There used to be an old saying that claimed we should never mix family and money. This saying is even more applicable now, in the aftermath of the financial downturn.

More and more people are still struggling to pay their debts on the due dates. This impacts their lives – financially, emotionally, and perhaps even physically due to the worry they undergo. For a certain percentage, this could have been avoided if they had not lent family members money.

The outcome is that they need to speak to a professional for debt help. While this in itself is not a tremendous cause for worry, it speaks of a deeper, underlying problem that so many people (young as well as older, more established folks) suffer from: fear of saying no to family members who themselves also need debt help.

This fear can ruin not only people’s financial prospects for the immediate future but it can also ruin their potential legacy if they are not more careful in how they plan their finances, and more importantly, to whom they offer financial help.

There is one rule that anyone who is considering lending money to friends or family members need to remember: only lend money that you can afford to lose. For most of us, however, that means we shouldn’t lend money at all, or we should only lend a very small amount if we are forced to do so.

This rule eliminates many potential problems at the outset and should be able to ease consciences, too.

Get debt help if you are struggling with your finances and you no longer know what to do to turn things around. Speak to someone who has years of experience in these matters: they should know how to make the most out of your situation.

Author bio:

Debtsolver wrote this article about how to use debt help to your advantage.