借钱给亲友的五大黄金法则

If your dinero doesn’t show on time, ignoring the lateness or making excuses for not confronting the borrower would be a mistake. She might continue going along as if the due date you set is a loose guideline rather than a rule.
如果对方没有按时把钱还给你，你还对债务人的拖延毫无感觉，甚至还为对方找各种蹩脚的理由，这样你就大错特错了。对方非常可能依旧我行我素，把你们说好的还款日期当成是一个随意的参考而已。

Make it more businesslike, so neither of you feels like you’re taking advantage of the other. “I did this the last time I lent money to a friend,” says Ellis, who suggests putting details about a late penalty in your written agreement; a friend would have to pay the penalty on top of the regular payment. This tactic would hopefully save you from having to send reminders... and save you from regretting your decision to play banker.
所以要更认真对待这件事，这样双方都不会觉得自己占了对方便宜。埃利斯说，“最近一次借给朋友钱，我就是这么做的。”他建议在借款协议上写明所有和滞纳金有关的细节，如果朋友没有按时还钱，到时候不仅要还借款，还要再加上罚金。这样做就免去你每次都得去提醒对方还钱，也避免让你后悔当初做了借钱给对方的决定。

A five-day grace period, says Ellis, is reasonable before hitting your friend with the fine, since things do happen. If signs are pointing to more serious delinquency—a number of scheduled payments have been missed and numerous follow-up emails or phone calls from you are ignored—it might be a good idea to consult with an attorney. ”If the borrower still doesn’t pay, you can take them to court,” says Prakash.
埃利斯表示，如果朋友过了期限未还钱，在你让他还借款并支付滞纳金之前，最好给对方五天左右宽限日，因为有时的确遇到些麻烦。如果对方拖欠债务的行为越来越恶劣，说好的分期还款有几次都没有还，并且对你的邮件和电话也置之不理，这个时候最好的办法就是咨询律师接下来要怎么做了。普拉卡什说：“如果这个时候对方还不还钱，那么就得上法庭了。”

In the scenario where one lump-sum payment is being paid back after a long-term loan, it never hurts to send a reminder email a month in advance of the due date to show her that you’re sticking firm to the terms. For example, “According to the agreement we signed, the loan I gave you will be due on June 15. I’ve attached an original copy, in case you’d like to refer to it. So glad I was able to help my cousin out.”
当长期借款后，对方需要一次性还清债务时，你需要在最后期限的前一个月发邮件提醒对方，展现出你严格遵守条款的一面，这么做一点也不为过。比如说，你可以在邮件中这么写道：“根据我们双方所签署的协议，6月15号前借款应当归还。我已在邮件中附上协议原件以便参考。很高兴在我的表亲需要时能够有所帮助”。

Vocabulary

cough up：被迫付出，勉强说出
in a bind：处于困境
on the same page：达成共识
agreed-upon：一致同意的
grace period：宽限期