How to remind a friend to pay you back

If you’re in the difficult position of needing your money back from a friend, consider these tips on collecting the debt while keeping the relationship intact:

• If you were sensible about lending money to a friend, you would have created a contract, whether informal or formal, that states specifics such as how much will be repaid, and when and how the money will be paid back.
• If you have a copy of this contract, or even an email with the details of the borrowed money, you could send a quick message to your friend attaching it, with a “hey, how’s it going? Remember this from six months ago?” It could be that your friend simply forgot and needs a little light reminder.
• If you didn’t draw up a contract, or you know that your friend hasn’t forgotten about the loan, you need to take an extra step and find out a few finer details. It could be that your friend has a good reason for not being able to pay back the money. Perhaps they have fallen on hard times, or trying to get the money together but it’s taking longer than they thought. They might also be embarrassed to let you know that they’re struggling to pay you back.
• If you happen to know that your friend is struggling to pay you back, offer them the option of making payments in instalments they can afford.
• If you know your friend can pay the money back, but is lazy or doesn’t want to, suggest that they handle the bill the next time both of you go out for a meal. You can then slowly deduct how much they owe you that way. If it’s a small debt, you can keep doing this with restaurants and outings such as watching a movie until the loan is repaid. This also helps your friend pay you back without losing face.

For tips and advice on various loans and how to be smart with your money, visit Hippo.co.za. You can also find them on Twitter, or like them on Facebook.