Improving Your Chances to Get a Personal Loan with Fair Credit
A personal loan can be a helpful financial tool. You might get hit with a sudden, unexpected expense that your emergency fund simply can’t cover. In that case, you could look into a personal loan. However, it can be hard to secure a personal loan when you have a fair credit score (580 to 669). Hard, but not impossible. Here are some steps to take if you want to improve your chances of securing a loan with fair or average credit.
Do What You Can
The first thing you want to do when considering a loan with fair credit is to:
- Try to raise your score as much as possible.
- Check your credit reports for any inaccuracies that might be lowering your score.
- Report inaccuracies immediately.
- Add alternative data points — like timely rental payments — to your credit report. They can help boost your score a bit.
Set a Budget
Even with fair credit, lenders might offer you more money than you need. Set a budget for your loan before applying for one. Don’t take on more of a loan than you can handle responsibly.
Shop Around
Get at least three pre-approvals for personal loans before choosing one. Make sure you try credit unions banks, and online lenders. Take a look at each offer and pick the one that makes the most sense for you.
Do One Thing: Be sure to set a budget for a personal loan before applying for one.
Written by Chris O’Shea, SavvyMoney.
