Telling your parents no

For some of you, you might be helping your parent(s) financially. If that’s the case, let’s see if you should be telling your parents no. No, I won’t pay you with the mortgage, car payment, or your other debts. It sounds harsh and cruel. After all they did for you as you were growing up. However, you need to help your parents get a good financial health. If they have consistently spent more than they make, if they never saved, if their money goes out faster than it comes in and they are looking to you to bail them out, the time has come for you to say, “No.”

Help them get a budget going. Order their credit reports. Make a list of their debts. Then, get together with them and show them how to pay off their debts quickly. Have them start saving. Even a small amount to begin with will grow, as long as they are consistent in their savings. Your parents need to grow up financially. They need to stop spending more than they make.

If they won’t listen to you, send them to my website and get them to start reading some of the posts or watching the videos. They need help. They need to break the cycle of debt and embrace debt freedom. Don’t feel bad if they refuse to listen to you. However, tell them that if they won’t start taking control of their finances, you won’t be there to help them out. They might need to sign-up for some of the debt freedom seminars offered by the local churches. They can check out Crown.org, Compass1.org, or DaveRamsey.com and see where classes are being held in their area. Or if they don’t want to sign-up for a class, order the self-study material from Crown.org, Compass1.org or from DaveRamsey.com. The material from Crown and Compass1 are less expensive than those from Dave Ramsey. The key is to get them started.