<prompt> Human: Im 17 and turning 18 in less than a month. My mom called me a couple of hours ago and told me she needed me to get a credit card for her to use. She said she has some debt and cant get a Visa card because of it, she says shell pay it off in a few months. The thing is that shed have to wait an extra 6 months or something until shed be able to get a new card after she had payed off her debt. She assured me shed pay all the bills and I wouldnt have to worry about anything, Im sure thats what she means to do but given her situation I cant be certain shell be able to.Heres why I dont like this idea: She already owes me around 750 and has for some time. This is from the time I allowed her to borrow my debit card around a year ago. She has consistently avoided paying me this money back. She doesnt have a stable income. She doesnt have a real job, instead she has a bunch of women she helps with their emotional problems EDIT: she does get payed for this here and there but its far from reliable because she has a pastoral degree, this is a bullshit job and I just wished shed grow up and get a real job but thats apparently not going to happen. Shes going to be going back to school soon to get another theology degree, which will allow her to get a job as some Christian councilor in a few years but until then she has to save every penny. This makes me worry that shes possibly not going to be able to pay me back...and finally the issue it all boils down to: Im concerned it will affect my credit score. This is obviously not something I want hanging over my head as a 18 year old.So, rpersonalfinance what do you think? What should I do? What will happen if my mom fails to meet payments?EDIT: Thanks for all the advice guys. Im going to tell her no, I suppose I already knew what I had to but didnt have the courage to do it. Shes going to make me feel like hell but Id rather have that than a bad credit score.EDIT2: I talked to her. I told her Id looked it up the internet and I didnt think it was a good idea but she said I should trust her and that shed make the payments. I mentioned the 750 she owes me bad idea, its always turned into a fight when Ive mentioned it, she got mad and told me shed pay me as soon as she received some money shes expecting, something she has said multiple times before. I told her Id speak to a financial adviser at the bank tomorrow, she yelled at me and hung up.EDIT3: I want to thank you all for the overwhelming support. I talked to her again and were going to discuss it in person when I come to visit. We were a bit tense earlier and I think well be able to resolve this later. I realize that I might have been a bit unfair to her, shes really just a nice person thats had to go through some bad times since the 2008 crisis, we were hit especially hard, lost all our savings and are stuck with a house we cant get rid of. Were just eager to move on and I think my mom is just looking for a way out and it got the best of her. Im still going to say no to getting her the credit card because of the reasons you guys have listed, I dont want to compromise my credit score.Oh, and to all the people that have had to go through similar stuff which is a lot of you apparently, thanks for making me feel like Im not the only one in this situation. You also made it very clear for me what I have to do no matter how hard it might be. Thanks to all of you!Assistant: Posting after your 2nd edit:This is going to put a strain on your relationship with your mother, but you need to understand that youre going to have a strain either way.Option 1:Dont do this, have her be bitter with you over not trusting her when you have no reason to trust her based on history and helping her out of this situation.You may need some time to smooth things out, she may hold this against you, but youll be better off financially by not screwing up your future credit -- which WILL absolutely get screwed up. Theres a very low likelihood that it wont, considering she hasnt been able to pay you back the 750 yet.Eventually, she will hopefully get her financial life together, get over this, not need your assistance anymore and you guys can get along just fine. There is a possibility she wont get out of debt on her own, but thats going to be difficult for you regardless of which road you take. Option 2:You do this for her, and then the resentment and strain just comes later when she racks up bills and doesnt pay them off. The likelihood of this happening is quite high given her history.In the end, whether you help her or not, theres going to be trouble between you and her unfortunately. So if your two choices are screw your credit and have tumult with family or dont screw your credit and have tumult with family - the answer is pretty obvious.The likelihood that you help her out AND she gets everything caught up paid off without screwing up your finances is incredibly low - and it absolutely will screw up your credit score thus ability to buy a home, car etc in the future if she cant pay things off.Shes your mom, not your kid, and shes old enough to deal with her problems herself and not use others to try and bail her out. Its tough to say no to your mom, but you need to. Again and again.Human: Thanks for laying it all on the table like this. Im most worried about my credit score as I know itd always be bugging me in the back of my mind. Everything is telling me to say no to her, and I have, but then again I feel like Im betraying her because she needs my help. Its hard.  <response>: If she needs your help, then give her cash. Consider it a gift. If she pays it back, cool, bonus. If not, it was a gift anyway.If you cant afford to give her cash, then you cant afford to have her use your credit. 