When is the time right for considering taking out a loan? The “bottom line” answer to this is when you can afford to make the repayments without seriously having to forgo the necessities.
What we mean by “necessities” are the things in life you have to pay or buy to be able to get by. We are talking about buying food, paying the rent or mortgage, and paying facility bills for things like gas and/or electricity, etc.
These are the things that if they were not paid, they would adversely affect your health and/or keeping a roof over your head.
Credit card dependency
A lot of people today, not only here in South Africa, but all around the world, live on credit. In its own way credit is a sort of loan too. It’s getting cash in advance of having to pay for it. Now you may not take the money itself, but instead, you use that cash value to buy things with your credit card.
Having a lifestyle that is dependent on credit cards is all very well to buy affordable extras or luxuries, but when you are forced to buy your food on credit, or you have to use it to pay bills, it could be a sign that you are heading for financial difficulty.
It is surprising how quickly credit card debt can mount up and before you know it you can get to the stage where it is difficult or impossible to meet the repayments.
If you can foresee your credit or debts spiraling out of control, you need to take quick preventative action. As they say; prevention is better than cure. There are lots of ways that you can save money, and if you’d like a few tips, please click here.
Debt consolidation loans
One thing that some people do when they realize they have lots of debt spread across various sources is to take out what is called a consolidation loan. This type of loan is taken to pay off all of the debts in a lump sum. Then, instead of having to repay lots of different creditors, you only repay one.
Before taking out a consolidation loan, however, you need to do your research carefully to ensure you get the maximum benefit. If you’d like to know a little more about consolidation loans (the good and the bad) .
When online personal loans can help
Sometimes people get into financial difficulty through no fault of their own. An unexpected, expensive repair bill might turn up for example. If the bill has to be met one way or another, a personal loan could be the answer.
Loans can be arranged very quickly and with the minimum of hassle if you know where to go. Applying online is quick and easy. If you do go down this route, however, it is essential to make sure that you will be able to make the repayments going forward.
There are lots of products that you can choose from starting with payday loans. These are best taken out when you want to repay in full in a few days. Beyond the short term, there are other types of personal line that you can take out online with repayment periods of up to six months.