New Orleans is a world-famous town that has a style all its own. It’s easy to find fun and adventure in The Crescent City, but what if you’re looking for a way out of debt? New Orleans has a lot of ways to get cash fast, but the best way to manage your finances is with the security of a personal installment loan.
From the Bayou to Bourbon Street, New Orleans residents can roll out of debt and into personal installment loans that work. Do you want to find out how? Read on, mes amies!
New Orleans: The Basics
New Orleans is one of America’s oldest cities. Founded in 1718, New Orleans was the capital of French Louisiana originally. When the territory became a part of the United States, it remained the largest city in the South for over 150 years. New Orleans remains the largest city in Louisiana, with the Greater New Orleans area being home to over a quarter of the state’s population.
When it comes to rich culture, New Orleans is unmatched. The region retained its French roots and fused with elements of Creole culture to create a signature twist on everything from literature to cuisine. Its unique, celebratory spirit has made it a long-standing destination for travelers worldwide. And, of course, nothing beats the energy of a New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration.
New Orleans is known for its beauty, charm, and ease. But like any other city in America, there are people all over that need the kind of solid financial help that comes with a personal loan. And thanks to the usual brick walls put up by traditional lenders, many people don’t have a way to cover expenses today that won’t put them in a deeper hole tomorrow.
Louisiana Personal Loans: What You Need To Know
A personal loan goes to a borrower in a lump sum, which the borrower repays in equal payments or installments. People pay personal loans monthly until they repay the borrowed amount, plus interest and origination fees.
You can use personal loans for whatever purpose you think is best. Unlike other unsecured loans (like student loans) for specific purposes, you can use personal loans to cover many different expenses. Some of the most common uses for personal loans include:
- Unexpected expenses or emergencies
- Debt consolidation
- Home repairs or remodeling
- Dream vacations
- Weddings
Personal Loans and Lenders
If you’re looking for a personal installment loan in New Orleans, choosing a lender is the most crucial step. As you shop around, you’ll learn that personal loans are not a one size fits all solution. Your loan experience will heavily depend on the type of lender you choose—and their willingness to work with you.
Banks
The stability of bank loans gives customers various advantages, like low-interest rates and automatic installment payments drawn from your checking account. But, banks do not provide access to these personal loans to everyone. Many banks have seemingly endless piles of documents required for personal loans, and borrowers typically need good to excellent credit scores or a certain amount of money held in a bank account.
Credit Unions
Credit unions offer personal loans, in addition to other banking services, to their members. Personal loans rates at credit unions are comparable—and often competitive— to those found at a bank. However, credit unions members share professional affiliations (like a corporate credit union for employees) or labor unions (like teachers or steelworkers). If you don’t qualify for membership at a credit union, you cannot access their loan products or advantages.
Private lenders
Banks and credit unions are financial institutions that take many traditional approaches to personal loans. On the other hand, Private lenders set their own rules for personal loans and provide greater availability of bad credit loans. Additionally, many private loan companies operate across multiple states. Operating online, direct lenders make personal loans available to people struggling in parts of the country with fewer options. Standard lending practices like these allow private loan companies to create a Superdome-sized tent for all types of financial needs.
Personal Loans and Your Credit
Your credit score is a rating of your debt management skills. It rises and falls as a result of your financial moves. Good credit can get you some great rates on loans of any kind, including financing for big purchases. Conversely, bad credit makes your choices for lending solutions limited. And no matter what you choose, bad credit will stop you from getting easy-to-manage personal installment loans. But who decides what is good or bad credit? And where do credit scores come from?
Where Does Your Credit Score Come From?
Credit scores come from credit reports. Credit reports contain information about how you manage your debt. Your past and current lenders supply this information to companies called credit bureaus, who then compile these reports and calculate credit scores for every consumer. If you have ever purchased a car, rented an apartment, or applied for a credit card, there is a credit report on you. Your credit report covers these five elements of your financial behavior:
Payment History
Payment History shows lenders how often you make late payments to other creditors. Your proven ability to make regular payments is what matters most to lenders. For that reason, payment history is the most significant influencer of your credit score. Because payment history is essential, you can quickly raise your credit score by building a financial habit of paying your bills on time.
Credit Utilization
Let’s say you have a credit card with a max limit of $1200. At the end of the month, you have a balance of $600. You have used half of your available credit, so your credit utilization is 50%. High credit utilization shows that you are using credit but not repaying it regularly. Lenders are always looking for people who pay on their debt regularly. Keeping a utilization below 30% will stabilize your credit score for the better. Plus, it will keep most of your credit available when you need it.
Credit History
The age of your oldest active account is the start of your credit history. Credit history is an indicator of your experience with managing credit. So, the longer your history, the better. Are you thinking about paying off a credit card? Do it! But consider just cutting up your card instead of canceling the account. Every example of good credit management helps.
New Credit
New credit measures the number of hard inquiries into your credit. A hard inquiry is lenders’ action to review your credit with any credit bureaus. Multiple hard inquiries can tell a lender that you are regularly looking for credit. That’s a sign of possible financial distress, which isn’t an ideal trait for a borrower. When you apply for a line of credit or personal loan, be sure not to apply for too many other loans simultaneously.
Credit Mix
A good credit mix should show that you are skilled at managing different types of debt. A good credit mix would be having a mortgage and a credit card because you pay them differently. The credit mix has the least effect on your credit score.
Each major credit bureau (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion) creates a separate credit report for you. While score can vary across different bureaus, your credit score will range from 300-850:
300-579: Poor/Bad
580-669: Fair
670-739: Good
740-799: Very good
800-850: Excellent
Under federal law, each major credit bureau must give you access to your credit report every year. Regularly reviewing your credit report provides insight into your current rating and opportunities to dispute credit report errors. Even if you need to look for bad credit loans now, you can change your behavior to build a future with better credit.
The High Risk of Payday Loans
Payday loans are expensive, high-risk loans meant for borrowers who need cash to carry them from one paycheck to the next. Payday loan lenders market their products as loans that require no credit check and guaranteed approval within the same day. The laws that govern payday loans are different in every state that allows them, but on the whole, they are costly. These loans regularly come with high-interest rates and require full repayment within two weeks. Tight loan terms make it hard for people to pay them back by the end of the payday loan agreement. If you don’t finish repaying your loan, the balance becomes a new loan. Many people get payday loans for a quick money fix. But they soon discover how quickly debt can turn into financial nightmares.
Payday advance loans are widely used by millions of underbanked people every year. But their speed and accessibility can put you in a debt cycle that lasts for years. In New Orleans, personal loans from private lenders provide a better lending alternative. Private lenders can operate as quickly as a payday loan store. Many online personal loan companies also have minimum requirements and can deliver funds directly to your bank account if approved. However, personal loans have structured payments spread over many months. With a personal loan, you can get financial relief at payday loan speeds but pay it back with stable monthly payments you can work into your household budget.