Emergency Loans When You Need Money Fast

Transcription

1 Emergency Loans When You Need Money Fast Volume 1 By Kevin Ihrig 1

2 DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES The information presented herein represents the view of the author as of the date of publication. Due to changing conditions, the author reserves the right to alter and update his opinion. The report is for informational purposes only. While every attempt has been made to verify the information provided in this report, neither the author nor his affiliates/partners assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Any slights of people or organizations are unintentional. If advice concerning legal or related matters is needed, the services of a fully qualified professional should be sought. This report is not intended for use as a source of legal or accounting advice. You should be aware of any laws which govern business transactions or other business practices in your country and state. Any reference to any person or business whether living or deal is purely coincidental. By reading this report you agree to be governed by the Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, and Purchase Agreement. The author and/or partners of the author may be paid for clicks on paid links in this document or on links on associated sites. 2

3 Table of Contents DISCLAIMER AND/OR LEGAL NOTICES... 2 I. Intro... 4 II. Sources Private Student Loans Personal loans... 5 Computer Loans - Another Way Overdraft loan, Signature loan, or Line of credit Credit Cards/HELOC... 7 HELOC... 8 Credit Cards Pay day lenders, Title loans... 9 III. Last Words

4 I. Intro This short report will focus on emergency sources of money to help you continue your education at a college or university. I won t spend any time on the standard financial aid items except here in the introduction. Consider this your reminder: you should fill out a FAFSA online and you should apply for government sponsored scholarships, Pell grants and other grant programs, and guaranteed student loans such as the Stafford, Perkins, and PLUS loans. Since I am giving reminders, here s one more: if you know someone with money who can solve this problem, you should ask for some. Parents, friends, rich uncles you get the idea. With that out of the way, let s get on with less popular, faster ways to get some money for school. 4

5 II. Sources 1. Private Student Loans Private student loans are different from government financial aid loans like the ones listed in the intro. These loans are directly from the bank or credit union. You can apply directly, and they give you the check. Their terms are often very similar to a government student loan with a few exceptions. You may have to capitalize the interest. You might not be able to delay the loans like a government loan. You often need a co-signer. Your interest will likely be higher than a government loan. The good news is that these loans are usually enough to cover tuition if you qualify. And maybe even some for living expenses. 2. Personal loans Do you have an account with a bank or a credit union? If not, you should open one. And you may want to apply for a loan from your bank. A personal loan may have a generally higher rate of interest than some sources, but not super high. You will probably get payoff terms of months. Usually, you can pick how many payments. You would open an account because you will often have a better chance of a loan if you have an account at the bank or CU. Sometimes these loans also go by the name of consolidation loans. You would use a consolidation loan to pay off several other loans. If you apply for and receive approval for a consolidation loan, make sure you know the terms such as paying off your other loans and closing those accounts. Closing your other accounts may make things better, or worse you ll have to decide that for yourself, but that may be a condition of a consolidation loan. 5

6 Computer Loans - Another Way You probably already know you can borrow to buy a car. Did you know you can also borrow to buy a computer? If a computer is what you need for school, I ll give you two ideas. First, you can borrow from Apple, Dell, HP, and many others to buy a nice computer with payments every month for a few years. Many banks will also give you a computer loan as well. This works well, and you can probably get a good laptop doing this. Watch for a special and you ll get a free printer as well. Just remember you ll have payments for awhile. Second, you can look at ebay, Craigslist, and others to get a used laptop. Check it out before you buy it, of course. You can also start with a bare bones computer. Adding a DVD drive costs about $30-50, and you just plug it into a port inside the computer box. I know, it s not as cool as a laptop, but it will get the job done. You can get a cheap old-style color monitor for under $10 at a thrift shop, and use that for a while till you can get an LCD on Craigslist or new from Tigerdirect.com or Newegg.com. Why get a computer cheap? So that you don t have so many monthly payments. To keep your expenses down. You will need a decent computer for most degrees. Probably not so much for beauty school, but most others. Get what you need, but be careful not to get too many loans. For some valuable resources, visit my Emergency Loan Resources page. 3. Overdraft loan, Signature loan, or Line of credit Similar to above, but slightly different. Do you have a checking account at a bank or credit union? You have to have a checking account to get an overdraft loan. This one also has other names as well, as shown above. 6

7 The point of this type of loan is that it is attached to your checking account. When your account runs dry, your line of credit, previously approved by your bank or CU, takes over. That means that you have credit available for use through your check book if you have one of these loans. You use it like this: You keep track in your check book, and realize you have only $100. And you need to pay the next payment on your tuition, $2,000. If you have an overdraft loan/signature loan/line of credit of $2,000, you write a $2,000 check for your tuition payment, your checking account runs out to a zero balance, and your line of credit now shows a balance of $1,900. Next month, your bank will bill you automatically from your account for a payment on the line of credit. The payment will be $100 or so. I hope that you can see the value and the risks in this type of loan. You now have no money in your account. And you owe $1,900. And your CU or bank will bill you automatically every month until it is paid off. You can always make extra payments, too. One of the cool things about this type of loans is that once you apply, and have a line of credit, it s often easy to increase it. Remember, use credit responsibly and don t overspend. 4. Credit Cards/HELOC You probably already have a credit card. HELOC stands for home equity line of credit, and they function much like a credit card, except the credit is from the equity in your home, which determines your limit. Since both work similarly, I ll lump them together. 7

8 Both of these will have an immediate payment. Borrow today, first payment in 30 days or so. Your payments will often be in 2-5 percent range. If you borrow $10,000, you can probably expect a payment of $ To be sure of what your payment will be, you can call the bank that issued you the loan. If you use this form of loan, be careful of the fees. If you go over your limit, you might find large fees, and possible increased interest rates. HELOC In the case of the HELOC, you will be using your equity. In other words, a HELOC is a second mortgage on your house. Borrowing on this means that if you sell your house, you won t get as much you have to pay off the loan first. Also, if you have a problem making the payments on a HELOC, the bank can foreclose on your house. Not a great plan, right? Often with a HELOC, you can convert it to a closed-end loan, meaning that you can tell the bank you want to stop using it like a credit card. Then, you would just make payments. You will make payments for typically years, depending on what you choose and what options your bank offers. 10 years and 15 years are common. Once you convert to a closed end loan, you can t go back. You can t use it as a credit card any more. I have used a HELOC as a consolidation loan to pay off credit cards. Be careful with a HELOC. Credit Cards Most people see credit cards as a lot of fun just put it on the card, you say. Most cards will also allow you to have checks you can write on your credit card. These function as a cash advance, and usually have a higher interest rate. Sometimes, you can get a credit card with a zero interest rate for 6 months or a year, which is nice. But then interest will kick in at 15% or 20%. That s a lot of money. Credit cards are handy, but you will eventually have to pay it back. I don t recommend using these for your school expenses, but they can get you out of a jam for a while, or help with a semester of tuition. 8

9 Don t get hooked on credit cards. I have cut all of mine up and paid off the accounts to make sure I don t use them. If you need them for school, pay them off and close them as soon as you can. 5. Pay day lenders, Title loans This is the bottom of the barrel for this short report. I am lumping together loans until pay day, postdated check loans, and even title loans where you borrow against a car or other item that is paid off. Let s start out with a disclaimer: Pay day loans charge exorbitant fees and interest. Payday loans require fast repayment. Payday loans may automatically rollover and double your fees or interest. Payday loans may become habit forming or may form a cycle that is difficult to break. Please understand that this form of borrowing may cause you more problems than it fixes. But If you have no other way to get the money, you may find the help you need. Of the types of loans above, I would choose the title loan on a car or other similar asset like a boat, for instance. Why? Because you may lose the car or boat, but you won t keep rolling the loans into new loans for more fees. You may have to have a job to get one of these loans, and you have to be 18 or older. If you borrow money this way, always have a way to pay back the money ready so you don t have to roll the loan into a new loan! Avoid using these loans. If you can t, use extremely sparingly, pay them off and find a better way in the future. Link to More Information This page has resources you can use to find emergency loans: 9

10 Emergency Loan Resources at III. Last Words I hope these ideas have reminded you of some good ideas in case you need a little to tide you over while finishing your degree. Use cash, grants and scholarships whenever you can, and avoid those payments. But when you are stuck, a small loan may be just what you need to get through the semester. Finding money when you need to go to school can take some effort. These loans can offer some help, if you work at it. Keep your expenses in line with your budget you don t want to be obligated to more than you can spend every month or school year. I am planning a sequel to this report with more sources. If you d like to see it, make sure you are signed up on for updated, and you ll get the next report. Now go finish that degree! For great emergency loan resources and opportunities, come to Emergency Loan Resources at Beat- Tuition.com 10