Rule 3: Create a Firm Repayment Timeline
法則3：制定嚴格的還款時間表

Ten years ago Emily White, 43, lent her younger sister $20,000 to buy a house near their elderly parents, without discussing a repayment date for the loan. “I loved that my sister would be there for my parents, and the idea was for her to pay me back once she got settled and found a new job, since she had moved from out of state,” recalls White.
十年前，43歲的艾米麗?懷特借給妹妹2萬美元，讓她在她們年邁的父母身邊買了一棟房子，但是兩人并未就具體還款時間進行討論。懷特回憶說：“我妹妹為了父母來這安家我很開心，因為她從外地搬來，一旦她安頓下來找到新工作就會還我錢。”

But as it turned out, White’s sister appeared to have another idea in mind. “Now she’s been working for years, yet she hasn’t mentioned anything about payback,” says White. “I had no idea we were on a 10-years-and-counting plan. I wouldn’t be upset, but now I’m considering some investments and that money would help.”
但結果卻是，懷特的妹妹似乎心里打著別的主意。懷特表示：“現(xiàn)在她已經(jīng)工作好幾年了，對還款的事卻只字未提。在這個長達十年甚至還會更長的還款計劃中，我感到迷茫。我不是難過，但現(xiàn)在我打算做一些投資，可能會需要用到那筆錢。”

White’s mistake was thinking she and her sister were on the same page when it came to repayment—a situation that could have been avoided if she had a thought-out plan.
懷特犯的錯誤是，她認為自己和妹妹在還款問題上達成了共識，如果當初她謹慎地制訂還款計劃，上述情況本可以避免。

It might seem too businesslike, but “set specific terms for the loan that everybody can agree to,” says Ellis. “Discuss how much money will be loaned, interest rates and how long they will have to pay it back.” This way, she’ll know when she needs to come up with funds, and you’ll know when the money will be back in your account.
這看上去也許太認真見外了，但是，埃利斯建議：“為借款制定各方達成共識的詳細條款，討論借款金額、利率和還款時間。”通過這個方式，債務人知道何時需要還款，債權人也知道何時能夠拿回那筆錢。

By nailing down this schedule, there’s also no mistaking this money as a gift, adds Ellis. The loanee also can’t postpone repayment indefinitely and claim she didn’t know you needed it so soon.
埃利斯補充道，確定了這個時間表，對方就不會誤以為這筆錢是你送的禮物了。同時，債務人也不能無限期推遲還款時間并聲稱不知道債權人這么快就需要這筆錢。

As Ellis mentioned above, it’s also wise to charge interest and work that into your repayment schedule. Depending on the amount, loaning money can involve complicated tax rules; failing to charge interest might get you in trouble. To avoid this, you may want to charge the borrower the Applicable Federal Rate (APR) as interest.
正如埃利斯以上所提，收取利息并在還款時間表中給與說明是明智的選擇。根據(jù)借款金額的不同，借錢也包含許多復雜的稅收規(guī)定，未能收取利息可能使你陷入困境。為了避免這種情況，你需要以適用聯(lián)邦利率（APR）作為利息向借款人收取費用。