By: MJ Gonzales | Executive Chronicles
Friendships, family ties, business partnership, and romantic relationship are precious treasures to keep. Establishing the connections may take time, but once they’re solid through thick and thin, you are a lucky one. However, do you agree that money matters can break these strong ties? It’s not only about the huge amount that involves, but the trust, word of honor, and obligation. Indeed, many argue when borrowers don’t pay their debts.
Unless you have plenty of money to spare, delinquent and chronic borrowers are head-scratching stressors in your finances. Apart from you deserved to enjoy your hard-earned money, you also have regular obligations and should be prepared from unexpected emergencies. Thus, it’s not being too selfish if you refuse to lend money when you only have is enough. A polite way of saying “no” is better than to give false hope or lend and then hold a grudge against the borrower. Here are the few tips in dealing with borrowers:
Help to find ways. If you can’t personally lend money, then at least help the borrowers to search for other persons or institutions that can help them. Most of the time it’s not that they don’t have resources, but they just lack of knowledge where to go and what to do. Let’s say the borrower need money to pay hospital bills of his/ her senior citizen parent. Philhealth or Philippine Heath Insurance Corporation is actually catering all its senior citizen members, including their qualified dependents, by covering up to Php 600, 000 worth of medical and operation expenses depending on the illness. Besides this, you can also borrow from SSS, Pag-ibig Fund, and other private companies.
Cut the amount he/ she needs. Let’s say the borrower needs Php 20,000. If that amount is big for you, why not lend Php 5000 to Php10, 000 or any amount that you can afford. Like a crowdfunding, where financing a venture involves gathering small amounts of money from a group or many people, you can ease his/ her worry by quarter or half. What he/she only has to do is to look for other people who can cover the remaining amount. Another reminder about debt is lend the money you can recover quickly in case the borrower doesn’t pay on time or not at all.
Provide non-monetary aid. Unfortunately, there are times that you can’t help in terms of financial and immediate information. If this the case, then give your moral and spiritual support in the borrower’s tough time. Perhaps your effort is enough to relieve his/ her stress and stay positive.
