Do you give friends/family credit advice?

[Anonymous]

I wish I could help some of my younger family members who are making all of the same mistakes I made at their age.  OAPN, I took my 21yo daughter car shopping this past weekend.  I convinced her to finance through her CU.  The salesman was a complete jerk, but she stood her ground and got the deal she wanted.  I'm hoping she will follow my advice on how to stay out of trouble.  I have nieces and nephews who are overwhelmed by payday/title loans, get cars at buy here/pay here lots, and whose phones ring off the hook with collection calls.  I'm hoping that one day they'll ask Ol' Unc for some help.

[Anonymous]

I agree.

[Anonymous]

Well in my opinion, credit advice is like feeding someone sushi. It's best consumed right away. You can only hope that they will use the advice right away and make the change that will their financial life better. People look and take credit as a way to make ends meet and it takes them almost a lifetime to realize that it isn't.

[Anonymous]

---

@Berk wrote:

A good rule of thumb is that unsolicited advice generally goes unheeded and is fairly often resented. I don't give advice unless I am specifically asked. Then I tell them to check out fico forums and after they have done that, if they have any specific questions I'll be glad to help them. That way they can research for themselves and if they are serious about their credit then I am more than willing to help them. Keeps friends and family happy. If they don't want to change that is on them. Just don't ask me for money.

---

You took the words right out of my mouth. Additionally, if you offer them unsolicited advice/counseling, they could turn the blame on you if their finances somehow turn sour (even if it was 100% their fault). I promote self-education, but will gladly help when asked. I live by the motto "I can't want it for you more than you want it for you."

[masscredit]

I'm trying to stray away from giving advice unless someone asks for it. I still see friends and family members that are on the wrong credit path. Instead of giving advice, I just tell them about the credit goals that I've accomplished recently and kind of rattle off things like they are common knowledge. Sometimes they will ask questions if they are interested. I can't fix the world.

[youdontkillmoney]

I don't actively give it, only when someone asks.

[Thomas_Thumb]

Never, for family or friends with one exception - our college age daughter.

Sometimes for work colleagues -especially newer employees not taking advantage of a company 401k/Roth 401k match.

[Anonymous]

I don't really give advice, like say, "You should do this."  I say things like, "if you do this, then this will happen."  Or, "because you are doing this, then this will happen."  Or I just discuss what I've been doing over the last couple years to improve my credit, what my future plans are to improve my credit, goals, etc.  

[masscredit]

I've pretty much given up on this. Once in awhile I'll do the same thing - talk about what I've been doing and what my results are. Starting to realized more and more that I can't help the world. 

[bartoe]

When I worked as a Loan Officier/VISA Rep at a CU I would be asked what would you do questions and I would explain to them what i would do and advise them that they can also look into it themselves and go from there.  My mom STILL texted me to find out if she should notify her credit card companies that they were taking a trip to Florida and i was like yes, anytime you go out of state I would do it lol