How can you enjoy the holidays when your financial health is frail?
Problem:
I lost my job during the recession. It left me financially crippled. I used my credit card for every single purchase and incurred a huge amount of debt. All my efforts to get out of the debt sea went into vain. I filed bankruptcy to resolve my debt issues. I received bankruptcy discharge nearly 2 years ago.
Currently, I am working at a small private firm. I am quite enjoying my new job and want to work here for some years. The only problem is the salary. It is not very high. Anyway, festive season has begun and I want to celebrate it with my friends and family members. However, I don’t have sufficient funds in my bank account to afford a luxurious party on Christmas or New Year’s Eve. I want to take out a personal loan. Will I be able to obtain it? Thanks.
Solution:
No one likes to have a frail financial health during the holidays. A weak financial health limits the purchasing power of an individual. This is why people having insufficient funds in their accounts are compelled to look out for ways to borrow money from anywhere.
If reports are to be believed, around 1.55 million people have filed bankruptcy in the year 2010 alone. This means that you’re not the single person who has filed bankruptcy. If you look around in your locality, then you’ll find that several people have filed bankruptcy at some point of time, and are going through a situation like yours.
Bankruptcy drops credit score by 200-250 points. This implies that you’ll find it very difficult to borrow money from someone. Lenders might not be willing to lend you money after looking at your credit report and score.
You have to do 2 things at the present moment. First of all, you’ll have to find out ways to increase your chances of getting money. Secondly, you need to find out how you can celebrate the holidays with small amount of cash.
You’ll have to take some steps to repair your credit. Lenders don’t feel confident about lending money to a person with poor credit score. Look at your credit report and find out if the credit reporting agencies have done their job accurately. A single error on the credit report can reduce your chances of getting credit.
Feel free to dispute the errors with the credit reporting agencies. The results will come out within 30-45 days. Unfortunately, Christmas or New Year will be arriving within a few weeks. So, I don’t feel that the corrected credit report will be of any help to you during the holidays.
One way to rebuild credit is through secured credit cards. However, you’ll have to pay some money to secure the credit card. So, it won’t be of much help you. However, you can apply for a store card which can be obtained at a low credit score. Use the card only to purchase the things you’ll really need during the holidays.
If you can’t obtain a store card too, then you’ll have to try out for a personal loan. Bankruptcy, lack of a decent credit score and collateral will make it hard for you to qualify for a loan.
You may come across the terms called “bad credit loans” and “payday loans” over the Internet. However, keep in mind that these loans come with high interest rates. You may get into debt troubles at the very beginning of the New Year. So, it is better to stay way from them.
Finally, you shouldn’t feel dejected if you’re not able to get any money from anywhere. You can enjoy the holidays by following a budget. Use a budget planner to plan your holiday budget. If your budget does not allow you to purchase costly gifts, then you can at least present some cards or gift homemade items to your relatives. If you can’t travel to your relative’s house, then at least you can chat with them through social networking websites. The best part is you don’t have to pay any money for this.
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