Tag: bad credit

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Career & Education Debt Education Financial Loans

Student Loans for Bad Credit

student loans for bad credit

When you are figuring out how you will be funding your education for the next several years, having bad credit can really impact your options. Federal student loans are a great option to start with, but they only go so far, and many still have a tuition gap to fill. If there is a concern with the credit history and score for the student applying, there are still some viable methods for getting the funding needed to get the education they are aiming for.

The federal loans do not require any credit history and they have a wide variety of flexible repayment options. However, borrowing limits are often too low for many state or private universities, and so there are still significant costs due from the student before term. Often private lenders will require student borrowers to have a credit score minimum of 690, which can exclude many potential students. Here are some tips for those with bad credit, or simply limited credit history:

1.   Always Start With Federal Loans

No matter what the credit condition of the applicant, they should always start with the FAFSA and federal student loan programs. This will also put the student through an eligibility check for additional funding sources such as grants and scholarships, as well as work-study programs. The interest rates of federal loans are often fixed and below 5%. One of the additional bonuses is the flexible repayment options, like income-based repayment.

2.   Do Everything You Can To Get A Co-Signer

This will dramatically improve the overall interest rates and terms of all loans that the student will qualify for, and will often allow them to qualify for additional loans their credit alone would not allow. The big caveat with this is that it is frequently difficult to find anyone other than perhaps a parent or grandparent to be your cosigner. This is because the cosigner will become responsible for the debt as well if the primary signer defaults.

3.   Compare The Basic Features And Interest

Many of the independent companies will have a wide variety of interest rates and terms that will largely be dependant on the applicant’s credit specifics. Providers such as Ascent have interest rates that range from below 7% to over 14% on fixed rates, and 5.8% to 12.9% on a variable, while other popular bad credit student loan providers A.M. Money Private Student Loan and MPOWER Private Student Loan both strictly offer fixed-rate loans only.

A.M. Money Private Student Loan, MPOWER Private Student Loan, and Funding U Private Student Loan are all providers that will be able to service loans for without requiring a minimum credit score. They offer a variety of fixed interest rates as well as terms for their student loans. They will each use slightly different criteria to gauge loan approval, such as GPA, and some students with special status like DACA. Limitations often include availability limited by state or by the school.

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Credit Financial Loans

Auto Loans for People With Bad Credit

auto loans for bad credit

We’ve all been there at one point or another: you need a new vehicle badly, but your credit history has not been looking the best these past few years. While that may have been a crippling issue just a decade ago, these days there are more and more options for getting auto loans to those with bad credit.

While there are sometimes bad credit loans available from popular lenders, there are some lenders that have specifically entered the market to help those with credit problems and limitations. The downside to these loan programs is that they often require higher interest rates and as a result, higher payments on the loans themselves. But there are still some great benefits to some of these lending programs, take a look:

New Roads Auto Loan

New Roads is a direct lending division of Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. Consumer Portfolio Services Inc. is a general finance company that offers indirect automobile financing to consumers with bad credit. They also can help consumers with low incomes or limited credit histories.

New Roads has loan programs for both new and used vehicles, refinancing, as well as lease buyout options. While they do not require a down payment, financing without one means you finance a larger amount. This can increase the amount you pay over the life of your loan.

They consider applications from consumers who still have a repossession or bankruptcy (open or closed) on their credit reports. They also make allowances for co-buyers as well. One downside is that New Roads is only available in 30 states, so depending on where you live, you may not have access to them.

Capital One Auto Finance

One of the biggest draws to Capital One, in addition to their willingness to work with less-than-stellar credit, is the ability to prequalify for a loan, before having them do a hard pull to confirm. As people trying to rebuild their credit know, a hard inquiry can affect your credit score if you have too many within too short of a time. With Capital One you can get a pre-qualification and can check the estimated terms and payments before deciding if you want to commit to a full application.

They offer loans for all types of vehicles both new and used, and they offer to refinance existing loans from other loan servicers as well. They have a minimum loan amount of $4,000, and the loans can only be used at a participating car dealership, though there are 12,000 of those. In order to apply and qualify, you will need to be 18, have an income of between $1,500 and $1,800 monthly, and live within the lower 48 states.

The maximum loan amount you will be approved for will depend heavily on your income, credit history, and other factors. However, when you are approved, you will be able to use the Auto Navigator tool to find your vehicle of choice.

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Credit Financial

Credit Cards for People With Bad Credit

credit cards for bad credit

Life can throw everyone an unexpected challenge from time to time. Sometimes those challenges lead to bad credit scores. So, does that mean that everyone with a score under 650 should resign themselves to forever paying cash for everything? Of course not.

Getting a credit card, using it responsibly, and establishing a solid payment history is one of the fastest ways to rebuild your credit. Rebuilding your creditworthiness is crucial because your credit score is used for far more than credit card approvals. Not working on your credit score can make it more difficult to rent an apartment, buy a house, and can even affect the types of jobs you are eligible for.

What Kinds of Cards Are Available for Bad Credit

While the specific score you have can impact what options you have, there are cards available for nearly every credit score.

Secured Cards

These cards are a temporary tool that helps you rebuild your credit. They don’t offer you any “perks,” but they are intentionally easy to get. Approval is not entirely guaranteed, and you do need to have verifiable income. Just be honest about your credit history, and the odds will be highly in your favor.

Why are they so easy to get? Because you have to put down a deposit before you can use it. This deposit protects the credit card company if something causes you to stop making your payments. Some companies ask for larger deposits than others, which can be intimidating. Many will let you split up your deposit over a month or two, making it is easier to afford.

Unsecured Cards

More traditional credit cards are “unsecured,” which just means that no deposit is necessary for the credit line. These unsecured cards are slightly harder to get approval for because there is more risk involved for the credit card company.

These unsecured credit cards often have much higher than typical interest rates (as much as 25% or higher). High interest doesn’t have to be a problem, though, so long as you pay the entire balance each month.

They also have one other major disadvantage. Most of these do charge some sort of annual fee. Depending on the card, that fee could be considerable, and over time you end up paying as much (or more) than the deposit on a secured card.

When to Consider a Card for Bad Credit

How do you know you need one of these cards? Take a look at your credit report before applying for any new credit. Many companies view any score below 670 as “bad credit.” If your score falls in the “fair” range (above 580), you will have few more options. No matter what your score is, you should be able to find something.

Use your credit report to see precisely what is on it, and take the time to make sure all of the information is accurate. Taking care of anything that shouldn’t be there will help you get the best card possible.

Credit cards for bad credit serve a beneficial role in the economy. Used wisely, they can help anyone fix their credit.

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Credit Financial

4 Best Unsecured Credit Cards for Bad Credit

credit cards for bad credit

You need a credit card.  You know your credit is not in the best shape but is anybody perfect? Maybe you’ve looked into getting one in the past only to be asked to pay an insane deposit for a “secured” card.  But are those the only type of credit cards you can get?

Of course not.  There are some great options for “regular” unsecured cards, even for those with bad credit.

The Best Credit Cards For Credit Scores Below 650

1.     Capital One Platinum Credit Cards

Why? It’s great for building credit.

This card is an excellent option for building credit because Capital One automatically reviews your account at six months.  As long as you make all of the payments “on time,” it is easy to get a higher credit limit.  You get an instant boost to your credit score so long as you don’t use too much of that higher limit. 

Also, Capital One is known for extra benefits. You’ll never have to buy that extended warranty on electronics.  The one downside is there is no cashback.

2.     Capital One Quicksilver One Cash Rewards Credit Cards

Why? This one gives you rewards.

It gives you unlimited 1.5% cashback on everything.  You can easily earn back the annual fee and more. You also get all of those other advantages Capital One offers.

Be aware that this one does have slightly higher credit standards than the others. It is an excellent choice if you have already started the journey back from “bad” credit.

3.    Petal 2 Visa Credit

Why? There are no fees.

Once your credit score drops, annual fees are usually automatic.  With Petal, there are no yearly fees.  What’s more impressive is that they don’t charge any other fees either. There are no late payment fees, over the spending limit fees, returned payments fees,  or any other fees. 

Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s interest-free, but if your trying to adjust to living with credit cards, this no fees policy is a huge benefit.

It also offers some cashback features.  You start with 1% back on all purchases and graduate to 1.5% once you’ve made 12 payments on time.  They even look at more than just the simple credit score for approval. This makes Petal perfect for those without credit or credit history.

4.     Deserve Pro Mastercard

Why? It has more rewards.

Not only does this card give you unlimited 1% cashback on your purchases, but it also offers bonus rewards categories.  You can earn 3% back on any travel purchases and 2% back on dining purchases.  Just remember that you can only get the bonus rewards for the first $500.

As you can see, unsecured credit card options do exist for those with bad credit scores.  These are far from the only four cards available for this range of credit scores.  Keep a careful eye on interest rates and annual fees anytime you are shopping for an unsecured card, regardless of your credit score.