I have had loads of practice saying NO! I come from a long line of beggars, and whiners. They always throw their children into the conversation. "what about the children?! how will they get to school, the MD, the after school programs?!" I have been taken advantage of, ripped off, lied to, manipulated, and bent into pretzels with guilt before I finally put my foot down and said NO MORE! I felt guilty and upset for a long time after they would call, but with each call, I got stronger and stronger. I can say NO! in a heart beat now. I can hear the stories about "the children" and "you dont understand!" but I wont bend. As I told my sister, "if you had made ANY effort to repay me 5 cents, we could talk. years and years of help, and not $1 has been returned. When you start making good faith, honest efforts to repay past help, we can talk about future help. Till then...NOPE!

a 400 credit scores speaks huge volumes about how poorly she has managed her money for a very long time. Emotional support, or even teaching her how to budget may be helpful. Showing her how to manage money is always a great gift, but I have found that most of my family didnt want a hand up, they wanted a hand out. Dont teach me! just do it for me! they would cry.

Its so hard to say no to someone you love, and care about, and worry for, but in many situations you simply have no choice. if it puts YOU and yours in harms way, its always an easy answer.