DEAR ABBY: I'm a longtime reader wishing I'd been a heeder. I don't know how many times I've read in your column the advice, "Neither a borrower nor a lender be." This is especially true when dealing with relatives.
Last fall my brother desperately needed a loan to get out of financial trouble with the IRS. Ignoring my first instinct, I sent him the money. He assured me this would solve his problems and that he would be able to pay me back in full by May or June of this year. Guess what? Those dates are past and I haven't been repaid.
I've lost more than money. I've also lost all respect and trust I once had for my brother. Also, I feel like an idiot for allowing him to prey on my sympathy. He's made me look like a fool in front of my wife.
Say it again, Abby: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be." I don't know who this sage advice is attributed to, but sign me ... POORER RICHARD IN FLORIDA
DEAR POORER RICHARD: The quote is from "Hamlet," written by William Shakespeare, and the line that follows it is, "For loan oft loses both itself and friend." Prophetic words, indeed.
You were not foolish to help your brother, although you would have been wiser to have documented the loan in a businesslike fashion. However, since you didn't, you may have to chalk it up to tuition in the school of experience.