This Guy Borrowed $25k From His Brother, Hasn’t Paid a Dime in 18 Months, and Now Wants to Repay It at $10 a Week Because “Family First”

We have all heard the age old saying that you should never lend money to friends or family unless you are prepared to never see that cash again. It is a cynical rule, but stories like this are exactly why it exists. Usually, when you borrow a massive sum of money from a relative, there is a silent understanding that you will cut back on luxuries to pay them back. But one man on Reddit has decided that “paying back” is a loose concept open to interpretation, and his repayment plan is so laughable it would get him laughed out of a loan shark’s office in seconds.

The OP (Original Poster) is a twenty-five-year-old farm worker living in Australia. He and his fiancée decided they wanted to renovate their house on the farm. Renovations are expensive, so eighteen months ago, he borrowed a cool $25,000 from his older brother to get the job done. That is not a small “can I borrow twenty bucks for pizza” loan. That is a “down payment on a house” loan. The OP wrote up a vague contract that simply said “I will pay you guys back” with no timeline listed.

Fast forward a year and a half. The OP and his fiancée now have a one-year-old son and are living paycheck to paycheck. They haven’t paid the brother back a single cent. Not one dollar in eighteen months. The brother, who had been patient until now, finally brought it up at Christmas. While bringing up debt during the holidays is definitely tacky, you can understand the frustration of seeing your twenty-five grand walking around in the form of a renovated kitchen while getting zero return on investment.

Things exploded on Boxing Day. The brother and his husband came over and, in the OP’s words, “tore us a new arsehole.” They pointed out the obvious reality that the OP is not making enough effort to settle the debt. They suggested that the OP’s fiancée, who is currently a stay-at-home mom, could get a job to help chip away at the mountain of debt. The OP refused. He claimed it is “none of there business” and that they don’t want to put their son in childcare because his partner “has seen the horrible side of it.”

Here is where the entitlement really kicks in. Being a stay-at-home parent is a valid choice, but it is also a luxury. If you owe someone $25,000 and have paid nothing in nearly two years, you don’t really get to claim that luxury while pleading poverty. You cannot cry about having only $900 to your name while simultaneously refusing to bring in a second income because you prefer the lifestyle of a single-income household.

The OP then dropped the most insulting offer in the history of financial negotiations. He told his brother he could pay him $10 a week. Let’s do the math on that. To pay off $25,000 at a rate of $10 a week, it would take the OP roughly forty-eight years to clear the debt. He would be seventy-three years old by the time he squared up. He justified this by saying he needs to “look after his family” before his brother.

The OP tries to justify this lowball offer by pocket-watching his brother. He points out that his brother is a pilot and, combined with his husband, they bring in about $200,000 a year. He argues that they travel overseas and have “no money issues,” so they shouldn’t need the cash back so urgently. This is the classic “you have more than me, so my debt shouldn’t matter” argument. But it does matter. That money belongs to the brother, regardless of how many vacations he takes.

Furthermore, the brother actually does need the money. The OP reveals that the brother and his husband are going through the expensive process of surrogacy to have a baby. They want the $25,000 back to secure a future for their second child. The OP brushes this off, essentially saying, “They can afford the first one, so why are they bothering me?” It is a staggering lack of self-awareness to claim “family first” for yourself while actively hindering your brother’s ability to start his own family.

So, is the OP the ahole? Yes, a massive one. You borrowed the money. You spent the money. Now you are gaslighting your brother into thinking he is the bad guy for wanting it back before the next century. If you can’t afford a $25,000 renovation, you don’t get the renovation. It is that simple.

What would you do if a family member offered you $10 a week on a massive loan? Would you take it, or would you take them to small claims court? Let us know in the comments if you think the OP needs a reality check on compound interest and common decency!