Personal Loans as Part of Your Budget?

It Doesn't Make Cents

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-39:47

Personal Loans as Part of Your Budget?

Could a little personal debt be the key to greater convenience and smoother cash flow?

Sarah and Miranda

Jan 30, 2024

Transcript

Personal loan debt lags behind other types of debt, like car loans, credit cards, and mortgages, but Americans still owe more than $241 million in outstanding personal loan debt. That number has increased since the pandemic, when there was a dip in debt overall. We tend to think of all debt as “bad” but don’t really talk about how it can help you. And the fact that debt is actually morally neutral.

Plus, they’re becoming more popular; part of that could be their lower interest rates. The average personal loan rate is right around 11% to 12%, but you could get rates as low as 6% or 7%. Compare that to more than 20% APR for credit cards. This episode dives into personal loans and how they can be helpful for managing cash flow and how sometimes debt is a lifeline for some folks who need a leg up.

We cited information about debt, specifically student loans. Here’s where we got it:

Plus we also talked about rising prices and how a lot of those increases came from corporate price-gouging. You can read the report on Greedflation from Senator Bob Casey. Other coverage and reports on corporate profits and price increases:

Other information we cover includes layoffs and default rates. Here are some resources that demonstrate this:

Personal loans and financial concepts discussed in this episode

We have personal finance resources listed below that can better explain the concepts and terms we used in this episode:

Our recommended resources

We have a couple of recommended resources for this episode:

CFPB loan resource on understanding different types of loans
Calculator.net loan calculator to run the numbers

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Discussion about this podcast

It Doesn't Make Cents

Are you REALLY doing money wrong? Good news: you aren’t doomed to a lifetime of financial failure because you aren’t saving to buy a house, buy a TV with a credit card, or have student loan debt. Get away from all the “supposed-tos” and stop beating yourself up over perceived mistakes. Sarah Li-Cain, AFC® and Miranda Marquit, MBA, are ready to debunk prescriptive money rules and inject a little nuance into your financial life.

This season, we’re talking about the common misconception that debt is ALWAYS bad. We’ll dive into ALL THE THINGS. You don’t have to pay that mortgage off early. Go ahead and finance that car. We’ll also tackle the controversial aspects of debt. How much social debt are you carrying around? Are you really immoral if you have your student loan debt forgiven? We promise corny jokes alongside a whole lotta facts. We might even rant a little. Plus, we’ll show you how to use what you’ve learned to get your money to work best for YOU—no matter what some finance bro says.

Let’s talk about how money might not be what you think—and how you can use it to create the life you want.

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