FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Louisville, KY—March 14, 2017—Advice abounds on whether to grant a loan request from a family member or friend. Typically, the advice is to avoid lending to or borrowing from friends or family because of the many problems that often result, including painful disruptions. “Borrowing money from—or lending money to—friends or family is fraught with risk. Whether to borrow or lend depends on having safeguards in place to ensure the relationship is not harmed in the transaction,” said Carla Dearing, CEO of SUM180, an online financial planning service designed to be simple and affordable.
“If you find yourself in the position of needing to borrow money from a friend or family member, there’s no need to feel embarrassed, financial bumps happen to everyone. That said, handling the transaction correctly will help you better overcome the awkwardness of asking for a loan and ensure that you’re doing everything possible to mitigate the potential downsides that family and friend borrowing and lending often lead to,” continued Carla.
Following are Carla’s three tips for making a loan a win-win for borrower and lender:
- Protect the personal relationship by creating a clear and fair repayment plan up front. Put it in writing and stick to it. Whether a legal document is created or not, your personal relationship depends on the borrower taking this transaction seriously.
- Insist on paying interest at a rate of at least what your friend or family member would earn if he or she put the money in a high yield savings account. The truth is, with bank rates as low as they are these days (1-2%), by asking for a loan and offering to pay 4-5% interest, you could be doing your family member a favor.
- Create a schedule for tracking payments on the loan and share it with your friend or family member. Knowing when to expect your payments and when the loan will be repaid in full should ease any anxiety your personal lender may have. You show your gratitude for the favor of the loan by making repayment as transparent and stress-free for them as possible.
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About SUM180
SUM180 is an online financial planning service designed to make planning and dealing with your money simple and affordable.
Specifically, SUM180 is differentiated in the following ways:
- SUM180 meets people where they are. SUM180 plans are personalized to help people wherever they are right now on their financial journey; whether they’re just beginning, starting over or well on their way.
- SUM180 plans are simple. They start with only the three (3) most important next steps, making them easier to accomplish, and gives clients a clear picture of where they are.
- SUM180 doesn’t assume clients want to become financial experts to meet their financial goals. SUM180 provides the tools they need, without overwhelming them with “education” and details they don’t need.
- SUM180 offers a community for users, unfiltered, which allows them to explore and share.
- SUM180 serves; never sells. Earning and keeping client trust is SUM180’s highest priority. SUM180 never makes commissions from any of its recommendations, ever.
Additional information about SUM180 may be found at https://sum180.com/.
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Contact
Robin Schoen
Robin Schoen Public Relations
215.504.2122 office
215.595.7542 mobile
rschoen@robinschoenpr.com