Should I Get a Personal Loan? Here’s How to Know If You Need One

Are you thinking about taking out a personal loan to pay for, say, a big-screen TV for your living room?

This is probably not a good idea. You’ll be much better off setting aside a little bit of money every month for the next six months or so to pay for the TV outright in cash.

There are, however, lots of other instances in which you’ll ask the question, “Should I get a personal loan?”, and the answer will be a resounding “Yes!” There are so many great ways that you can use a personal loan to your advantage.

Let’s take a few minutes to look at some of the situations in which you may want to seriously consider getting your hands on a personal loan. A personal loan might be able to help you in a big way when you use it for one of these specific purposes.

Consolidating Credit Card Debt

Do you have a lot of credit card debt spread across more than one credit card? If so, you know first-hand how difficult it can be to try and manage that debt and pay it down.

Most credit card companies charge their customers outrageous interest fees. This makes it almost impossible for them to wipe away their credit card debt, which is why the average household has more than $5,000 in credit card debt right now.

A personal loan may be able to assist you with this problem. Ask yourself, “Should I get a personal loan?”, if you have more credit card debt on your hands than you can handle at the moment.

With a personal loan, you can pay off all the debt that you have on all your various credit cards at once. This will allow you to cut ties with your credit card company and give you access to a much better interest rate than the ones you’re dealing with now.

You do want to be careful not to turn around and start using your credit cards again. You could very well build your credit card debt right back up by doing this.

But by consolidating your credit cards, you’ll give yourself a chance to pay down your debt in a timely fashion. You’ll also provide yourself with some hope and brighten up your financial future.

Refinancing Student Loans

Student loans are having a big impact on a lot of young people right now. The average college student is graduating with between $25,000 and $35,000 worth of student loan debt, and in some cases, those numbers are a whole lot higher than that.

The good news is that most student loans have relatively low interest rates attached to them. This will make it a little easier for people to pay them off.

But the bad news is that many people graduate with multiple student loans with all different amounts of money attached to them. It can make it tough for them to keep up with all the payments they need to make to stay current.

A personal loan can be used to refinance and consolidate most student loans. You can take control of your student loans by applying for a personal loan and using it to pay off your debts.

Paying for an Emergency Car Repair

If your car were to break down tomorrow and need to have an emergency repair made to it, could you cover the cost of that repair? Unfortunately, the answer is “no” for a lot of people.

In recent years, surveys have shown that about 60% of people don’t have $500 saved up in the bank. They would, therefore, be unable to foot the bill for an emergency car repair.

If you fall into this category, finding out you need an emergency car repair can be crippling. It can leave you feeling all alone and even hopeless.

But you don’t have to allow an emergency car repair to keep you down. There are cash loans you can take out to ensure you’re able to pay for your car repair without a problem.

Car repairs can be an issue for many people because, outside of the fact that they often cost a lot of money, they can also prevent people from getting to work so that they can make money. You can get around this by using a personal loan to get your car back out on the road.

Taking Care of a Medical Bill

Did you know that almost 80 million Americans are walking around right now with an unpaid medical bill hanging over their heads? Many of these people are scared to answer their phones because they know it’s likely a debt collector calling to ask them where their money is.

If you’re tired of living your life like this, seize control by taking out a personal loan to pay off a medical bill. It’ll prevent the bill from getting taken to collections in the first place and allow you to come up with a plan for paying it off.

Covering the Cost of a Wedding

The cost of a wedding continues to go up every year. Couples are paying about $30,000 nowadays on average to celebrate their special day.

There are tons of ways that you can bring the cost of a wedding down. You can, for example, skip the expensive wedding cake or even opt for a simple backyard wedding as opposed to something fancier.

But even if you go to great lengths to make your wedding as cheap as you can possibly get it, it’s still going to cost a decent amount of money. It might force you to put certain things on your credit card and dig you deeper into debt than you already are.

How about using a personal loan to pay for your wedding instead? You can then use some of the money that people give you on your wedding day as a gift to pay down your debt once everything is all said and done.

Making a Major Home Repair

If you want to do something in your home like remodeling your kitchen, you don’t necessarily need to get a personal loan to do it. You can save up for that kind of cost and remodel when you’re financially ready.

But if you have a major home repair that can’t wait, a personal loan might be just what the doctor ordered. You can use a personal loan to fix a major plumbing issue or to put a new roof over your head.

Financing IVF

There are a lot of couples who aren’t able to conceive children on their own these days. They need to work with fertility specialists to bring their dreams of having kids to life.

In vitro fertilization, also known as IVF, has turned into one of the most popular methods of getting pregnant for many couples. It’s a great option for those who are struggling to conceive a child naturally.

The problem is that IVF is way too expensive for most couples to pay for outright. It costs anywhere from $10,000 to $15,000 on average depending on which fertility specialist a couple uses.

With this in mind, many fertility specialists work with lenders who help couples get personal loans. If you and your partner are having a hard time having a child, it’s a great option to consider.

Building Up a Credit Score

Did you just take a look at your credit report and realize that your credit score is way lower than you thought it was? This can affect your life in so many ways.

A low credit score can make it difficult for you to buy a house. It can also stop you from getting a car loan. It can even make it harder than it should be to get a job or rent an apartment.

It’s why you should work hard to build your credit score back up. You might want to ask, “Should I get a personal loan?”, to help do it.

When you take out a loan to pay down some of your debt, it’ll have a positive effect on your credit score. Depending on how much debt you have, you could see your credit go from being bad to being excellent overnight.

This will open up so many possibilities for you and your family moving forward. You’ll appreciate how helpful a personal loan can be when it comes to raising your credit score.

Ask the Question, “Should I Get a Personal Loan?”, and Answer It Honestly

“Should I get a personal loan?” is a question that so many people ask when they find themselves in a financial bind. Only you can answer the question based on your circumstances.

If you’re taking out a personal loan to get money you need to pay off some kind of debt, it’s usually not a bad idea at all. But you can get yourself into trouble when you borrow money to buy things that aren’t essential to your life.

Think long and hard about taking out a personal loan before doing it. If you find that it’s going to help you and put you in a better financial position, it might make all the sense in the world to apply for a loan.

Check out our blog for more tips on taking out loans.