Sometimes in life, you may find yourself needing to borrow money – and fast. While no one likes to be in this type of position, unfortunately, life can be unpredictable. Therefore, it can help to learn about the different borrowing options available should you need to borrow money quickly in the future.
Here, Pheabs explores a variety of different ways you can borrow money fast…
Borrowing a Loan
Borrowing a loan from a reputable lender is one of many options you could consider. There are a range of different loan types out there across the US, accommodating to a range of different borrowers and their borrowing needs.
As all of these different loan options cater to various needs, their eligibility criteria for borrowers can also vary, depending on the loan, the lender, and the borrower’s circumstances.
For example, secured loans will require the borrower to provide an asset to use as collateral on the loan – the assets that qualify being determined by the lender, the loan they’re being secured on to and other details of the loan request. By offering a valuable asset as collateral, secured loans can often come with less rigorous eligibility requirements for borrowers than unsecured loans.
It’s also worth noting that you can only find certain loan types in specific areas of the US. For example, payday loans are only available in certain states.
Payday Loan
Payday loans are a type of lending that’s traditionally used to borrow money until the borrower’s next payday (hence the name!).
They’re built for short-term use, and are used to cover certain shortfalls of cash borrowers might have before their next payday. They can be used for a range of different purposes including the following:
- Emergency car repairs
- To fix a broken boiler
- Unexpected bills
- Household repairs
Payday loans are only designed to be used in certain instances. They should not be used for luxury holidays, gifts, shopping sprees, non-essential surgery or other, non-essential purposes.
Title Loan
A title loan is another short-term lending option that uses your vehicle as collateral on the loan. They’re often used by borrowers as a way of covering emergency expenses and other, short-term borrowing needs.
Title loans near me typically come with little to no credit requirements. In fact, it’s claimed that many title lenders won’t actually check the borrower’s credit.
In order to be eligible for a title loan, you’ll have to own the vehicle you want to secure the loan with outright, and have a car title that’s lien-free.
As is the case with payday loans, title loans are only legally allowed in certain states. Experian has listed on their website the states these title loan lenders are allowed to operate in, and includes:
- Alabama
- Arizona
- California
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Louisiana
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Ohio
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
The amount you can borrow with a title loan can range from 25% – 50% of the vehicle’s value. As a secured loan, if you don’t keep up with repayments the lender may repossess the vehicle that you’ve used as collateral.
Credit Card
Another way to borrow money could be through your credit card. In fact, if you borrow from a 0% APR credit card and pay the balance off within the allotted introductory period, borrowing in this way could be quite a cheap option to consider.
The introductory period for a credit card can vary depending on the provider, however some can range from 15 to 21 months.
You can borrow via a credit card for a range of different reasons, including to cover unexpected, emergency expenses like a car repair or medical bills.
To qualify for this borrowing option, potential borrowers will typically need to hold a certain credit score – which may need to be good or even excellent.
Business Loans
A business loan can come from a bank, angel investor or VC funding, but a private lender is likely to give you the fastest option. This could be an unsecured loan, or something that is secured against a property, equipment, stock, assets or even future invoices (see invoice factoring).
Another option is to use merchant cash advances, which allow you to receive money upfront and the repayments are collected via future credit card and debit card sales, making it perfect for B2C companies such as stores, restaurants, hotels and venues.
You can also look at using business credit cards, or using a credit line or going into your overdraft to access more funds (up to a certain limit), but this can often be a very expensive form of borrowing.
Bank
A loan from the bank might also be a borrowing option to consider. Banks are known to offer personal loans with significantly low annual percentage rates (typically the lowest available). Banks might also offer additional discounts on the APR of the loan for existing customers.
The amount you’ll be able to borrow with a bank will depend on certain circumstances. However, they can range from hundreds of dollars up to tens of thousands.
Like with a credit card, you’ll usually have to have good credit in order to get approved for a personal loan at a bank.
Credit Union
Credit unions are also known for offering personal loans with considerably low annual percentage rates. In fact, credit unions might even offer rates that are lower than those offered by banks.
Like a personal loan with the bank, credit unions can offer loan amounts of hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands.
Before being able to apply for a personal loan via a credit union, you’ll have to meet all of their eligibility criteria, which will include becoming a credit union member.
Buy Now Pay later
Buy Now Pay Later is a type of payment plan that allows you to, as the name suggests, buy items ‘now’ and pay for them ‘later’ – this ‘later’ typically being over a number of installments.
This way of borrowing typically comes without fees or interest, and is commonly offered by retailers once customers are checking out either online or in the physical store.
While Buy Now Pay Later plans won’t usually come with fees or interest, there may be charges for late payments. It’s also worth noting that some Buy Now Pay Later companies can also charge interest, depending on the details of the purchase (e.g., the amount and the retailer it’s with).
Savings
If you need to borrow money and have any savings available, it might be worth dipping into these.
A lot of people have savings for all sorts of reasons, whether it’s to save up for a house, a wedding or a holiday. However, if you can spare the cash for however long you need to borrow for, borrowing money from your savings may be an option to consider.
While dipping into your savings and using these for something else may not be your ideal, it does come with the benefit that there won’t be another lender charging you fees for borrowing the money on top of the borrowing amount. As the money is yours as well, this also means you should be able to access the money relatively quickly, and set your own repayment schedule.
Borrow Money From Friends
You might also be able to borrow the money you need from a friend. Borrowing money in this way can help you avoid any formal loan request process that’s required for other types of borrowing options. It can also help those who may be worried that they won’t qualify for a loan with other types of lenders – for example, if you’re concerned your credit score might be an issue.
Borrowing money in this way can be a quick and handy option to consider, should the circumstances fit. However, in the wrong circumstances, borrowing money from friends can cause tension and awkwardness.
When borrowing money from friends, as is the case when borrowing from any source, it’s always important to ensure you can afford the loan, and are able to pay this back at any agreed-upon timeframe.
Borrow Money From Family
Borrowing money from family is another option to consider when needing fast access to cash. Borrowing from a family member could be a more stable option than borrowing from friends, particularly if you’re close to your family, as these relationships can often be more secure and long term than some friendships.
Borrowing money from someone you have an honest and stable relationship with, like a family member, can help make the whole lending process run more smoothly.
However, similarly to borrowing money from friends, borrowing money from family can also lead to tension and conflict when mishandled.
What’s the Fastest Way to Borrow Money?
There are a number of different borrowing options that can help you access cash fast. Online lenders may offer a quicker process to borrowing money compared with other options, where you’ll need to visit the lender in-store to complete the loan request.
In contrast, online lenders can deal with loan requests 100% online, which may speed up the process of borrowing a loan in certain circumstances.
Other quick ways for borrowing money from the options we’ve explored may include:
- Dipping into your savings
- Borrowing from friends or family
- Online lenders
With Pheabs, you can find payday lenders, apps, advances and alternatives offering $100 to $35,000, with repayment periods of 1 to 60 months. Our loan request form is 100% online, and if you’re approved, you could get funds in as little as 24 hours.
What’s the Cheapest Way to Borrow Money?
The cheapest way to borrow money will depend on the circumstances you find yourself needing this money.
Borrowing money from friends or family could be one of the cheapest options for you from those we’ve explored, however this is only provided the friend or family member you borrow the money from doesn’t charge you anything extra for borrowing it. Otherwise, having a very stable income and strong credit score will typically help you access funds at low rates. You can also consider 0% credit cards which mean that it is no interest if you pay it all off on time – and this is usually for an introductory period of up to 24 months.
What’s the Best Way to Borrow Money?
The best way to borrow money depends on how you’d like to borrow, when you’d like to borrow and how much you’re willing to pay for it.
There are a range of different options out there for people who need to borrow money fast, some of which we’ve explored in our list above.
When wanting to access cash, it can help to explore a range of different options to see which one best suits your needs. Looking through a range of loan options can help you make a more informed decision on the loan that’s right for you and your borrowing needs.