We’ve all been there before — you go to pay your bills and realize your bank balance is much lower than you expected. Your rent payment is due soon, your car needs repair, and grocery shopping is just a few days away.
You could seriously use a small loan, but your credit (or lack thereof) is standing in the way.
Thankfully, there are many types of loans out there for borrowers with bad credit. Though, knowing which loan is right for you can be hard. This paradox of choice makes for an even more stressful and overwhelming experience when facing financial difficulties.
So, to make it easy, one of the best options among the many are personal installment loans. They are the most flexible and manageable way to borrow money online, hands down.
Unlike other high-interest loans, which can trap you in a cycle of debt, installment loans allow you to make payments over a set period, making it easier to budget and manage your finances.
In this article, we’ll help you understand installment loans, and empower you to make an informed decision for a better financial future.
What is an installment loan?
Even if you have never heard of an “installment loan” before, chances are you’re already familiar with how it works.
Essentially, the term installment loan can be used to describe any close-ended borrowing product, including personal loans and more.
With an installment loan, a borrower is given a set amount of money (directly deposited into their bank account) and is then expected to repay the amount in set installments over time.
How bad credit installment loans work
The installment loan process can be described in 5 steps: application, decision, agreement, disbursement, and repayment.
Step 1: Application
To begin, you must fill out an online application which will require your personal information like your name and phone number, your income from employment or other acceptable sources, and your banking information for the direct depositing of your funds.
Step 2: Decision
Next, lenders will review your application for several factors, which can (but won’t always) include your credit score and income. This will help them determine the amount you can afford to borrow and your interest rate. Once the review of your application is complete, you will receive a lending decision (typically within minutes of submitting your application).
Step 3: Agreement
Step 3 is a very important step. Once you're approved, you’ll need to sign a loan agreement. This agreement will outline when your payments are due, the amount you need to pay each month, and the term of your repayment.
⚠️ Be sure to read the agreement closely. Key things to review are the APR (interest rate), the finance charge (cost of your loan), your total number payments, and prepayment penalties.
Step 4: Disbursement
Once the loan agreement is signed, your lender will disburse your funds! Depending on the disbursement method you choose and the time you apply, you may receive your funds as soon as an hour or as late as 2 business days.
Step 5: Repayment
And lastly, the final step is to repay your loan according to the agreed-upon payment schedule. You’ll make your monthly payments as stated in your agreement and, by the end of the term, your loan will be paid-off — setting you free from all obligations to your lender.
How does an installment loan differ from a payday loan?
Installment loans
- Borrow up to $3,000
- Paid back in monthly installments
- Average interest rate of 175%
- Requires a credit check
Payday loans
- Borrow up to $1,200
- Paid back on next payday
- Average interest rate of 450%
- No credit check required
Payday loans are another popular loan option for financial emergencies, though there are several notable differences between an installment loan and a payday loan.
The biggest difference is that while payday loans are (usually) paid back in one lump sum, installment loans are paid back in multiple, smaller payments over time.
Payday loans are designed to “bridge the gap” before your next payday for smaller expenses, but they bear much higher interest rates than installment loans.
In contrast, installment loans are usually issued for much larger amounts, have lower interest rates and longer repayment periods, and can be used for a wider variety of purposes.
How does an installment loan differ from a title loan?
Installment loans
- Borrow up to $3,000
- Paid back in monthly installments
- Average interest rate of 175%
- Requires a credit check
- No collateral required
Title loans
- Borrow up to $25,000
- Paid back in 30 days
- Average interest rate of 300%
- No credit check required
- Collateral required (car title)
A title loan is a type of collateral loan, meaning that the loan is secured with a physical asset. In this case, the “physical asset” is the title of your car.
This means that if you don’t make your payments (you’ll receive a warning first), the lender can legally claim ownership of your vehicle.
Personal installment loans, on the other hand, are not secured by collateral.
Weighing the benefits and risks of installment loans
Pros
- Manageable monthly payments
- Lower APR (interest rate) compared to other bad credit loans
- Easy access to medium-sized loans ($200 - $3,000)
Cons
- You’ll pay more in finance charges due to the extended term of the loan
- Defaulting on your loan or missing a payment may affect your credit score
The benefits of installment loans: manageable payments at an affordable rate
There are quite a few benefits of securing an installment loan.
An installment loan is one of the most straightforward ways to secure up to $3,000 in a short amount of time with bad credit.
This can help you cover common financial emergencies such as car repair, home repair, and medical emergencies.
Additionally, many borrowers find the term of an installment loan to be quite desirable — especially when compared to other bad credit loans, such as title loans, and payday loans.
For example, the average interest rate of an installment loan is 175% — that’s 275% lower than the average interest rate of a payday loan, which is 450%.
To put that into perspective, if you took out a $500 loan with a 6-month repayment term, you would save $536.52 on finance charges with an installment loan compared to a payday loan — the equivalent of what you borrowed to begin with!
Low interest rates and easy access to emergency cash are just some of the many benefits of installment loans.
The risks of installment loans: extended loan terms that lead to high finance charges
While personal installment loans are a better alternative to other bad credit loans, they do come with some risks.
One of the main risks is the potential for high interest rates. Even at an average APR of 175%, the interest rate of installment loans is much higher than a traditional personal loan.
When you couple high interest rates and the ability to extend loan terms to 36 months, you have a recipe for disaster as the finance charges can amount up to 4 times the principal.
Even worse, your lender may have the right to charge you late fees and additional interest — increasing the likelihood of you defaulting on your loan.
If you miss a payment or default on your loan, your lender will likely report your delinquency to the credit agencies, which will further damage your credit score.
Applying for installment loans online
Applying for an installment loan is like applying for any other type of short-term loan.
Lenders will usually be interested in your credit score, your job, your general financial situation (assets, accounts, etc.), and more.
However, contrary to popular belief, you don’t always need to have a great credit score to secure an installment loan. But, if you do have a less-than-perfect credit score, you will probably end up paying a higher interest rate.
In any case, applying for a personal installment loan is easy and will typically take just a few minutes.
The bottom line: Is an installment loan right for me?
Whether an installment loan is right for you will depend on several factors, including the amount of money you need, what you need it for, and your current financial situation.
However, if you’re in the market for a bad credit loan, an installment loan will most likely be your best bet for a fair and manageable loan with the highest chance of financial success.