Hi Watermelon Man,
This must be a really tough time for you. Hopefully the ideas put forth here will help. Here's a some of mine:
1) You need to have a very serious think about the business side of things. Unless this business is generating profit, you need to either change it to make it profitable, or shut it down. This can be a sad thing to do (my own father worked until 69), but may well be necessary in order to get back in control of things. An advantage you have is that the commercial vehicle you mentioned generally has fairly good resale, and so you should be able to recover much of the outstanding loan amount.
2) If you don't have the business running, is there any real reason for your folks to stay renting, or can they move back to the house they own (thus removing the rent expense)? Can they move back anyway, and potentially still run the business (if it is profitable)? Having pensioners with a potentially unprofitable business owning AND renting seems a bit ineffective to me.
3) Cut costs. And I mean really cut costs. Look at what they are spending on day to day and week to week and cut that spending. Small amounts going out over long periods add up to massive amounts of money.
4) Try to get rid of debt, rather than taking more on. At their age, adding up on debt should be your last resort, and only then if you can see a way clear to pay it out.
I know this is incredibly hard. I have an uncle and aunt who have been in financial strife their entire lives (they are now early 60's in age). I have tried to help them with advice (I refuse to give money if advice is ignored), but they think I am being rude, even though I speak as gently, politely and constructively as possible. The hardest part is the spending bit. Many people just don't understand the link between the spending and resultant lack of funds.
Finally, if you are still feeling badly about this, keep posting and we will keep trying to help you. Let us know how you go, and take care.
This must be a really tough time for you. Hopefully the ideas put forth here will help. Here's a some of mine:
1) You need to have a very serious think about the business side of things. Unless this business is generating profit, you need to either change it to make it profitable, or shut it down. This can be a sad thing to do (my own father worked until 69), but may well be necessary in order to get back in control of things. An advantage you have is that the commercial vehicle you mentioned generally has fairly good resale, and so you should be able to recover much of the outstanding loan amount.
2) If you don't have the business running, is there any real reason for your folks to stay renting, or can they move back to the house they own (thus removing the rent expense)? Can they move back anyway, and potentially still run the business (if it is profitable)? Having pensioners with a potentially unprofitable business owning AND renting seems a bit ineffective to me.
3) Cut costs. And I mean really cut costs. Look at what they are spending on day to day and week to week and cut that spending. Small amounts going out over long periods add up to massive amounts of money.
4) Try to get rid of debt, rather than taking more on. At their age, adding up on debt should be your last resort, and only then if you can see a way clear to pay it out.
I know this is incredibly hard. I have an uncle and aunt who have been in financial strife their entire lives (they are now early 60's in age). I have tried to help them with advice (I refuse to give money if advice is ignored), but they think I am being rude, even though I speak as gently, politely and constructively as possible. The hardest part is the spending bit. Many people just don't understand the link between the spending and resultant lack of funds.
Finally, if you are still feeling badly about this, keep posting and we will keep trying to help you. Let us know how you go, and take care.
