# Ask a friend or relative to pay back money they owe

Polite, clear messages to request repayment, set a plan, and protect the relationship if it drags on.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/ask-a-friend-or-relative-to-pay-back-money-they-owe

## Prompt

```text
Help me ask someone to pay back money they owe me.

**Who:** [RELATIONSHIP]
**Amount and what it was for:** [AMOUNT, e.g. "concert tickets", "a loan for rent"]
**When it was lent and any agreed date:** [DATES]
**What's happened since:** [e.g. "never mentioned it", "said 'next week' twice", "they just went on vacation"]
**What I know about their situation:** [e.g. "lost their job", "seems fine financially"]
**What I'd accept:** [full now / installments / partial / let it go if needed]
**Channel:** [text / call / in person]

Give me:
1. A friendly first reminder that assumes good faith and states the amount and a specific date or a request for a plan.
2. A follow-up for when there's no reply or the date passes.
3. A firmer, still respectful message that proposes a repayment schedule (show an example schedule).
4. Replies if they get defensive, offer excuses, or ask for more money.
5. A short way to say "let's just settle this" if I decide to forgive part of it.
6. Tips for future lending: putting terms in writing and only lending what I can afford to lose.

Tone: direct, calm, and never shaming. Treat this as general guidance; for large amounts or legal options like small claims court, suggest I check local rules or get qualified advice.
```

## What to fill in

- RELATIONSHIP
- AMOUNT, e.g. "concert tickets", "a loan for rent"
- DATES
- e.g. "lost their job", "seems fine financially"
- full now / installments / partial / let it go if needed
- text / call / in person

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.