Thinking about loaning your boss money? Just say no!

Q I have a good job at a large software company. My boss, who is going through a difficult divorce, recently asked if he could borrow $10,000 for two or three months. He said he needs the money quickly and asked that I not tell anyone. I can come up with the money, I like my boss, and I don't want him to get mad at me. But I also don't want to have anything to do with the personal finances of the guy I report to.

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A Forget about coming up with the money. What you need to come up with is a lie - or any reason at all - for saying no.

Unless your boss is a close personal friend, he is out of line in asking for a loan. He's in a position to punish you if you let him down. And he'd be putting you in an awkward position if he failed to repay you.

Assuming you're not going to report his inappropriate conduct to his sueprvisors, tell your boss whatever you think will get you off the hook.

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Q My brother is married to a conniving woman who has been systematically going after my parents' money. Marissa is always whining to my folks about her and her family's financial problems. She got my father to pay off her student loans and my mom to pay to get her brother's car repaired. Marissa is now fishing for a down payment

- not for a starter home, but for a house large enough to also accommodate her parents. What should I do? This woman is exploiting my folks' kind nature.

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A We share your horror at this leech. But unless Marissa has been holding a gun to their heads, your mother and father are the ones who bear responsibility for the checks they've been writing. Someone needs to have a heart-to-heart talk with them about this situation, someone considerably less emotionally and financially vested in it than you.

Find someone you and your parents trust - one of their siblings, an old friend or even their lawyer - and tell that person what is going on. Perhaps they can persuade your parents to take better control their generous instincts - and even to see Marissa for the gold digger she is.

Email your questions about money and relationships to Questions@MoneyManners.net.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18325453?source=rss

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