A relative of mine (working college student) asked me to loan her some cash

[Anonymous]

Either give it as a gift or don't give it at all. If you can't afford to forego repayment, then you can't afford to loan it. No shame if you can't afford it.

[Anonymous]

She’s the one who wants to pay interest; it probably makes her feel better about asking for the loan. I understand this. I worked in college and if I asked a family member (not my parents) for this kind of loan I’d insist on paying it back.

OP, I’d loan at 0% interest and tell her to pay it forward like a PP suggested. If she insists, then I’d do $4 (which is the rate I get on my HYSA). If you can afford to give her the money, then just tell her it’s forgiven when she tries to repay you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn’t do it, it’s better that she uses her income from job and stays within her means. She can apply for a credit card. My concern is that if you loan her money, she may come to you frequently asking for money. It’s very tricky to loan money to family.

A credit card is a terrible idea.

+1000

Better to borrow from a relative than a bank.

[Anonymous]

What difference does $100 make? Is she asking several people?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She has a part time job at the bookstore so she is working.
I guess she is too proud to ask her parents.

She is only asking for $100.

How much interest should I charge?

Is $10 fair?

For the record, she brought up paying interest.
I was going to send it to her regardless.

I would definitely let her borrow it and I would not charge interest. If you can afford it just give it to her as a one time gift. Make sure it’s not a scam but make sure she’s OK and $100 doesn’t go far these days she’s probably broke

[Anonymous]

Give as a gift and if you don’t feel this way- do not give anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you can afford it, just loan her the $100. No interest.

Yes I would most certainly do this.

[Anonymous]

Ask her what she needs the money for. Maybe you can pay that bill for her. Or give her $100 in gift cards to a grocery store.
Do not charge interest. Geez.
And for those people who think someone can be too young to be poor, get out of your privileged bubble! Maybe she has medical bills she can't afford to pay.