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What do you do when a family member becomes unemployed or suffers an unexpected injury and can't work or has insufficient insurance to cover mounting medical bills? How do you respond when you learn a loved one can't pay their bills? Let's take a look at a few options you can consider to help your family members in trouble - without hurting yourself financially.

1. Give a Cash Gift

If your loved one is having a short-term cash flow problem, you may want to give an outright financial gift. Decide how much you can afford to give, without putting yourself in financial jeopardy, and then either give the maximum amount you can afford all at once (and let your loved one know that's the case) or perhaps give smaller gifts on a periodic or regular basis until the situation is resolved. Make sure it's clearly understood that the money is a gift, not a loan to be repaid, so you don't create an awkward situation for the gift recipient.

If you're considering giving them a substantial sum of money, you'll need to keep an eye on the annual gift tax exclusion set each year by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

2. Make a Personal Loan

Your family member may approach you and ask for a short-term loan. Talk frankly, clearly write out the terms of the loan on paper, and have both parties sign it. This will help ensure each party is clear on the financial arrangement they're entering into. Some loan details you'll want to include are:

The amount of the loan

Whether the loan will be a lump-sum payment, or if it will be divided and paid out in installments upon meeting certain conditions (e.g., securing another job or paying down existing debt)

The interest rate you will charge for making the loan and how it will be calculated (compound or simple interest)

Payment due dates (including the date of full repayment or final installment due)

A recourse if the borrower doesn't make loan payments on time or in full (e.g., increasing interest charges, ceasing any further loan payments, or taking legal action)

If you are going to lend more than $10,000 and/or you're going to charge an interest rate that is substantially different than the going rate for most borrowers, you may want to talk to a tax professional. There can be unique tax implications for low-interest loans among family members.

3. Co-sign a Loan

Your loved one may be interested in obtaining a loan or line of credit (LOC) to help with short-term financial needs, but what if his or her credit requires getting a co-signer? Would you be willing to co-sign on a loan or LOC from a bank, credit union or online lender?

Before simply saying "yes" and essentially lending a family member your good credit, it's important to realize there are legal and financial implications to co-signing on a loan. The most critical thing to understand is that you are legally binding yourself to repay the loan if the other borrower fails to do so. The lender can take legal action against you and require that you pay the full amount, even if you had an agreement between you and your family member that you would not have to make payments.

This delinquent loan will also now affect your personal credit. So if your sister/brother/uncle fails to make payments on the loan on time and in full, the lender can report the negative account activity to the credit bureaus to file on your credit report which, in turn, can lower your credit score.

Co-signing a loan is serious business. The fact that your family member needs a loan co-signer means the lender considers them too great of a risk for the bank to take alone. If the bank isn't sure they'll repay the loan, what guarantees do you have that they will? It may also mean that you could have more difficulty getting a loan for yourself down the road, since you are technically taking on this loan and its payment as well.

Before co-signing for a loan, make sure you:

Ask for a copy of your family member's credit report, credit score and monthly budget so you'll have an accurate picture of his or her finances and ability to repay the loan.

Meet with the lender in person (if possible) and be sure you understand all the terms of the loan.

Get copies of all documents related to the loan, including the repayment schedule.

Ask the lender to notify you in writing if your family member misses a payment or makes a late payment. Finding out about potential repayment problems sooner rather than later can help you take quick action and protect your own credit score.

4. Create a Budget and Help Create a Bill-Paying System

Often, people in a financial crisis simply aren't aware where their money is going. If you have experience using a budget to manage your own money, you may be able to help your family in creating and using a budget as well. To break the ice, you may want to offer to show them your budget and your bill-paying system and explain how it helps you make financial decisions.

As you work together to help them get a handle on their financial situation, the process will point out places where they can cut back on expenses or try to increase their income to better meet their financial obligations. (To learn more, read " Expert Tips for Cutting Credit Card Debt" and " A Guide to Debt Settlement.")

5. Provide Employment

If you're not comfortable making a loan or giving a cash gift, consider hiring your family member to assist with needed tasks at an agreed-upon rate. This side job may go a long way toward helping them earn the money they need to pay their bills, and help you finish up any jobs that you've been putting off. Treat the arrangement like you would any other employee - spell out clearly the work that needs to be done, the deadlines and the rate of pay. Be sure to include a provision about how you'll deal with poor or incomplete work.

6. Give Non-Cash Financial Assistance

If you're uncomfortable or unwilling to give your family member cash, consider giving non-cash financial assistance, such as gift cards or gift certificates. You'll have more control over what your money will be used for, and you can easily buy gift cards in varying amounts at most stores.

7. Prepay Bills

You may want to consider prepaying one or more regular bills your loved one receives (rent/mortgage, utility bills, insurance premiums, etc.) to help them during their current financial crunch. Offering to do something, such as making their car payment, may help them avoid a short-term crisis and give them the little extra time they need to work out of their situation.

8. Help Them Find Professional Assistance and Local Resources

You simply may not wish or be able to provide your family member with financial assistance or hands-on help. But you can still play a key role by helping them find local professionals that can steer them in the right direction, such as:

Career counselor and employment agencies

Welfare agencies and similar services

Credit and debt counselors

Lenders who can provide short-term solutions

The Bottom Line

The most important step is sitting down with your loved one and asking specifically what help they need to work their way out of their current situation. From there you'll have a better idea of the type of information and assistance they need. For example, if they need to make more money, you could help them look for jobs and update their resume. If they need help repaying credit card debt, you could call local credit counseling agencies to learn what services they offer, how much it costs, and how it could benefit your family member.

Family members and money aren't always a good mix. But, in tough economic times or when faced with unexpected emergencies, your loved ones may truly need your financial assistance. Before you commit to helping, be sure to think through what you can and can't afford to do. Remember, if your own resources are limited, there are meaningful, effective and creative ways to help your family members.

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8 ways to help family members in financial trouble

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What do you do when a family member becomes unemployed or suffers an unexpected injury and can't work or has insufficient insurance to cover mounting medical bills? How do you respond when you learn a loved one can't pay their bills?

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No matter how old you are, where you're from or what you do for a living, we all share something in common-a desire to be successful. Each person's definition of success is different, however, as some may define success as being a loving and faithful spouse or a caring and responsible parent, while most people would equate success with wealth, fame, and power.

We all want to achieve success so we could live a comfortable life-have financial freedom, drive a nice car, and live in a beautiful house. However, although success can be achieved, it does not come easy.

There are a lot of tips and strategies out there on how to be successful in life, but I am still a firm believer that there is no better way to succeed than to follow that footsteps of those who have already done so. Here are 13 success tips from some of the world's most successful and renowned people:
From Michelangelo Buonarroti, Great Renaissance Artist: "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark." From Oprah Winfrey, Media Mogul: "You know you are on the road to success if you would do your job and not be paid for it." From Phil Knight, CEO of Nike Inc.: "There is an immutable conflict at work in life and in business, a constant battle between peace and chaos. Neither can be mastered, but both can be influenced. How you go about that is the key to success."
2.Find what you love to do and do it.
From Henry Ford, Founder of Ford Motors: "Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently."
3. Learn how to balance life.
From Colonel Sanders, Founder of KFC: "I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me. And I have done that ever since, and I win by it. I know." From Leonardo da Vinci, Renaissance Genius :"It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."
4. Do not be afraid of failure.
From Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of America: "The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people." From Mark Twain, Famed Author: "A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds."

From Walter Disney, Founder of Walt Disney Company: "If you can dream it, you can do it."
5. Have an unwavering resolution to succeed.
From Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of America: 16th President of America: "Let no feeling of discouragement prey upon you, and in the end you are sure to succeed." From JC Penny, Founder of JC Penney Inc.: "Unless you are willing to drench yourself in your work beyond the capacity of the average man, you are just not cut out for positions at the top." From Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple Inc.: "Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary." "Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."
6. Be a man of action.

7. Avoid conflicts.

8. Don't be afraid of introducing new ideas.

9. Believe in your capacity to succeed.

10. Always maintain a positive mental attitude.

11. Don't let discouragement stop you from pressing on.

12. Be willing to work hard.

13. Be brave enough to follow your intuition.

Featured photo credit: Portrait of smart young business executive via Shutterstock

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How To Be Successful In Life - 13 Tips From The World's Most Successful People

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No matter how old you are, where you're from or what you do for a living, we all share something in common-a desire to be successful. Each person's definition of success is different, however, as some may define success as being a loving and faithful spouse or a caring and responsible parent, while most people would equate success with wealth, fame, and power.

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1. Be Something

2.Support My Mother

3.Graduate