Learn this and have peace of mind. Don’t give loans to people who are very close to you. Most people think you have a lot of money. And when you give them money or financial assistance, the tendency is that they will take it for granted that you don’t need your money. I’m talking from experience. Only give people money you can afford to lose. Even if you tell them it is another person’s money, they will think you are pretending. A lady wanted to travel and asked her sister for foreign currency. The sister gave her the foreign currency. Till today, the sister has not returned it. So as much as possible, avoid giving finances to people very close to you. Give them only what you can afford to lose. The only condition you should give a loan is when you give it already knowing they will not pay — so that it becomes a roadblock for them.
We had a classmate at Government College, Ughelli. He used to pester people for money. So the class resolved to give his wife an interest-free loan to start a business, to be paid back in one year. Till today, he has not paid, and since then he has not been asking people for money again. Stop being nice. Learn to be good. To be good is to do what is right to yourself and to others, even when it is painful. A good father disciplines the child. A bad father — a nice father — pampers the child, and it will eventually pepper him.
