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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size">Learn how to deal with relatives asking for money with these four tips.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0">Saying "no" to someone asking for help can be difficult for many. This can be especially true when the ones asking for help are family—and the help they ask for is money. But as plenty of folks who have done so will tell you, mixing family and money can bring complications, especially when what you truly want is to say "no."</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-1">"Some people will go into debt to give money to someone else, and that's a huge financial mistake," says personal finance advisor Lynnette Khalfani-Cox. "You have to set firm boundaries and determine the type of help you will give and under what circumstances."</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_1-0-2">Yes, this includes siblings, children, and aging parents—all people with whom it may be especially hard (but all the more important) to set those boundaries. So, how do you stop family members from asking for money? These tips and steps can help.</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0">1. Ask Yourself Key Questions</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-2">People lose jobs. They get sick or get into accidents, have messy divorces, and hit rough patches in life. The question to ask yourself is whether the situation causing a person to request help from you is a rare crisis—or the reflection of long-term financial drama.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-3">Are you being asked to help with money in a horrible, unprecedented situation? Or is it to protect someone from the natural consequences of their actions—to enable their destructive behavior? In the latter case, "if the banks won't lend them money, why should you?" Khalfani-Cox asks.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-4">If you're uncomfortable turning someone down, ask yourself why you feel pressured to say "yes" when your boundaries feel threatened. "You can't think you are someone else's financial savior," Khalfani-Cox adds. "Or that the worst-case scenario will happen if you don't step in."</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-5">2. Prepare These Answers</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-7">When turning down a request for financial assistance, you don't need to justify your actions or provide any explanations. A simple "no" can suffice.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-8">If you're concerned saying "no" will impact your relationship negatively, say so. "It can literally be 'I don't believe this is healthy for you or our relationship. I'm not trying to hurt you, but I do need to establish financial boundaries,'" Khalfani-Cox says.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-9">Christine Manley, a licensed clinical psychologist based in Nashville, recommends writing yourself a script or role-playing with a partner or friend to help you feel more comfortable initiating the conversation. Manley stresses that setting boundaries tends not to be a one-time conversation: "People think boundary-setting is going to be this really big, tense, awkward conversation, like an intervention." But in practice, "it's just saying 'no' to requests that make you uncomfortable right when the request happens," Manley adds.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-10">A parent of an adult child asking for financial support could say something like, "I want to work toward a place where you're not dependent on me," Manley advises. You could add, "I'm still your parent and feel this is in your best interest to help you become a healthier person," Manley says. Or, you could work with your child to chart a path toward financial independence over a defined period.</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-11">3. Remember: Temporary Guilt Beats Long-Term Resentment</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-13">It's not uncommon to feel guilt when you say "no" to a family member's request for financial help. This can be especially true among women.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-14">"Women have been very much socialized to experience guilt when they say 'no,'" Manley says. "Just because that guilt is there does not mean you're doing something unkind. You're allowed to say 'no' to things that make you uncomfortable."</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-15">And while guilt may be a difficult momentary feeling, a slow-growing, constantly grating chronic resentment at having given beyond your means can be worse.</p>
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<h2 class="has-black-color has-text-color has-extra-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-16">4. Be OK With Upsetting Others</h2>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-18">People tend to struggle to say "no" to family members in need because they don't want to upset them or risk damaging the relationship. But upsetting people is a natural side effect of having boundaries.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-19">"Anytime you're trying to set healthy boundaries, it upsets people," Manley says. And while people tend to worry most about the people they could offend, Khalfani-Cox says they should worry more about giving in to a request that makes them squirm.</p>
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<p class="has-black-color has-text-color has-large-font-size" id="mntl-sc-block_2-0-20">"No person's love and acceptance and close ties to their family members should have to be dependent upon the person's ability or willingness to provide financial support to the other party," Khalfani-Cox concludes.</p>
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<p>To read the full article, <a href="https://www.realsimple.com/work-life/money/set-money-boundaries-with-family">click here.</a></p>
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