Five Steps to Find Legitimate Unsecured Personal Loans Online

Current economic factors and their consequences have caused a spike in the business of personal loan lenders. Many people are having cash-flow problems. Many people have seen their paychecks dwindle. Many people have suffered some financial blows that have left their credit histories a little ragged.
Personal Loan Lenders Are Online
More traditional, brick and mortar lenders are not really a part of this booming market. They are hindered by high overhead due to their buildings, offices, and personnel. They are also bound by their charters to adhere to strict lending procedures. Legitimate online, non-bank lenders do not have these expenses.
Easy Pickings
The nice thing about online lending is that you do not have to wander all over the countryside to find an acceptable lender, one who will offer you rates that are not loan shark in nature and that has repayment terms you can live with. You can do it from the comfort of your own home or office. So get started.
FIVE Easy Steps To Find Your Lender
ONE - Define Your Goal
You need to know exactly what you are looking for. How much money do your REALLY need and why? Can you get by with less? How do you plan to gather the funds to meet the repayment obligations? What kind of repayment terms would work best for you? Some offer monthly, some want you to pay on the next payday. Once you have given yourself some firm answers, proceed.
TWO - Punch Your Browser
Using your favorite browser or search engine -- Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. -- enter this key phrase: unsecured personal loans. Within seconds you should be rewarded with lists upon lists of available lenders. Open your desktop notepad and start visiting the various websites.
THREE - Shop Around
As you browse among the various lenders, write the name, contact, rates and terms of each that interests you. You want the lowest interest rates and the best repayment terms you can find. You should endeavor to find about ten different lenders.
Shopping is important because rates and terms and requirements vary wildly from lender to lender and it is important that you identify the best of those according to your financial goals. In fact, browsing makes it especially easy for you to locate the perfect lender.
FOUR - Check Credentials
Once you have collected about ten or enough to satisfy yourself, you need to check them out a little. You can go to the Better Business Bureau website and see what they have to say about the various entities. You can find customer feedback there too.
You might want to hookup with some personal finance forums and see what the buzz is there. You will probably bump into others who have been in your shoes and thus pick up experience.
FIVE - Start Applying
After all that, select the top five and start asking for quotes. At this point, it is not really necessary to start divulging personal financial facts and numbers. You just want to get an idea of what the particular lender is willing to offer and under what terms. Once you finally decide on a lender you can formalize the application process with your secure particulars.
Last Words
Do not accept rejection. Keep applying and be persistent. Understand that a poor credit history will require higher interest rates and fees. You can and will find a legitimate lender who will work with you to get you the cash you need at a reasonable cost.

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Installment Loans and Bad Credit - You Can Get It Right

You have bad credit. You need a substantial infusion of cash. Where do you go? Finding someone who is willing to extend a long-term or installment loan to you can be a challenge. However, having a verifiable income that will allow you enough cash left over from your monthly expenses to pay such a loan, it can be done.
Getting Lined Up
The first thing you need to to is to develop a positive attitude. That is best done by figuring out your finances, how much of additional debt your finances will allow you to cover, and developing a long-term series of financial goals. Figure how much you need to see you through. Set your goal. You should also check your credit rating so you have an good picture of how potential lenders view you.
Customer Service
In no way should you approach the lending market feeling any sort of desperation. You need an infusion of cash, that is it. If any lender makes you feel like they are doing you a favor, find another lender. You are doing the lender a favor by bringing them your business, poor credit history notwithstanding. If folks such as yourself did not exist, they would not have a business.
Start Traditionally
You should start by lodging queries at your local banks or credit unions. Simply explain, without mortification, why you have bad credit, why you need an infusion of funds, and how you intend to repay. Especially if you have been a long-time customer of a particular financial institution, you may be surprised at how willing loan officers may be to work with you.
Options Regarding Loans
Most traditional lenders, and other lenders, offer two types of loans, secured and unsecured. Unsecured loans are called personal loans or signature loans. Secured loans are those in which you offer valuable property as security to back up the loan. Secured loans are usually called home equity loans, line of credit on equity loans, and other similar epithets.
Online Opportunities
If you are seeking to borrow a large sum of money and do not have good credit, traditional lenders may not be your best source. Many could be better offer off by scouring the internet for long-term loans for folks with bad credit. Indeed, many offer them without the rigors of a credit check at all. In fact, due to recent economic downturns, many have entered the lending market seeing the need of financially down-trodden who need a lift to get back on their feet financially.
Short-term Opportunities
Should you still be hampered because of your credit past, consider taking out a series of small cash loans with establishments who report to the credit bureaus. As you prove your fiscal responsibility, other opportunities will become available.
Be Wise
Regardless of which route you choose, the important thing is to keep your integrity and to shop around. Find out about as many lenders as you can -- their interest rates and their repayment terms. Find the one that is most amenable to you in terms of how much they charge for allowing you to use their money and how much they can make monthly payments fit your budget. Shopping around is best whether you seek out online lenders or traditional lenders.
Do Not Give Up
Have a goal firmly in mind. Have an amount in mind. (Do you really need that much?) Have a strategy for repayment in mind. Get ready to search, search, search. You will eventually find a lender who is willing to work with you for an affordable, long-term installment loan. You will find a lender willing to offer decent interest rates and payments you can live with.

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What Is a Student Loan?

An educated society can help us maintain our super power status in today's world. We all know that education is very expensive in America and many people, due to this huge financial burden, quit studying after high school to take up employment. Our federal government has come up with several loans and scholarships to see to it that paying for college becomes easy. These loans are available to all Americans and the loan amount varies depending upon the field you wish to study in.
These loans are money given by the federal government, financial institutions or any lender to students who wish to study in colleges and universities. It helps to pay for tuition fees, books and living expenses. The two most important advantages of these loans are interest rates are very low, compared to other loans. Another advantage is you can pay it back after completing your studies and getting employed.
It is also known as education loan as it helps to pay for college. While in high school you can apply for a loan and as soon as you are ready to join college the money is paid to the college directly by the lender. Every school and college has a financial aid office that will help you to fill out the form that is essential to get a student loan. This is known as FAFSA which is the abbreviation for Free Application for Student Aid. It is very important to fill out FAFSA to be eligible for a student loan. Once you fill FAFSA then you are automatically eligible for loans, financial aid like scholarships and grants and so on. Depending upon your academic performance the college decides the financial aid.
There are two types of student loans; Private loans and federal loans. The federal loans are the Stafford loan, Perkins loan and Plus loan. Among the private loans: Sallie Mae student loans and Citi student loans are the popular ones. Astrive, Montecello, Wachovia are also private student loan companies that help students to pursue his/her dreams of entering college. There is no major difference between private loans and federal loans. Both offer the same benefits, ease and flexibility. The selection criterion is the same where as it is relatively easy to secure a private student loan.
More than $100 billion is set aside by the federal government for federal loans. The U.S Department of Education directly deals with the finance aid office of all colleges and universities for disbursal. Around $10 Billion is spent as private student loans. This easy money encourages students to equip themselves and gain knowledge which in turn helps them to lead a comfortable life. Education never goes to waste and a college degree certainly helps you to get a good job in corporate America. Whether you are applying for under graduate course or post-graduate course it is imperative that you understand the benefits and risks of taking a student to finance your studies. If you take out one than then you will have to realize that you will eventually have to pay it off.

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How Using A College Student Loan Consolidation Can Save You Monthly

College student loan consolidation is a good way to save money on your monthly student loans. Most people opt for shorter terms to start with, and this can create high monthly payments once you have to start repaying the loans. Depending on what kind of program you went through, you may not make enough money to cover the cost of this high payment for several years after college. This is why a consolidation plan can make a lot of sense. Before you jump in to a consolidation plan, you should understand how they work and how they save you money.
Short Term Savings
In most cases in order to benefit from a consolidation plan you need to lengthen the term of the loan. This means you will take out a new long with a longer term, and use this to pay the existing loans. This can drop your monthly payments drastically. However, there is a catch. By lengthening the term of the new loan you are paying more money in interest over the life of the loan. If you are in a position where the existing monthly payments aren't manageable, then consolidation can be a good option. If, however, you can afford to pay more, you should. Consolidate with the least possible number of years for the term while keeping your payments low enough to be affordable. When you have extra money to send, it's a good idea to do so. Going from a 10 year term to a 25 year term on a standard $50,000 loan with a 6.8% interest rate is going to end up costing more than $60,000 just in interest over the 25 year term. This is why you want to pay down what you can when you have extra.
Credit Matters
It is easier to qualify for a college student loan consolidation than it is a traditional loan. This doesn't mean that everyone will qualify. You need to be in good standing with your loans before you will be considered. This means if you see you may run in to problems making the payments, you need to quickly look in to consolidation. Your credit score will also determine the interest and the term you qualify for. Pulling your credit before you start shopping for student loan consolidation can save you from getting in to a bad deal later. Most companies will use your credit score to determine what type of programs you qualify for, so knowing it beforehand will save you time. The better your score, the lower the risk, and the more flexibility you will have. You can still consolidate with less than perfect credit. Your options may be more limited, and the rates may be slightly higher. Even with that said, it can still save you money on your monthly bills if you need it.

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Tips for Preparing and Comparing Student Loan Consolidation Programs

Student loan debt can create an uncomfortable financial situation when you have to start repaying on the loans. The payments can put anyone in a bind. To make matters worse, it may take several years beyond graduation to start making decent money. This is where consolidation student loans can be beneficial. You can take a new loan to pay off the existing ones, and create a smaller monthly payment. In many cases this can make the difference between living comfortably and staying awake at night worrying about debt.
Preparing for Consolidation
You'll be in a much better position if you take a little bit of time to prepare for consolidation first. If you are still in school you can start looking at what you'll need later. If you can recognize a potential problem with paying back the loans before you have to start repaying you'll be much better off. Even if you are already in a financial bind, you can do a little legwork up front. Make sure your current loans, not just the student loan, are up to date. Missing payments can knock you out of qualifying, even if it was just one time. Late payments or over limit credit accounts on your credit report can reflect poorly and decrease your score. The credit score is heavily relied on, even with consolidation of student loans. To avoid getting a higher interest rate, try to keep up on all of your accounts for at least a year before consolidation. Checking your credit report can also help you with this. It's not uncommon for items to be reported incorrectly. You can dispute any items that have been reported incorrectly.
Comparisons
Shopping for student loan consolidation is just as important as shopping for loans for anything else. Many lenders offer different terms and perks. You may also save money on interest rates by shopping around. When you start looking for consolidation programs there are several things you want to find out about. Most people assume the interest rates are the most important thing to look for. While the rate should play a large role in your decision, you want to find out about other terms and benefits as well. Some programs will allow you to defer a certain number of payments during the term. This means if you have a bad month where unexpected expenses have left you short, you can push that month's payment back to the end of the loan. It won't report on your credit as a missed payment, and you can pay your other bills without worry. Some companies also offer flexible terms, ranging from 10-30 years. A 10 year term will have a higher monthly payment, but lower interest over the life of the loan. A 30 year term will allow you to make payments within

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Student Loan Worries Affect New College Students' Mental Health

Researchers at the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California in Los Angeles say that worries about student loans are having a measurable negative impact on the mental health of first-year college students.
The latest results, from the fall of 2010, of the long-standing annual study "The American Freshman: National Norms" show that the overall mental health of first-year students in college has dropped to a 25-year low, prompted in part by concerns about the economy and paying for college.
Surveyed students among the class of 2014 cited growing concern about the current state of the economy and the need to pay for higher education with student loans as a primary cause of chronic stress.
About half of the study subjects reported that they had had to take out student loans to pay for their education. Researchers say that these students also expressed uncertainty about their ability to repay their college loans after graduation.
Indirect woes related to students' families and the economy also had a pronounced effect on new students. Paternal unemployment was cited as a serious concern of nearly 5 percent of students surveyed, while 8.6 percent of students reported that maternal unemployment was a significant concern.
Researchers report that a growing number of new college students can't rely on family support to finance their education and must take on the burden of paying for college themselves by finding available student loans, grants, and scholarships. Nearly three-fourths of the study participants reported that they received some grants or scholarships to help defray their higher education expenses, the highest reported proportion since 2001.
The study also noted that participants reported feeling frequently overwhelmed as high school seniors and that female participants reported a significantly lower state of mental health than did their male counterparts.
The study, which has been conducted annually since 1966, examines, among other things, the mental health status of more than 200,000 full-time first-year college students at nearly 280 four-year higher education institutions throughout the United States. Participation in the study is voluntary, and the survey questions are focused on the students' self-perceptions of mental health.
Researchers say that the study results should serve as a warning to college administrators that students who are already overwhelmed with worries about financial and family matters when they arrive on campus may respond to high or increasing levels of stress by managing their time poorly, performing poorly in classes, or turning to drugs and alcohol or other self-destructive behaviors in an attempt to relieve stress.
Barely 52 percent of participants classified their perceived mental health status as "in the highest 10 percent" or "above average." This characterization reflects a drop of 3.4 percent from the answers given by first-year students in 2009, and a drop of 11.7 percent from 1985, when mental health self-assessment questions were first added to the survey.

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Borrowing Money From a Bank

Methods of short-term borrowing are many and include the following:
- Unsecured bank loans;
- Sale of promissory notes in the open market;
- Discounting trade and banker's acceptances;
- Loans secured by stock market collateral;
- Commodity loans;
- Assignment of receivables;
- Installment financing;
- Factoring;
- Miscellaneous.
1 - Unsecured bank loans, the most common method of borrowing money, are those in which the signature of the individual or the signature of a corporation executive is taken and money is placed to the credit of the individual or the corporation at the bank. It is customary that the borrower never withdraws all the money but leaves about 25 per cent continuously on deposit. These are short-term loans and may be made for as little as 30 days or as much as 90 days. At the conclusion of this time, they are renewable if conditions still look favorable for making such a loan. When a bank and a business have established relations over many years, such a loan may be almost continuous, year in and year out.
2 - Promissory notes can be used only by a very large and powerful corporation that is so known that its notes carry an instant message of security to the prospective buyer and are interesting to investors.
3 - Trade and banker acceptances are commercial paper received by the business and which it may discount with the bank to obtain money. This may originate as follows: first, a trade acceptance may be taken when a delivery of merchandise is made. The person accepting the merchandise admits that he has received it in good order and is liable for it; he gives back to the seller a trade acceptance which indicates that after a certain number of days the amount will be paid at the buyer bank. This trade acceptance will be accepted by the seller; in turn he will deposit it in his bank. The bank may discount it for him, that is, the bank will charge him interest for the use of the money add it to the note, and place immediately to his credit the amount of the trade acceptance less the interest charge. Should it be impossible to collect the trade acceptance, the seller will have to reimburse the bank. In the usual course of business the trade acceptance is honored by the buyer at the end of the period of time, and the seller is no longer a borrower because the money has been collected.
4 - Stock market collateral is used by individuals or organizations who own large quantities of marketable stocks. A great deal of tragedy occurred in the crash of 1929 due to the fact that too many banks held stock market collateral which became quite worthless. Nevertheless, this is still a possible method of borrowing money, but it is not available on the same liberal terms as was possible during the "roaring twenties."
5 - Commodity loans are very common. Loans may be made upon tobacco or cotton in a warehouse. The liquor and wine industries make loans based upon warehouse receipts. Such loans are possible when the commodity is well-known, understood, has a market value which does not fluctuate too readily, and has some promise that it can be sold in the normal course of events without spoiling. In the case of tobacco, whiskey, or wine which age in warehouses, field warehousing is often used; in this method of financing the "warehouse" company (in reality a finance company) puts up a sign on the customer's premises establishing a claim and then advances money which must be repaid as goods are moved out.
6 - The assignment of receivables is often used by a business in the last throes of trouble. They may go to a finance company and assign their accounts receivable. This is not desirable because it serves notice to most of their creditors and customers that the business is not in a particularly good situation and thus decreases business confidence.
7 - Installment financing is just as possible for a business, particularly a small one, as for an individual. The individual or the business borrows a certain amount of money and agrees to pay it back monthly over a period of time, depending upon current credit restrictions as imposed by the government and the practices of the loaning institution. Effective interest rates on this kind of borrowing are relatively high.
8- Factoring, another method of borrowing, is very common in some of the textile trades. A factor is an individual who practically takes over the financial management of a business. He tells the firm to whom they may extend credit and how much credit they may extend. If they follow his rules, the moment the goods are delivered, the factor will give the selling firm 80 per cent of the value of the goods that have been shipped and will make the balance of the payment when he is successful in collecting from the debtor. Although this is equivalent to assignment of receivables, the practice is so common in the cotton converting business that it is not regarded as an indication of weakness in the individual firm. The factor in some of these industries is in a splendid situation. Since he handles the finances of a good many firms in the same line of business, he knows to whom they are selling and can gauge whether the buyer has over-bought; in this way he can restrict others among the concerns that he factors from selling to the over-stocked business, in order to avoid loss. Thus the factor not only advances money to the firm but is also their credit service in that he takes care of checking the credit of the people to whom these firms sell. The charge for this service usually amounts to about 2 per cent of the money advanced.
9 - Miscellaneous methods of financing might include purely private deals between individuals. Unfortunately, it also includes some transactions that cannot be termed illegal but certainly are unethical in purpose. It is often difficult for certain lines of business to borrow money.

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