My boyfriend's mom wants to charge us interest on a family loan.
By @owenyy · Money
We needed to borrow some money for a security deposit, and his mom offered to help. Then she printed out a loan agreement from an online template with a 5% interest rate and a late-fee clause.
The full story
I am looking for a real-world sanity check because I think I'm losing my mind. My boyfriend (30M) and I (28F) found the perfect apartment, but the security deposit was due before we got our old one back, leaving us in a cash-flow bind for about $2,000. It wasn't a crisis, but it was stressful. My bf suggested we ask his mom, who is very comfortable financially. He swore she'd be happy to help float us the money for a month. So we go over for dinner to ask. At first, she was THE BEST about it. 'Oh, of course, sweeties! Anything to help you get settled in your new home!' I was so relieved. I was literally thinking about how lucky I was that my boyfriend's mom was so kind and supportive. AND THEN. As we're getting ready to leave, she says, 'Let me just go print out the paperwork and you can sign it!' My boyfriend and I just look at each other. Paperwork? She comes back with a literal loan agreement she printed from a legal-template website. It had the principal amount ($2,000), a repayment date, and an interest rate of 5% APR, compounded monthly. There was also a clause for a $50 late fee if the principal wasn't repaid in full by the due date. I was speechless. She just smiled and breezily said, 'It's important to learn good financial habits! And it's only fair, since this money won't be earning interest for me in my savings account.' My boyfriend, who hates conflict, just turned bright red and started saying, 'Oh, yeah, Mom, of course, that makes sense.' We haven't signed it. We took the papers and left. Now we're fighting. He thinks we should just sign it, take the money, and pay her back immediately to keep the peace. they says 'it's just how she is with money.' I think this is completely insane behavior. It doesn't feel like 'help,' it feels like a weird, petty power move. I would rather put the amount on a high-interest credit card than deal with her acting like a predatory lender. Am I overreacting to this?
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 37% (17 votes)
- Both Messy — 35% (16 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 28% (13 votes)
Readers are split: “OP Is Right” leads with 37% — 46 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@ediewelp — My grandpa did this with my college tuition lol some parents are just wired different with money
@niamaybe — sign it get the money and then pay her back entirely in coins
@zaneish — This isn't about 'good financial habits,' this is a petty power move.
@yaralately — You aren't overreacting at all. That would make me feel so weird and transactional, not supported.
@sagey — Honestly, 5% for a month is way less than you'd pay in credit card interest, right?
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