Archive for November 2021
To Be a Big Gun in Business . . .
. . . get yourself an M B A
and make sure you don’t get fired.
Lending to Family Member Not Good Business
Neither a family borrower, nor a family lender be, to paraphrase Shakespeare.
Shakespeare also wrote that lending money to a friend is an excellent means of losing both your friend and your money. But with a relative, you lose your money and the family ties become frayed.
A colleague lent in-laws half the price of a home to help them acquire the property. It didn’t take long for the in-laws to resent the situation. Not only have they not paid off any of the loan, they’re no longer speaking to their benefactor.
It’s been estimated that as much as $65 billion is lent to a family or friend.
It seems logical for people to turn to their parents or siblings in time of fiscal misfortune.
But before you dig into your pockets to bail out a relative, ask yourself several questions.
First of all, do you need the money? If you do, how are you going to be able to go after it when your relative shows no sign of repaying you?
If the borrower-to-be has a history of overextended credit cards, late rental payments, or job-hopping, you’re foolish to expect the money will be repaid.
The use of the money is an important factor. If the loan will be used to enable a family member to complete a college education or help elderly parents keep their home or give a start-up boost to a family entrepreneur, you might give the matter serious thought.
Making a loan to your grandson and his wife so they can splurge on an anniversary cruise or to a daughter who collects race horses makes much less sense.
Parents have another concern: giving a loan to one child may spark jealousy in the other children.
Family and financial experts agree on one major point: worse than the loss of money in any of these person-to-person transactions is the fracture of the relationship. In many cases, the borrowers, either through guilt or resentment, distance themselves from their benefactors.
Putting things in writing can avoid some of the personal pitfalls. This is a financial transaction and should be treated as such.
Lender and borrower should agree upon and write down the amount of the loan, interest rate, and payment schedule. If you need to run it buy an attorney, do so. It’s a good idea to have the signing of the loan document witnessed or notarized.
If the person makes a request for money and doesn’t see it that way, you can suggest bluntly that if he or she wants charity, ask for it.
With Inflation Hoisting Prices . . .
. . . we’ll soon have to get a loan to buy stamps
so we can mail in our payments.
There is no Word for . . .
. . someone who loses a child.
But the word widow or widower
for someone who has lost a spouse
has no real definition because it has no ending.
Tax-Preparer Can Help You Enjoy Christmas
While spending money may be taking most of your attention during the Christmas Season, you should take a moment to make some plans on how to save some money before the end of the year rolls around.
You can join the millions of taxpayers who accounted for more than $470 billion in tax-deductible charitable donations last year. Just make sure your check is in the mail before Dec. 3 and always get a receipt for anything you give to a non-profit group.
Take care if you’ve finally decided to fork over the family flivver to a charitable organization. The Internal Revenue Service has cracked down on abuses of this practice. No longer do you deduct the Blue Book (considered the market price) figure listed for your ancient auto. The norm now is to take what the organization gets for the vehicle when it is auctioned off.
As with all tax-related matters, discuss your plans with your tax preparer before making any decisions.
When you review your charitable-giving for the year, you might consider a gift of stocks and bonds that will not only elicit smiles from the recipient of your largess, but make yourself feel financially merry, too.
Review your investment portfolio. If you have some money-makers that could shove you into deeper tax-paying waters, consider giving a portion of them to your favorite charity to lighten your tax burden.
“I’m Allergic to Sex” . . .
\
. . . I tell those standing around when I have a sneeze attack.
Then, after getting their looks of askance, I explain:
“I was just thinking about it.”
A Simple Torture . . .
. . . has been devised by my urologist.
Once a a week, he places me in the hands — literally — of a pleasant young lady who proceeds to jam a tube up into my bladder to fill it with a half-cupful of a tuberculosis vaccine that also combats bladder cancer. Rather than put up with my screams in their office, I am told to go home and hold the caustic solution for at least an hour but no longer than two hours and to make sure I pour bleach into the toilet bowl right after I empty my bladder —
but no estimate on how many days he expects me to scream when I pee.
What You Don’t Know . . .
. . . can’t hurt you, we’ve all been told at one time or another.
What they didn’t tell us is that it it can sure make you look stupid.
Mature Life Features 