<prompt> Human: I have a friend in deep debt from student loans, and cant land a steady job. Im not exactly where I want to be financially, but am in a position to help out, and Id like to. Thing is, if this person should not pay me back, it would be cutting into my middle term plan pretty seriously. I have no reason not to trust them, but was wondering if anyone could offer any advice on making personal loans?  <response>: Lets quote the wisdom of Hamlet for a second:Neither a borrower nor a lender be;For loan oft loses both itself and friend,Clearly what Shakespeare is trying to say here is that, when someone borrows or lends to a friend, you lose the loan amount and your friend. So not only is this following bit of advice vital, but its well-established:Dont.If you want to help your friend out, you should either:1. Give a gift and dont expect it back, or2. Dont lend a hand at all.As bad as 2 sounds, its going to sound worse when you try to collect on the amount owed by your friend. Just my two cents. You should invest them. 