I Need a Loan

Updated on November 15, 2007
C.B. asks from Oklahoma City, OK
4 answers

Our credit stinks! We have had a hard couple of years, child with cancer; husbands job change; etc... I have tried to get things back on track but have had no luck. As our credit stinks I can't find a loan.

What companies are good for bad/poor/subprime loans? Lots of people online, but I don't want to get caught in a scam. Looking for tried and true places.

What can I do next?

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So What Happened?

I am trying Prosper.com and have a call into a local company.

More Answers

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R.U.

answers from Oklahoma City on

We got into quite a tight spot and were using payday loans. You can get up to seven at a time (at different places) and they vary on repayment plans (ours was 2wks). The interest rate was a bout 400%, but cash in hand is worth it sometimes. Hope you find a better solution!

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J.K.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Kinda vague on what for and how much....if it is for going back to school try to get a pell grant...4,000 and you don't pay it back....it disperses as you go to school, not a lump sum. And talk to a school finance counselor they can help you.

If you just need a few hundred bucks, I have a scandoulous little thing I do when I desprately need it. It only costs $25.00 for overdrafting a bank account and allot of times you can get between 3 to 5 hundred dollars...never do this in multiple transactions or the 25.00 comes out each time...as long as you can pay it back within 6 weeks you will be allright.
I have no idea who gives loans for stinking bad credit, I am right there with you on that one...the only other thing I can think of is getting little loans from lots of places at the same time and that could get messy...paying on all of them at the same time.
You could try to sell some stuff, if you have things you are not using around the house.
Good Luck to you.

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S.K.

answers from Oklahoma City on

It may be too late, but if it's medical bills, you can always contact the hospital or doctor and tell them your situation and sometime they will give you a discount or in the case of a place like Integris, they may just erase your debt, I have a friend who works with Integris who said they have done this in the past in extreme cases. Just a thought. Good luck.

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K.R.

answers from Oklahoma City on

It's hard to support a family on one income - I cannot imagine trying to also have a child with cancer. If the full need of a loan is contributed to medical costs, then you have done well on budgeting. If not, have you made a monthly budget? Are you figuring enough for groceries, health care, gas, clothing, etc. Collect all of your bills & receipts for one month. At the end of it, total up each category to see if it's what you've got budgeted. Eating out quickly adds up - even just going to Chick~fil~a and other cheap places. Does your husband make enough to meet the budget? If not, you might need to get some part-time work while the kids are in school or when you husband is home so you can avoid daycare costs. How much is he paying for benefits? Perhaps your part-time job will have better benefits. Since you'll be starting school in January, you might just consider picking up a temporary job for the holidays. I think Dillard’s pays $10-12 an hour. And Macy's at Penn Square had signs up yesterday that they were hiring for the holidays.

Okay moving on - You have several options. If it is for nursing school, then apply for financial aid like someone else recommended. While you are in school, your payments will be deferred and the interest rate is going to be reasonable. On some of the loans, the fed will help pay the interest that accrues on the loans while you're in school. Here's a link to the federal student loan site for all of the info.: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/

If you just need cash in general, you could do something like Payday loans, but expect to pay out the nose in interest. Even the government thinks you will get the shaft if you utilize a payday loan and has come up with some alternatives. Here is a link to a very good article published by the FTC:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/alerts/pdayalrt.shtm

Also, if you have a car that's got equity in it, sell it to get the cash out of it and keep part of it to buy a $2k used Honda which will run forever. If you have any equity in your house, considering trying to refinance it. This might be a good option because you will have a lot longer repay term which will keep your monthly payment low. If your credit is so bad that your lender won't approve you, you can look at using a mortgage broker. They are easier to finance through but expect to pay more and have higher fees, but still it is an option. Again, it depends on how much $ you need & for how long you need it. Depending on your answers, this could end up being more expensive than payday loan in the long run. Also, if either you or your hubby have a 401k, then you might be able to borrow against it. If you absolutely must, you can cash out a 401k - but you will get taxed out the rear.

Figure out how much money you need, and is this is a one time thing to get caught up, and then look at all of your options to see which one is going to be the least expensive. Look at savings accounts, a garage sale, putting unused items on Ebay to generate some cash.

Overall on paper, the best economical solution to benefit your family would be to get the holiday job. This involves no loans, paperwork, high interest rates and most importantly you are EARNING instead of BORROWING - which is really the ultimate solution. You need to bring money IN (income) instead of paying it OUT in the form of interest, etc. which puts you further and further behind. Borrowing just delays the inevitable - you lack income to pay cash for what you need or didn't expect (like an illness, job loss, etc.) and bringing money in is the only way you can break the cycle.

I know it's not easy and I hope you find a solution that works well for your family. Good luck!

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