借钱给亲友的五大黄金法则

Ten years ago Emily White, 43, lent her younger sister $20,000 to buy a house near their elderly parents, without discussing a repayment date for the loan. “I loved that my sister would be there for my parents, and the idea was for her to pay me back once she got settled and found a new job, since she had moved from out of state,” recalls White.
十年前，43岁的艾米丽•怀特借给妹妹2万美元，让她在她们年迈的父母身边买了一栋房子，但是两人并未就具体还款时间进行讨论。怀特回忆说：“我妹妹为了父母来这安家我很开心，因为她从外地搬来，一旦她安顿下来找到新工作就会还我钱。”

But as it turned out, White’s sister appeared to have another idea in mind. “Now she’s been working for years, yet she hasn’t mentioned anything about payback,” says White. “I had no idea we were on a 10-years-and-counting plan. I wouldn’t be upset, but now I’m considering some investments and that money would help.”
但结果却是，怀特的妹妹似乎心里打着别的主意。怀特表示：“现在她已经工作好几年了，对还款的事却只字未提。在这个长达十年甚至还会更长的还款计划中，我感到迷茫。我不是难过，但现在我打算做一些投资，可能会需要用到那笔钱。”

White’s mistake was thinking she and her sister were on the same page when it came to repayment—a situation that could have been avoided if she had a thought-out plan.
怀特犯的错误是，她认为自己和妹妹在还款问题上达成了共识，如果当初她谨慎地制订还款计划，上述情况本可以避免。

It might seem too businesslike, but “set specific terms for the loan that everybody can agree to,” says Ellis. “Discuss how much money will be loaned, interest rates and how long they will have to pay it back.” This way, she’ll know when she needs to come up with funds, and you’ll know when the money will be back in your account.
这看上去也许太认真见外了，但是，埃利斯建议：“为借款制定各方达成共识的详细条款，讨论借款金额、利率和还款时间。”通过这个方式，债务人知道何时需要还款，债权人也知道何时能够拿回那笔钱。

By nailing down this schedule, there’s also no mistaking this money as a gift, adds Ellis. The loanee also can’t postpone repayment indefinitely and claim she didn’t know you needed it so soon.
埃利斯补充道，确定了这个时间表，对方就不会误以为这笔钱是你送的礼物了。同时，债务人也不能无限期推迟还款时间并声称不知道债权人这么快就需要这笔钱。

As Ellis mentioned above, it’s also wise to charge interest and work that into your repayment schedule. Depending on the amount, loaning money can involve complicated tax rules; failing to charge interest might get you in trouble. To avoid this, you may want to charge the borrower the Applicable Federal Rate (APR) as interest.
正如埃利斯以上所提，收取利息并在还款时间表中给与说明是明智的选择。根据借款金额的不同，借钱也包含许多复杂的税收规定，未能收取利息可能使你陷入困境。为了避免这种情况，你需要以适用联邦利率（APR）作为利息向借款人收取费用。