We have all borrowed money in times of need at least once in our lives. Though there are many sources from where people can borrow cash over a certain period of time, what if someone is in immediate need of cash? What about such consumers who need cash in an emergency and have no idea whom to turn to? If you are one of those people who is in an immediate need of some cash, here’s a list of possible sources that can help you keep the finances running.
Family & Friends
Though depending on the size of the amount you need, friends and family could be ranked either first or last. However, assuming you would need a not-so-huge amount of cash in an emergency, you could always turn to your friends and family and ask for a favor. However, if they fail to give you favor there are other kinds of loans you could ask for from different institutions.
Credit Card Loans
The most common and easily obtained loan could be through your credit card. Advances against your credit card can be used to fund your urgent needs. However, your credit card has an overdraft limit which, if you have reached, then you may not be able to withdraw more cash from your account. On the contrary, if you have not reached the overdraft limit yet, you can always use it to fund your projects or whichever work you need the money for. The advances loaned against credit card need be paid over a certain period of time and the more time you take to repay loaned money, the more interest keeps adding up.
Pawn Shops
Pawnshops are the third-fastest method of obtaining cash in an emergency. Pawnshops give you loans against the objects you keep with them as ‘pawn’. These items can consist of marketable valuables such as precious metals, power tools, coins, currency, and any other form of precious items.
Pawnbrokers do not ask for any kind of documentation, application or creditworthiness verification. They allow you to use your valuables as collateral while they loan you the desired amount. If you are able to pay back the loaned amount, you get your valuable item back. If not, the pawnbrokers may keep it for reselling. Pawnbrokers accept almost anything of resalable value. However, some of the fastest cash-generating collateral include smartphones, iPhone and iPad, all such electronic devices and not to forget – jewelry.
Online Lenders
Online lenders are the fourth fastest and trustworthy sources of getting yourself a loan. Though online lending may get you the loan faster than getting a loan from a bank, the average time it takes to get a loan approved by online lenders is a few minutes. Yes! Doesn’t that sound exciting? Online lenders can not only approve loans quite fast but they also release the amount into your account within 1-2 business days. However, you will need all the necessary documents ready at hand and fill out an application to file for the loan.
Another form of online lending is a peer to peer lending. Peer to peer lenders take approximately the same time as online lenders, however, some peers might take more time to review your application.
Personal Loans
The fifth-fastest option to get your cash refilled urgently on our list is a personal loan. If all other already mentioned sources fail to fund you, you could always approach a bank and file for a personal loan. However, keep in mind that getting a personal loan from a bank may take a few days or weeks before it is released into your account. Furthermore, you might need to prove your creditworthiness to the lending institution before they entrust you with the amount.
Apart from that, you must also keep an eye on the banks which provide personal loans because not all banks approve this kind of loan. This will help you save time in emergency needs and approach the right banks which do offer personal loans.
The perks of getting a personal loan from a known bank include relationship discounts on interest amount, loyalty discounts and a grace period before the interest is actually computed on the loaned amount. The only drawback of filing for this kind of loan with a bank that we could think of is the time taken for it to be released in contrast to the urgency of your need.
Credit Union Loans
The last on our list is the credit union loans. While some might argue that getting a personal loan from credit unions is a better option than getting from a bank, we have still ranked it beneath the later. Why? Because we have prepared this list keeping in mind the urgency of a customer. Credit unions take more time than a personal bank loan to approve the loan if the person applying for it is not already a member of their union. Moreover, to become a member of their union, there are certain criteria to be met otherwise the person does not qualify for their membership and thus loses their chances of getting a loan. Hence, it is not really a go-to option for any person in need for quick cash.
However, the merits of applying for a loan with credit unions include lower interest rates as compared to banks but then again, these benefits can only be availed if you are already a member of the union.
Conclusion
The types of loans mentioned in this article are organized in a minimum to maximum time-taking order for the loan to be approved and released to meet the needs of customers. There are no hard and fast rules otherwise to get your loan needs met. You can approach any kind of loan via any institute and skip any step if you like.
