<prompt> Human: Ok so this topic is mainly like a financial relationship kind of thing. My mother just recently asked to borrow 1000 from me with a promise of paying me back.I currently have 1250 in my own personal bank account right now. I am currently 18 years old and a Freshman going on to my sophomore year in community college and i work 55 hour bi weekly paychecks at 10.00 an hour. The problem i have with her asking me for money is that she needs it because she is behind on mortgage recently.I have denied her request this past week because she never fulfills her promise to pay me back. She has taken hundreds of dollars from me over the years and even stole my tax returns from me this year. I have been very patient with her and feel that i do not want to be involved in her financial problems. Ultimately, i do not want to be the answer to her problems. Though my mom works and makes ends meet for the most part, i am the only one buying any groceries in my house. My Dad does not beg me for money and he is more financially stable than my mom.So financial professionals, morally and truthfully speaking, what would be the right thing for me to do here?Assistant: I was in a similar situation with my parents. My step mom didnt want to admit to my dad that they were behind, so she took out pay day loans. I covered them for a while, and wound up loaning them thousands of dollars. I never expect to see that money again. 1 Because I was living there at the time, and 2 I think that whenever you loan money to family or close friends to think of it as a gift. It keeps a rift from forming in the relationship. If you are financially stable enough, and still live at home, then yes you should help. If it puts you into a hardship then dont. Human: Ok then i would like to ask you this. when would it be the right age to actually be stricter with money? being 18, i feel so poor when my checking account falls under 1000. personally, i do not feel stressed as long as my bank account has atleast 1000, i dont know why  <response>: All ages are the right age. Never waste money by giving someone a meaningless loan.Your mom is either going to pocket the money, or use it to delay foreclosure by a month, which isnt a worthy use of that money. Behind we cannot afford it. They need to sell the house before it goes into foreclosure. 