Loan considerations for cash strapped folks

A lot of people are cash strapped during this time of year and that's understandable. Some people are looking for the fastest loans they can get to get them through the holiday season. The demand for gifts, covered dishes and extra expenses during the month of December is nonstop. All of that translates into extra expenses.

Some of the places where you can apply for loans include:

Cash stores
Banks
Credit Unions
Loan companies
Online lending companies
Mortgage company
Local or online cash advance companies

Pre-application Decisions

There are some decisions to be made before you fill out the loan application. Each decision is important even though each one may seem to be mundane. Some of the things to decide on include (but are not limited to) the following:

Goodbye credit cards and loan payments

In just a few days we will say goodbye credit cards. Brass bands won't be playing in the background and the credit card company probably won't send a thank you note but I'll be doing a happy dance.

Our final payment on our finally credit card is less than $100. I had hoped to pay it off last month but my typing fingers couldn't quite get over the finish line. Comforting me is that we were able to get rid of a huge chunk of that debt and payoff a loan in March.

Choosing which to payoff wasn't easy. Paying one debt in full meant being about $150 short on the other. My goal of saying goodbye to the credit cards was within reach. I was ready to shout hooray but that's not what happened.

The numbers were clear. Paying off the loan early would save us more financially. We would still put a good sized payment on the last of our credit cards but we wouldn't quite wipe off the balance. An unexpected ghostwriting gig made me feel better by lowering the balance some more.

Our largest bills still lie ahead but I feel like we've rounded a curve. Even though I'm looking at a huge car repair, medicals and other big debts, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It's as though I'm breathing in fresh air for once and it feels really good.

(P.S. We've been saving for the car repair along with paying so much on the credit cards a getting rid of the loan. :- )