A serious financial emergency calls for a quick response, but sometimes, it may be challenging to react quickly and make the right financial decisions for ourselves.
If you’re struggling with stress, all that anxiety can sometimes have the power to influence your decisions. Pressed by time, your frayed nerves may blind you to some of the facts, and you may end up making the wrong decision.
So, before that happens, take a deep breath. All of us here at CreditFresh want to make sure you make the best choice for your finances for the times you have to deal with an unexpected emergency. That’s why we’re equipping you with a list of the potential benefits of online loans for emergencies, as well as some things to look out for.
Why List Out the Benefits and Things to Look Out For?
Whether you use an old-fashioned paper and pen or an app on your phone, a list is a great brainstorming exercise.
Weighing your options helps you bring order to something that may feel out of your control. A list forces you to sit down and think about your options, categorizing each detail into a potential perk or drawback. It encourages you to compare these factors objectively, so you can be more informed about your decision-making.
You may still feel nervous after you make a list, but that’s okay. This exercise just helps ensure you aren’t making a rash decision based on a panicked gut feeling.
How Long Should Your List Be?
There’s no limit. In fact, you want as much data as possible to understand your options best. The more pros and cons to consider, the better.
What Are Some Potential Benefits of Online Loans Today?
No list would be complete without specific details of the online loans you’re thinking about applying for. That means you’ll have to do some research on your own and look at rates and terms of different loans to find the one that suits your financial situation the best.
But if you’re finding it difficult to start your list from scratch, we’ve cobbled together some of the positive things about the online lending experience.
1. Convenience
Simply put, online loans are convenient. Most of the online lending experience happens over the Internet, which means you don’t even have to leave your house to get started. You may apply from your couch or from your chair in front of a desktop computer.
Some online loans lenders even have mobile apps, meaning you can apply from anywhere you get data or Wi-Fi. Whether that’s the back seat of your Uber, a quiet nook at your local library, or in the middle of the park on a nice day, it doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that you aren’t tied to a specific storefront location. Many online financial institutions make their applications available 24/7 online. You may request an online line of credit or loan at any time that fits your schedule, even if it’s at odds with the usual business hours.
Want to learn more about how an online line of credit may be able to help you? Click here!
2. Ease of Research Process
In a pinch, you may need fast cash options that move at the speed of your emergency, but even a condensed timeline isn’t an excuse to skip your research. Comparing different financial institutions and their products or services can help you sniff out the suitable ones for your finances.
Online lending companies make this process easier to do. All you have to do is type your query into a search engine and visit the websites for the online loan lenders that show up.
You have the option of comparing online loans by opening each website in a new tab and switching between them to view their rates. Or, there might be an opportunity to visit a third-party website that compares online loan lenders side-by-side all in one page.
If you choose to go down this route, make sure you can trust this third-party website to provide the facts.
Do a little digging to ensure it has a reputation for giving impartial and honest reviews. Pay close attention to their “About” page to learn about their purpose, as well as any fine print at the beginning or end of these comparisons. Reviews that include paid endorsements may be biased and should disclose that they’re sponsored.
3. Eligibility Criteria
Applying for a loan with a less-than-stellar credit score may be a tough ask, but you may have a chance of being qualified with some online loan lenders.
The world of online loans is a vast and diverse one with companies catering to different types of borrowers. Some of them work with people with bad credit, so they may qualify for personal loans or personal line of credit loans in an emergency.
4. Qualification Notice
They say that patience is a virtue, but you shouldn’t have to wait forever to hear back from a financial institution as an unexpected emergency demands a swift response.
Luckily, online financial institutions typically work relatively fast to let you know if you qualify for a loan or line of credit.
You generally won’t spend days — or even weeks — waiting to hear from them. In some cases, they may notify you within minutes after you submit your application.
Online loans lenders work quickly because they rely on powerful tech to help them determine whether you qualify or not. This technology can see if you meet a financial institution’s requirements at speeds no human counterpart could hope to match — even if they had their coffee that day.
The benefit? You aren’t waiting around in limbo to see if you qualify for an online line of credit or loan. You’ll find out the decision relatively soon, so you can either go ahead with that lender or find other online loan lenders that offer different options.
5. Simple Application and Website
Applying for money may be complicated enough without having to endure a glitchy website or confusing application.
Fortunately, many online loans lenders understand people want a simple, straight-forward experience at every stage of the process. Since they operate online, they generally put the effort into making well-designed, user-friendly websites.
The best designs make it easy to navigate and digest information. With a few clicks of your mouse, you may be able to learn everything you need to know about their products and services.
If you aren’t sure about something, many financial institutions answer FAQs about online loans and personal line of credit loans on their site.
What Are Some Things to Look Out for With Online Loans Today?
No list like this would be complete without a look at all the things you need to keep an eye out for. So, without further ado, here are some of the aspects you need to look out for with the online lending experience.
1. Loan Charges
If you’re searching for a personal loan or personal line of credit for people with bad credit, you may end up paying higher interest and/or fees.
A loan’s charges and terms are important details of your borrowing experience, and with certain financial institutions, they’re sometimes set according to your creditworthiness. However, in some instances, your creditworthiness may not affect the rates of your loan, but instead could help determine the amount you’re qualified for.
Creditworthiness helps a financial institution determine if you’ll repay what you owe on time. If they suspect you may pay late, they may adjust your fees to reflect this risk.
A low score may signify greater risk. While some financial institutions may deny you outright, others may increase your rates — including those lenders that offer a personal loan or personal line of credit for people with bad credit.
2. No Face-to-Face Interactions
A digital experience is a boon to those people who like working online or who appreciate not having to leave their homes. But for people who value being able to speak with someone face-to-face, the online lending experience may throw a wrench in their plans.
You, too, may find it hard to apply, oversee, and repay your loans entirely online. While many online loans lenders will have customer service representatives available by phone to help, these conversations may not compare to face-to-face chats.
3. High Volume of Search Results
In some ways, surfing the web for an online line of credit or loan is easier. You can lay out on the couch — your laptop propped on your knees and a snack in reach with your favorite album playing over the speakers.
But in other ways, the search for online loans may take some time. The typical Internet search generates millions of results within seconds. Chances are, you won’t be familiar with all of the online loans lenders that show up in this search.
Before you request an online line of credit or loan from a company you don’t know very well, make sure to take out time to do your research. Comparing their rates is just the first step. You’ll also want to check any reviews or complaints a lender may have.
This may seem like lot of work when you consider the huge supply of online loans lenders your search digs up, but taking the time out to educate yourself is necessary to make sure that you make an informed decision.
4. Possible Technical Difficulties
For the most part, an online lender will invest in the user experience by making easy-to-use websites. They’ll have a team of designers, IT experts, and customer service professionals to make sure everything works smoothly.
But sometimes, forces outside their control may throw a spanner in the works. Maybe your Internet goes down at a crucial moment, just as you’re sending off your application. Or perhaps their website crashes after a surge of unexpected traffic overwhelms their system.
There’s also your own sense of ease using the Internet to manage your finances. You don’t have to be a computer engineer, but you do need some basic Internet know-how to navigate the web.
If you aren’t tech-savvy, you may find you’re out of your depth when applying, managing, or paying off your loan.
Should You Check out Online Loans Today?
We can’t answer that for you, but our list of pros and cons can help you make your decision. Sit down to create your own list, drawing from ours for inspiration before adding specific details about the rates, terms, and conditions.
This exercise will help cut through any potential stress that’s keeping you from determining if and when short term loans are a good idea.
Try not to stress for the moment. Instead, focus on your list to see which side outweighs the other. If the pros win out for online loans, you might want to consider applying for an online line of credit or loan.
Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and does not constitute financial, legal or other professional advice. For full details, see CreditFresh’s Terms of Use.
Posted in: Online Loans
