Although a personal loan may involve an interest payment, many people find that they actually save money on a personal loan. There are many additional fees and payments that an individual can find themselves paying if they don't have access to a personal loan.
These need to be factored in when considering whether it's financially responsible to take out a personal loan. With a personal loan, you can make payments right away and avoid having to pay additional penalty fees. Here are six fees a personal loan can help you avoid.
1. Towing Fees
If you're late on a car payment, it's very likely that your car is going to get repossessed. When your car is repossessed, you need to pay off your late payment fees, and you often need to pay towing fees to get your vehicle back.
If you can't get your vehicle back, then you might have to pay even more to rent a car or pay for alternative transportation. Towing fees will accumulate each additional day, so it will become progressively more expensive to get your car back.
2. Utility Deposits
When your utilities aren't paid, they're cut off. To get them reinstated, you don't just need to pay the bill, you also need to give a deposit to the utility company. The utility company will apply this to any future late payments, but it's still cash out of your pocket.
3. Increased Rates
Being late on lines of credit often means that your line of credit provider will increase your rates. If you carry balances on credit cards, then that money can be substantial.
It's going to increase your monthly payments, which means that you're going to have a harder time paying it off. Increased rates may also occur on other lines of credit, such as future personal loans and mortgage loans, because your credit could be hurt.
4. Late Rent Fees
Bouncing a check to your landlord or sending in a payment late will usually mean late rent fees. It could even mean an eviction if you are late often enough. Evictions cost a lot - there are administrative and legal charges involved, you will need to pay to have your things moved, and you may need to find a place to stay last minute.
5. NSF Fees
Every time you go below a certain balance, your checking account will usually charge you an "insufficient funds" fee. This fee can be substantial and it may stack up, so you could get charged multiple NSF fees in a single day for different transactions.
NSF Fees can sometimes be waived if you haven't had any before, but if you have them habitually, they will stack up. Further, you'll often be charged a fee every day your account balance is negative.
6. Credit Fees
There are two types of credit fees you may need to be concerned about. Late fees for credit cards are similar to those for other bills - you'll get charged if you can't pay and will need to pay it off next time. However, you also may find yourself taking out a cash advance if you don't get a personal loan.
Cash advances usually have a fee associated with them, and they are charged at a higher interest rate than other purchases.
If you're facing any of the fees above, it's often the best choice to take out a personal loan first - before these fees are applied. A personal loan can be taken out quickly and easily online and deposited directly into your bank account. For more information, check out your options at Central Finance.
