenario and put away about $1000 for a downpayment on a somewhat newer Honda. But that meant that they were still missing the last $3400 for a used car.

So he goes to the bank and asks to lend $3400 and gets told that the interest would be around 12-15%. I should at this point add that they have no debt, never paid a bill late and generally are stable people. They just don't have much income.

I actually got so pissed at that bank that I called my wife instantly and said that I was going loan him $3400 interest-free if she was ok with it. Turns out she was fine with it and him and I went to get the car.

Fast forward 12 months and the debt has been repaid in full, and it was even 6 months faster than we agreed on.

And even better, the car has been stable and working fine :)

bunchbikes

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #47 on: May 12, 2017, 06:24:06 AM »
I actually got so pissed at that bank that I called my wife instantly and said that I was going loan him $3400 interest-free if she was ok with it. Turns out she was fine with it and him and I went to get the car.

Not sure why you were pissed at the bank. 12-15% interest mitigates the large risk of loaning money to someone who can't afford a $4000 used car.  They don't know borrowers personally, and can't judge them on character, as you were able to.  On paper, they were a risky investment.

Quote
Fast forward 12 months and the debt has been repaid in full, and it was even 6 months faster than we agreed on.

And even better, the car has been stable and working fine :)

I may have been more cautious given his "spendy wife", but I'm glad it worked out for everyone involved.

Drifterrider

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #48 on: May 12, 2017, 06:37:48 AM »
My brother asked to borrow 1k...to fund his bankruptcy

Yup, I gave it to him, and surprisingly, he paid it back.

Key word.  You gave. 

Never lend to family or friends.  If their need is real, give without expectations.  Never be afraid to say NO.

valsecito

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Re: Dumbest Thing For Which You've Been Asked to Lend Money
« Reply #49 on: May 12, 2017, 08:26:57 AM »
I actually got so pissed at that bank that I called my wife instantly and said that I was going loan him $3400 interest-free if she was ok with it. Turns out she was fine with it and him and I went to get the car.

Not sure why you were pissed at the bank. 12-15% interest mitigates the large risk of loaning money to someone who can't afford a $4000 used car.
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A different perspective: such a loan would legally be considered usury in Belgium (any loan actually between 1250 and 5000€ with a total yearly cost equal to or higher than 12.5%). Usury loan means the borrower can walk away from making payments and just keep the principal.