Five Rules for Loaning Money to a Boyfriend Based on Judge Judy

Loaning money to a boyfriend can be dangerous to your health. These are 5 rules about dating and money to keep in mind before you let your boyfriend borrow anything. The same goes for girlfriends, but women seem much more likely to show up on Judge Judy suing to get their money back.

Sign a promissory note: A promissory note is your best protection if you let your boyfriend borrow money. You don't need to pay a lawyer. Just write down the amount of the loan and the payment plan along with any special conditions. You should both sign it and keep copies for your records.

Make a payment plan: Don't rely on vague terms like "pay me back when you can." Specify a reasonable and definite time schedule. Otherwise, you may not be able to enforce the promissory note if your boyfriend claims he still can't pay you back.

Spot character issues: If you watch any Judge Judy or other court TV, you know that you should avoid men who want to borrow money to buy rims. If someone has bad credit, that means they owe people money. You may want to lend them money to help repair their credit or for medical emergencies. They should be ashamed to even ask about buying rims or large screen TV's until they've repaid their debts. If they didn't pay the last guy back, they're probably not going to pay you back. For some reason, these same men think it's persuasive to point out that they didn't ask for the money, their ex-girlfriend volunteered it, as though that precludes it from being a loan.

Don't co-sign for anything: Judge Judy is also full of women who bought their ex-boyfriend a cell phone or co-signed for cars and apartments. Sadly, they often become ex-boyfriends immediately after the purchase. Even worse, they always try to claim their ex-girlfriend is just jealous of their new lover. Even sadder, the new girlfriend usually doesn't seem to notice any pattern developing.

Don't expect help with routine expense sharing: While a promissory note can help you recover significant loans, don't expect much help when it comes to recovering routine expenses like dinners out. Judge Judy seems especially touchy about unmarried couples, so don't even try it.

Loaning money to a boyfriend is risky, but a promissory note may help you prevail if you wind up on Judge Judy.