We are now coming into the final weeks of summer, and that means that many parents are heading out for that dreaded back to school shopping trip. The clothes, the shoes, the school supplies; these items can end up costing an arm and a leg. Even if they don’t, if you’re in a strained financial situation, even a few extra items can leave you feeling stressed. This week we cover financing back to school expenses.
It is very common for parents to spend a lot getting kids back to school ready. The key here is how you spend. If you’ve saved over the summer, or all year long, to prep for this season, that’s awesome. However, if you’re concerned about where that money is going to come from, we’ve got some tips to help you spend smarter.
Credit cards. Why not just spend on credit cards? They are already in your wallet and you won’t have to pay them off all at once. As appealing as this option may initially seem, we all know that in reality credit cards are hard to pay down and the interest you end up paying is very high. Unless you know you can pay off the balance in a very short period of time, this is never a great choice.
What about a payday loan – that can get you over the hurdle, right? Wrong! Payday loans are actually the worst option available. This is bottom-of-the-barrel. The short repayment terms and sky high fees make this almost impossible to pay off. There is a reason Google has banned payday loan companies from advertising on their search engine and why the government is researching ways to limit the availability of these less-than-worthy lenders. We urge you to stay away from payday loans as much as possible.
Great, so if both of those options are off the table, what’s left? A short term personal loan is the best choice for financing back to school financial shortfalls. Not only will it reflect positively on your credit report (when paid on time, every month), the prefixed repayment term means you know when you will be out of debt. Additionally, the cost of borrowing is also preset and the amount doesn’t revolve as it would with a credit card – once it is paid off, it is gone!
What if your credit is not as solid as you’d like? That doesn’t need to be a problem. Even when the bank says no, there are reputable lenders out there who give second chances, even to undischarged bankrupts.
Prudent is one such lender. Want to find out about a smarter back to school loan? Call us today at 1-888-852-7647.