Loan?

[Tokermon]

I want a stoners perspective on loans.
I want to get a small(no more than 2g)loan so I can buy some shit I can't afford yet. my bank happened to offer me one 2day but the rate is 19% minimum! this sounds extortionate to me. Is it a bad idea getting a loan from your bank? should i just get a humungous overdraft limit instead? I have a steadyish job so i wouldn't spiral into debtly too much.

 

[JJScorpio]

You want to check out what penalties there are on overdraft first.

If you have to take out that loan, don't take anything over a year to repay it....

 

[thekingofNY]

Depending on your credit/age that rate doesn seem too unreasonable to me, since its an unsecured loan for the bank (not like you want to buy a car, where they have something of value to sell if you default on the note)

If you think you can handle you credit, try to get a no annual fee credit card at 9.99 or even 14.99%. But be carefull.... credit is something that works excellent for those that use it well, but can really fuck you if you don't ...

 

[Mr. Bongjangles]

Don't do it friend! If nothing else, that interest rate is weak. King is right that you can get a better rate on a credit card, and JJ is right that you desperately need to know what the penalties will be if you mess up at all.

On the personal note..

I actually got a few credit cards when I started growing, reasoning i was spending 200+ a month on herb, which i would now be saving, and thus i could use the money to pay off the credit cards every month and build up my credit by actively using it in a relatively safe way.

Well fast forward a year or so, and the company I had worked for quite a while decided to move my job across the country. My stable situation went downhill quickly.

I went from being that cool guy working the system "responsibly" to being that loser scraping together his minimum payments every month. Like selling my things on ebay to keep my head above water for a while.

I won't ramble on about it, just know that smart & stable people can get in over their heads, and especially working for someone else, the rug can be pulled out from under you just like that.

Strongly recommend you avoid the loan, and stick to using credit only when you absolutely must.

 

[Stoner4Life]

Neither a borrower nor a lender be
Billy Shakespeare ~ Hamlet

 

[TNTBudSticker]

I want a stoners perspective on loans.
I want to get a small(no more than 2g)loan so I can buy some shit I can't afford yet. my bank happened to offer me one 2day but the rate is 19% minimum! this sounds extortionate to me. Is it a bad idea getting a loan from your bank? should i just get a humongous overdraft limit instead? I have a steadying job so i wouldn't spiral into debt too much.

Let me take my Bonghit......... PuFFFfffFFFFFfFFFFFFF


19% Wow ! High...Your Bank Sounds Funny.Head for The Hills!

If you can make the tiny,minor monthly payment like 1/500 of your weekly pay monthly.....do it... Helps built Credit.

or Call those funny numbers for credit cards on tv and built yourself a mailing list so then only YOU get to choose what you want to pay when you get offers in the mail...Even applying for credit knowing you may be turned down puts you on a mailing list..Visa,Mastercard is a good list to built when applying for credit.

I have got 2 mailing offers for 0% for One Year for Transfers....Just to show you What Good Credit Does.


PPPPpAaAAASSSssssssssSSssss.....

 

[Dr Dog]

19 % is super nuts man, steer clear of there

I would not settle for anything more than 8%
Prime rate here in Canada is less that 5% so I would not allow them to triple prime

 

[GrassRoots]

Yeah, I have written checks to myself from my CC and pay 2.99-5.99 Fixed for the life of the loan. There is a 1 time 3% fee though but that still keeps the rate at 5.99-8.99. I think what you're looking at is a bad deal.

 

[Haps]

bad plan, credit, bad, bad, bad.

 

[Saibai]

imo, the only thing you should get a loan for is to buy a house.
The only time I use a credit card is to purchase something online, paid off in full the next month, without fail.
Theres a lot of crap I would like to get too, but, hey. Shit happens.

Americans (not sure if you are or not) seem to like credit waaaay too much.

 

[GET MO]

Student loans are the shit, as long as u stay in school u aint gotta pay um back, you can stay in school for hella long, all the while gettin paid, until the Apocolypse, then u wont haveta pay it back...

 

[Tokermon]

okay thanks for the replies everyone. so it's a toss-up between a credit card and a loan hmm. I think i can only get an overdraft limit of £1000 so that's out the question.
I've always been told not to get a credit card but now thinking about it the 0% balance transfers sound tempting, but they're only for the first year I think. how long do you have to pay off the credit card? do they come with say a 24 month contract or something?
the thing with a credit card though is you can easily spend more than you intend to as I've seen with friends, with a loan at least it's a set amount can you can't dig deeper into without applying for another one.
do you think if my bank has approved me for one, it shouldn't be much hassle getting one elsewhere? like they'll see my bank has offered it me so they'll do it no problem?

 

[Hazelnuts]

Don't do it. You'll regret it some day.

 

[NPK]

You're right man, 19 percent is extortionate! I wouldn't even think about touching that one.

 

[stinkyattic]

I agree with everyone who noted that the rate was outrageously over prime, and that credit in general is strongly to be avoided in almost all situations, with the exception of an investment into your future (home, education, or small business- and a new growroom doesn't count, lol!) as it is likely to bite you in the ass. IMHO this is not a good time to go into debt in the States... have you been following the news at all?

 

[cocktail frank]

maybe its at 19% because he is considered high risk.
how is your credit rating?

 

[stinkyattic]

maybe its at 19% because he is considered high risk.
how is your credit rating?

This is a good point, and something that has gotten hundreds of thousands of American homebuyers into trouble in the last year or so... take your credit rating seriously, and be very honest with yourself about what would constitute overextending your financial resources.

I had this conversation with my mortgage broker a few years back, before the market peaked, actually- we were looking at many different types of loans, at different loan amounts, down payments, interest rates, terms, and monthly payments. He told me something that I will never forget, and this is what it was:
Just because you CAN get approved for a fairly large loan does not mean that you SHOULD.
And I still have my house.

 

[baccas125]

19% is not too high for an unsecured loan. There is a credit crunch going on right now here in the states. I would agree with StinkyAttick if you are not in dire straits don't sell your future life for current wants.

 

[Tokermon]

Thing is though I need a vehicle so I can get a better job and travel further. I don't really want advice on whether to get one at all, I'm just asking people who've had the experience what the best option is. So credit card or loan? Is it easy to get a loan anywhere if the bank has approved one or doesn't that count for much?
my credit rating isn't too bad, I've been living the red for a while, it goes to black every pay day but gets drawn out
so that's probably why the rate is shit.

thanks stoners.

 

[stinkyattic]

Oh! A car loan is technically not an unsecured loan. You should be able to wrangle a much better rate by shopping around for actual vehicle loans.