The Barefoot Investor has advised a couple never to lend money to their son again after he wasted $30,000 meant to help with a deposit on a house.
A distraught mother wrote to financial guru Scott Pape explaining her family’s financial situation.
She explained that she and her husband had loaned their son and his partner, who have two young children, $30,000 to use as a deposit on a house.
“We explained to them that we were not in a comfortable financial situation, that we were still paying our own mortgage, that the money was to help them get a house and that they could eventually pay us back using their own house as collateral,” he explained. wrote in a column for the Daily Telegraph.
However, the young couple They wasted the loan, without the mother knowing how they spent the money.
‘My son is very sorry, although his partner not so much. So there is no house and $30,000 has been lost,” the mother wrote.
The issue has since driven a wedge between the family, with the parents’ marriage suffering and their relationship with their son damaged.
The mother explained that her husband wants his son to “be responsible and pay the money back,” however, she feels inclined to “write off the loan as a gift” so they can restore their relationship.
The Barefoot Investor has advised a couple never to lend money to their son again after he wasted $30,000 meant to help with a deposit on a house.
The mother explained that she and her husband had lent their son and his partner, who have two young children, $30,000 to use as a deposit on a house (file image).
‘Hubs says a resounding no. So should we forgive and forget, or make them scrimp and save to pay it forward over countless years? the woman wrote.
In his response to the “loving mother,” Pape said he was sorry for the couple’s plight, as their efforts to help their son had affected their marriage and cost them $30,000.
Pape advised the couple to sit down and talk about the situation, stating that it was time for the couple to put themselves first.
“After all, this is clearly eating you both up inside (much more so than your son, or you’d be paying for it!),” she said.
He then suggested that it was best for the couple to “forgive the loan and move on” but never lend any more money to their son.
“I would also suggest to your husband that the quickest way to get rid of this ugly feeling of anger is to forgive the loan and move on, not for your son’s sake, but for your own,” Mr. Pape wrote.
After all, you are still his children’s grandparents and he is still your son. But never, ever lend him another penny.