5 Personal Loans With Easy Approval (And Why That Can Be a Bad Thing)

5 Personal Loans With Easy Approval (And Why That Can Be a Bad Thing) 5 Personal Loans With Easy Approval (And Why That Can Be a Bad Thing) 5 Personal Loans With Easy Approval (And Why That Can Be a Bad Thing)While there are many great bad credit loans that come with easy approval, there are even more out there that are not so great.The fun thing about harrowing financial emergencies is … nothing. There is absolutely nothing fun about them at all. Even for people who have money in savings, the stress of an unexpected car repair or medical bill can send them into fits. And for people who have no money in savings and/or a bad credit score, that surprise bill could put their finances in serious jeopardy.When you need money to pay one of these bills, you don’t want to spend days going through an elaborate application process for a personal loanâ€"especially when you’re pretty sure you’ll be rejected anyway. You need money and you need it now, which means that you need a loan with easy approval … right?Not so fast. Easy approval can be great, but it’s not everything. In fact, many of the loans that come with the easiest approval processes are the ones you should be working the hardest to avoid. Before you start submitting applications for an online loan, or dashing down the street to your neighborhood payday lender, learn more about the pros and cons of “easy approval” loans.1. Payday LoansWhen you think “bad credit loan,” what you’re probably picturing is something like a payday loan. These are small short-term loans, with an average term of only two weeks and an average loan amount of a few hundred dollars. The idea behind a payday loan is that the borrower is only borrowing money to “tide them over” until their next payday. The reality, however, is very different.Payday loans are designed to be paid back all at once, a feature that is often referred to as “lump-sum repayment.” Coupled with annual percentage rates (APRs) that average just under 400 percent, and it’s easy to understand why many payday loan customers have trouble paying their loans back on-time. The more difficulty they encounter, the higher the cost of borrowing becomes.When a person is unable to pay back their payday loan on time, they will often do one of the two things: Either they’ll roll over the loan, extending the due date in exchange for additional interest, or they’ll “reborrow” the loan, taking out another loan after the original is paid off in order to cover to additional expenses. Doing this too often can leave borrowers trapped in a recurring cycle of debt from which its difficult to escape.Payday loans are very easy to secure, which makes them popular with people whose poor credit scores lock them out from traditional lenders. For the most part, all a person needs is a bank account and a valid ID. Some lenders will even loan you money on a prepaid debit card.Unfortunately, the ease with which these loans can get approved points to the additional troubles that youll encounter down the line.2. Cash Advance LoansThe term “cash advance” is a very generic one, which can make pinning down these loans a bit tricky. For the most part, if you see a storefront or an online lender advertising cash advance loans, what they’re likely offering is a payday loan. They’re offering to “advance” you cash that will be repaid with your next paycheck. For more information on the dangers of payday loans, check out the section above.The other kind of “cash advance” you’ll see is a credit card cash advance. This is where you use your credit card to get cash, with the amount you withdraw being added to your balance. The APRs for cash advances are usually much higher than the APR for standard credit card transactions, and they don’t come with any kind of interest-free grace period, meaning that the balance starts accumulating interest the second it’s added to your card.However, those APR’s are far lower than the average APR for a payday loan. (Credit card cash advances often carry an APR in the mid-to-high 20’s versus nearly 400 percent for payday loans.) And while maxing out your card with cash advances is not something that anyone would advise, itll still probably be better than taking out a high-interest payday or title loan.Credit card cash advances don’t require any sort of approval, so just be careful you use them sparinglyâ€"if at all.3. Title LoansWhile payday and cash advance loans are both “unsecured” loansâ€"meaning that they do not require collateral in order to be securedâ€"title loans are the opposite. They’re secured by the title to the owner’s car or truck; that’s how they got their name. The main requirement for taking out a title loan is that you own your vehicle free and clear.Title loans are another type of short-term loan, with average repayment terms that are only a month long. They also let you borrow more money than you’d be able to get from a payday loanâ€"though it’s only going to be a fraction of what your car is actually worth. Title loans have an average interest rate of 25 percent, which may seem reasonable, but translates to an APR of 300 percent.Title loans suffer from a problem that’s similar to payday loans; they carry lump-sum repayment terms that are very difficult for borrowers to repay on time. By extending their loan termsâ€"usually in return for paying only the interest owedâ€"borrowers can prevent the loan from going into default, but they can also rack up thousands and thousands of dollars in extra interest fees in the process.And if the borrower ends up going into default, well, that means that they sacrifice their collateral. Their car will be repossessed so that the lender can sell it in order to make a profit. In some states, these lenders don’t even have to return any extra funds that they make through the sale. According to a study from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), one in five title loans ends in repossession.4. Pawn Shop LoansYou’re probably familiar with pawn shops. These are stores where you bring in your home valuables and then “pawn” them in return for money. What this actually means is that you use them as collateral to secure a small-dollar loan. If the loan isn’t repaidâ€"with interestâ€"by the end of the loan term, then the pawn shop gets to sell your stuff.Due to the lesser value of the items involved, most pawn shop loans come with principals similar to those of payday loansâ€"in the range of a few hundred dollars. Obviously, the more valuable the item you bring in, the more money you will be able to borrow. And while losing the item probably won’t have the same negative impact on your life as losing a car might (which gives them a leg up on title loans), the sentimental value might be much higher than the retail.The interest rates on pawn shop loans can vary wildly depending on where you live, with averages between 15 and 240 percent. Generally speaking, it’s likely that a pawn shop loan will be much cheaper than a payday loan but more expensive than a credit card cash advance. But while pawn shop loans might be safer than payday or title loans, you still risk losing your valuables all for the privilege of borrowing … not a lot of money.Besides, there are better options available.5. Installment LoansOut of all the “easy approval” loans for bad credit that you can find out there, these ones are likely to be the best fit. Unlike their other bad credit brethren, installment loans are designed to be paid back in a series of regular payments. This means you don’t have to pay the whole thing back at once, which many find helpful.Interest rates for installment loans vary, but there are many you can find that come with significantly cheaper rates than payday, title, or cash advance loans. If an installment loan is amortizing (which it should be), then every payment you make goes towards both the interest and the principal loan amount.This makes it less likely that you’ll get trapped in a predatory cycle of debt, which relies on the bor rower only paying off the interest owed, not the principal. Plus, paying back your loan early could even save you money overall. This is something that doesn’t hold true for most payday and title lenders, who charge interest as a flat rate.Most bad credit installment loans do come with a fairly easy approval processâ€"especially compared to loans from traditional lenders like banksâ€"but you should try and aim for lenders whose standards are slightly higher than your average payday loan storefront.Determining a borrower’s ability to repay and running a soft credit check on their background (which won’t affect your credit score) means that the lender is seriously considering whether you can afford your loan. This likely means lower rates (the result of lower default rates), and it also means that you will be better able to afford your loan.Just make sure you do your research.Installment loans (and the lenders who issue them) are by no means perfect. Always do your research befo re working with any lender with easy approval and zero hard credit checks (research that should extend to your own finances). Check customer reviews and the company’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) before signing your loan agreement.Even better, see if they report payment information to the three major credit bureausâ€"Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. This is something that very few no credit check lenders do, but it could end up making a big difference in your score. If you choose the right bad credit installment loanâ€"and make all your payments on timeâ€"it’ll do more than just bail out your finances in the present. It’ll help you build a brighter financial future.And if you really want to do your finances a favor, then skip the need for bad credit loans altogether by building an emergency fund. To learn more about saving money, check out these related posts and articles from OppLoans:8 Ways To Save Money Today, Tomorrow and Every Day After4 Simple Ways to Save Money on You r Grocery Billâ€"While Still Eating Healthy!8 Handy Tips for Road Tripping on the Cheap50 Places That Will Give You Free Stuff on Your BirthdayWhats your experience been with easy approval loans? We want to hear from you! You can find us  on  Facebook  and  Twitter.