Rule 5: Never Let the Due Date Slide
法則5：不要把最后期限一拖再拖

If your dinero doesn’t show on time, ignoring the lateness or making excuses for not confronting the borrower would be a mistake. She might continue going along as if the due date you set is a loose guideline rather than a rule.
如果對方沒有按時把錢還給你，你還對債務人的拖延毫無感覺，甚至還為對方找各種蹩腳的理由，這樣你就大錯特錯了。對方非常可能依舊我行我素，把你們說好的還款日期當成是一個隨意的參考而已。

Make it more businesslike, so neither of you feels like you’re taking advantage of the other. “I did this the last time I lent money to a friend,” says Ellis, who suggests putting details about a late penalty in your written agreement; a friend would have to pay the penalty on top of the regular payment. This tactic would hopefully save you from having to send reminders... and save you from regretting your decision to play banker.
所以要更認真對待這件事，這樣雙方都不會覺得自己占了對方便宜。埃利斯說，“最近一次借給朋友錢，我就是這么做的?！彼ㄗh在借款協議上寫明所有和滯納金有關的細節，如果朋友沒有按時還錢，到時候不僅要還借款，還要再加上罰金。這樣做就免去你每次都得去提醒對方還錢，也避免讓你后悔當初做了借錢給對方的決定。

A five-day grace period, says Ellis, is reasonable before hitting your friend with the fine, since things do happen. If signs are pointing to more serious delinquency—a number of scheduled payments have been missed and numerous follow-up emails or phone calls from you are ignored—it might be a good idea to consult with an attorney. ”If the borrower still doesn’t pay, you can take them to court,” says Prakash.
埃利斯表示，如果朋友過了期限未還錢，在你讓他還借款并支付滯納金之前，最好給對方五天左右寬限日，因為有時的確遇到些麻煩。如果對方拖欠債務的行為越來越惡劣，說好的分期還款有幾次都沒有還，并且對你的郵件和電話也置之不理，這個時候最好的辦法就是咨詢律師接下來要怎么做了。普拉卡什說：“如果這個時候對方還不還錢，那么就得上法庭了?！?/p>

In the scenario where one lump-sum payment is being paid back after a long-term loan, it never hurts to send a reminder email a month in advance of the due date to show her that you’re sticking firm to the terms. For example, “According to the agreement we signed, the loan I gave you will be due on June 15. I’ve attached an original copy, in case you’d like to refer to it. So glad I was able to help my cousin out.”
當長期借款后，對方需要一次性還清債務時，你需要在最后期限的前一個月發郵件提醒對方，展現出你嚴格遵守條款的一面，這么做一點也不為過。比如說，你可以在郵件中這么寫道：“根據我們雙方所簽署的協議，6月15號前借款應當歸還。我已在郵件中附上協議原件以便參考。很高興在我的表親需要時能夠有所幫助”。

Vocabulary

cough up：被迫付出，勉強說出
in a bind：處于困境
on the same page：達成共識
agreed-upon：一致同意的
grace period：寬限期

英文來源：雅虎新聞
翻譯：陳弘蕾（中國日報網愛新聞iNews譯者）
編審：yaning