Obviously, it really comes down to who you're lending money to. I've lent money to a few people and generally been repaid fairly quickly. Mostly just a few hund

Obviously, it really comes down to who you're lending money to. I've lent money to a few people and generally been repaid fairly quickly. Mostly just a few hundred dollars to be repaid the next pay day, or maybe at tax return time. I suspect a final small repayment may have been missed here and there because those involved (myself included) forgot, but that's about it. The largest loan I made (a few thousand dollars) was diligently repaid; a little each month once the borrower found work again. I also allowed the same person to stay with me, my wife and young daughter a few years later. To clarify - not because they were incapable of paying rent - they needed somewhere short term (couple of months) and I was happy to assist. Said person is now fairly significantly more wealthy than me and they've mentioned several times how thankful they are of what I did for them. I don't need (or want) anything from them, but if anything ever happens to me, and my family need help, I suspect they'd try help out if they could.