# Decide whether to lend money to family or a friend

A clear-headed decision on lending money, plus kind words for yes, no, or a smaller amount, and terms if you lend.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Finance, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/decide-whether-to-lend-money-to-family-or-a-friend

## Prompt

```text
Help me decide whether to lend money to someone close to me, and how to say it.

**Who is asking and my relationship with them:** [e.g. "my brother", "a close friend"]
**Amount and what it's for:** [DETAILS]
**Their history with borrowed money:** [e.g. "paid me back last time", "still owes me", "never borrowed before"]
**My financial situation:** [savings, debts, upcoming costs]
**How I'd feel if I never got it back:** [fine / upset / it would hurt my finances]
**What I'm leaning toward:** [yes / no / a smaller amount / not sure]

Give me:
1. A quick decision check: can I afford to lose this money? Would I lend it as a gift? What does this mean for the relationship either way?
2. Alternatives to a straight loan: a smaller gift, helping in another way (such as paying one bill directly or helping them make a budget), or pointing them to other resources.
3. Three short, kind scripts: saying yes with clear terms, saying no without over-explaining, and offering a smaller amount or different help.
4. If I lend: simple written terms to agree on (amount, repayment schedule, what happens if a payment is missed) and a friendly way to bring that up.
5. One sentence to agree now on how we'll handle a missed repayment, so it's settled before it happens.

Keep it compassionate and non-judgmental. Do not pressure me either way.
```

## What to fill in

- e.g. "my brother", "a close friend"
- DETAILS
- savings, debts, upcoming costs
- fine / upset / it would hurt my finances
- yes / no / a smaller amount / not sure

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