Repaying Personal Loans

The lending agreement usually specifies the terms for repaying personal loans. As long as you follow this and never pay less, you’ll be fine, but there are times when paying the loan off early has advantages. Other times, it doesn’t make sense to do so. Determining when you should make extra payments can help your credit score and your wallet.

Revolving Personal Loans

The most common type of revolving personal loan is the credit card. As you know, the easy use of this type of credit can cause financial ruin when you don’t pay close attention to how often you pay with plastic. You may also know that making the required minimum payments can mean paying on these personal loans for decades.

To combat the power of compound interest, it always makes sense to make additional payments to your credit cards when you can afford to do so. When the debt you carry on your cards is relatively low, you can look at other kinds of personal loans first for early repayment if you wish. In general, your interest rate on revolving credit will be higher than other loans, so deciding to pay extra towards these accounts is an easy choice.

Fixed Personal Loans

Before you consider paying extra on your fixed-rate personal loans, be sure you review your lending agreement first. Is there a penalty for early prepayment? If so, you’ll need to calculate how much money you’ll save in interest charges by paying off your loan early. When your savings exceeds the penalty, you can start making those extra payments. Conversely, divert your extra cash to another loan or your savings when the penalty is more than you’d save. When the difference is marginal, consider what you could make my putting that money in your retirement account as an alternative.

Auto loans are a special case in the world of fixed-rate personal loans. Even when the amount of money you’ll save with an early payoff is marginal, it may still be to your advantage. Check with you insurance company to determine if your premium will decrease once you own the vehicle free and clear or if there are any coverage types you can drop at that time. The money you’ll save may surprise you.

Special Personal Loans

Some personal loans offer special advantages for carrying a loan balance. In these cases, you must decide if the money you’ll save in interest charges is worth losing the perk. For example, some financial institutions will offer a discounted package of banking and investment products as long as your lending relationship meets a specific dollar threshold. Mortgages and home equity loans allow you the potential of deducting the interest at tax time. In these cases, consider meeting with your banker or tax professional to discuss the consequences of repaying your personal loans early.

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Personal Student Loans

Attending college is an important goal shared by many high school students and adults, but paying for the high costs of a college education can be a financial hardship for many families. Federal loan and grant programs are available to help cover the cost, but you may find the need for personal student loans to pick up a portion of school expenses. As a part of the private student loan industry, you should not take out a personal student loan until you understand how it differs from a federal student loan.

A federal student loan requires completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to qualify for loan and grant money. Rather than using credit history like a traditional loan, the government uses a formula to determine how much they expect your family to contribute to your education. Based on the amount of the contribution, you receive grants, subsidized loans or unsubsidized loans. The only difference between the two loans is that the government makes your interest payments on a subsidized student loan while you’re in school.

Personal student loans are more similar to standard personal loans in that they look at your credit to determine approval. In most cases, you must have a good credit score in order to qualify on your own. Otherwise, you must have a co-signer with good credit to obtain the loan. In some cases, personal student loan lenders will consider you for approval when you have a limited credit history.

Unlike federal student loans that allow you to defer your payments until after graduation, personal student loans require you to make payments as soon as you receive the money. Unless you’re able to hold a job while attending college classes, obtaining a personal student loan isn’t a viable option for you.

Although both kinds of student loans require you to stay enrolled in school at least half-time, interest rates vary. The federal student loan locks in a low rate of interest while you attend school and adjusts to a higher rate after graduation. In both cases, your interest rate is still lower than unsecured personal loans. Conversely, a personal student loan carries a variable interest rate, meaning the rate can and does change based on your contract terms. This makes budgeting for your monthly payments difficult, if not impossible.

Personal student loans exist to help students cover college expenses when federal aid is not enough, but always seek federal student loans, grants and scholarships before utilizing this option.

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Personal Payday Loans and You

Personal payday loans can be a viable source of fast cash when you need it most. Unfortunately, these loans can lead to your financial downfall if you do not borrow in a responsible manner. As long as you understand the risks and features of this type of loan, you can make an informed decision without fear of negative consequences.

Features of Personal Payday Loans

When you need a relatively small amount of money to get you through until your next paycheck, personal payday loans can seem like the best options. Unlike a traditional bank loan, payday loans require very little documentation from you and are fast to close. In most cases, you can walk into a payday loan company with your most recent paystub and walk out with your cash as soon as the lender verifies you have an open checking account.

Personal payday loans make it easy to repay your debt. Rather than assigning you monthly payments and giving you a coupon book, the lender takes care of everything. You write a check for the full amount of the loan plus lending fee and the lender deposits your check on your next payday, paying off your loan in full. You can also pay with cash on your due date or take out a new loan.

Risks of Personal Payday Loans

Rather than using personal payday loans to bridge the financial gap during an emergency, some borrowers fall into the trap of taking out multiple payday loans. Instead of letting the lender cash their check, they pay the outstanding lending fee and take out a new loan for the same amount. When you do this payday after payday, the fees can add up to what would be an astronomical interest rate.

Smart Use of Personal Payday Loans

Although most payday lenders won’t limit the number of personal payday loans you can take out over an extended period, using this loan as a last resort is a wise policy. Before you visit your lender, consider how you’ll use the money and how long it will take you to repay the loan. If you know it will take months to repay, consider applying for a traditional bank loan or line of credit instead. The interest rate will be lower and most financial institutions report to the credit bureaus after as little as six months.

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Personal Loans with Credit Problems

Taking out personal loans with credit problems in your past can be something of a challenge. If your credit report illustrates that you are not a trustworthy borrower, or if you simply lack a solid credit history, you may to have settle for high interest, tough schedule loans. That said, you can discover solid opportunities for personal loans with credit problems, if you follow smart budgeting advice and make repayment a top priority.

In general, you'll need a copy of your driver's license or other ID and proof that you are gainfully employed. Most ?personal loans with credit problems? suppliers require borrowers to make $1,000 or more every 30 days, but some lenders have lower/higher standards. You also need to be 18 years old or older and have proof of residency.

What are the fees, charges, and interest rates associated with ?personal loans with credit problems? offers? First, take a look at the annual percentage rate, otherwise known as the APR, associated with the opportunity. This rate defines how quickly the loan will ?compound?. In other words, how fast it will increase in size if you do not remit payment. You may also have to pay for the processing of the loan itself and for maintenance fees and insurance coverage.

Not all ?personal loans with credit problems? will come with insurance guarantees, but if you're standing on financially shaky ground, it may not hurt to spring for a little extra coverage. This way, if for what ever reason you run out of financial wherewithal before you pay off the loan, the insurance company may be able to liberate you from all or part of your debt.

You can retire your loan in increments, but remember that bad credit personal loans tend to accrue interest rate charges rapidly. Thus, may want to ?consolidate? your high interest loans into some other kind of creditor account, put the balance onto your credit card, perhaps, to avoid continuing to have to pay those hefty charges.

If you're not particularly organized, it helps to reduce your total number of creditors so that you can manage the paperwork without getting confounded by different interest rate charges, fees, and penalties -- sending one or two checks a month to creditors is a lot easier psychologically than sending out five or six different loan payments.

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Personal Loans for People With Bad Credit

What are some of the restrictions governing personal loans for people with bad credit, and how can indebted individuals leverage unsecured personal loans for smarter financial management? Minimum requirements include the fact that a borrower must be at least 18 years of age and a US resident. In addition, many payday personal loans demand that borrowers make at least $1,000 per month and maintain active checking accounts at reputable banks.

What is considered "bad credit"? A FICO score of 580 or below is definitely a bad credit score. FICO scores of 580 to 619 are considered low scores.

Do you already have an outstanding personal loan? Already having an outstanding bad credit personal loan may impede the approval process. Not all lenders are similarly scrupulous. Some bad credit personal loans require zero documentation of income. These arrangements are called “faxless” bad credit personal loans, and they typically require very little approval time. Unfortunately they come with a steep price in the form of high fees and interest.

How quickly do bad credit personal loans get approved? The fastest ones can deposit money into an account and be accessible within the hour. Other unsecured personal loans offer accessibility within 24 hours. The size of your loan will depend in large part on your monthly income history and application. If you have zero credit and many marks on your record, don't expect to be able to take out a thousand dollars or more without paying incredibly hefty fees.

Are there consumer protections for bad credit borrowers? While companies in the business of providing bad credit personal loans can charge service fees, particularly for rollover payments, they may be limited by state and federal law as to how they may claim funds and under what conditions they may lend out to borrowers.

Small loans cost as much to process as larger ones. One of the reasons these types of personal loans cost so much is that the cost of filing a small loan (in the range of $100 to $500) can be equal to the cost associated with filing a much larger personal loan (on the scale of a home mortgage). Thus, to make a profit, bad credit lenders need to charge higher rates than standard lenders do.

Do your research! Read over the written terms, caveats and clauses of your loan contract carefully, and scour your resources for alternative financing options, so you don't feel pressured to take out a bad credit loan or default on a creditor obligation. The terms in fine print are the most important. And if there is anything in the agreement that you don't understand, be sure to ask for an explanation in writing. Verbal comments, promises, assurances and explanations are non-binding. Even if you can get a bad credit personal loan, it may not be the best answer to your financial problem.

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