Short term loans can really get you out of a sticky financial situation or serious financial emergency, but because you’re going down a nontraditional lending route to get your hands on money you need ASAP you have to be sure you know exactly what you’re doing to be safe.
Below we highlight a couple of tips and tricks to help you better navigate the world of short term loans. Use the details below to inform your decision-making and you won’t have much to worry about all.
Ask only for what you need
At right out of the gate, it’s essential that you only ask for a loan that offers the exact amount of money you need right now as opposed to the maximum amount of money they’ll actually lend you. Short term loans always have sky high interest rates associated with them, so be sure that you aren’t biting off more than you can chew and crippling your financial future for your financial short term fix.
Pay off your loan ASAP
The longer your short term loans sit outstanding, the higher your overall cost is going to be – and the almost always skyhigh APR/interest rates attached to these loans isn’t going to decrease over time.
Minimum payments are necessary to keep yourself current and to meet your financial obligations, but you want to exceed your minimum payments every chance you get to whittle down at your principal rather than just payoff your interest. Minimum payments are designed to “keep you on the hook” for as long as possible, turning a loan into a long-term expense.
Get out from underneath short term loans as quickly as you are able to and you find that you can continue to leverage them whenever necessary to fix any financial shortcomings you may be dealing with and not have to pay a serious financial penalty for the privilege.