The Debt Panel: ‘I borrowed money to help family and now can’t afford to pay the loan’ – The National

The Debt Panel: ‘I borrowed money to help family and now can’t afford to pay the loan’ – The National

I took out a Dh50,000 personal loan last year to help my family back home during the pandemic. They had no income at the time and I sent the entire amount to help them pay bills and the mortgage. They have since recovered financially and are OK.

I have been paying the loan off with monthly instalments of about Dh1,200. But I now find myself in a situation where my salary has been reduced and I am having trouble keeping up with the repayments.

I am worried the bank will call in the loan and I don’t have any savings to fall back on if this happens. I don’t want to ask my family for help because I told them I would take care of them when I took out the loan and not to worry about it.