Personal loans are a simple and easy way to borrow usually between '1000 and '25000 and can be a good way to finance the purchase of a car, holiday, home improvement or anything else that requires an up front lump sum payment. The main advantages of this type of finance is that the loan repayments are fixed at the outset so you have the certainty of knowing how much your repayments will be during the term of the loan. The other main advantage is that most personal loans are unsecured which is better for you as you cannot lose your house as you could with a secured loan.

The first thing to consider before you take out a personal loan is do you really have to borrow the money at all? If you have savings, you might consider dipping into them instead of taking out a personal loan as this would save you the interest on the personal loan which is nearly always costing you much more money than the interest you are earning on your savings. Of course if you think doing this will leave your savings a little short, then taking the personal loan may be better for you as you might feel more comfortable. Also as taking out a personal loan is a long term commitment, you should be absolutely sure that you can afford it and will always be able to make the repayments.

The second thing to consider is do you already have access to cheaper borrowing through your existing credit cards, overdraft facilities or perhaps borrowing from a close family member? You may find for instance that you can get a lower rate of borrowing by paying for your purchase with a credit card and then doing a balance transfer to another credit card of yours offering a lower interest rate that the personal loan you are considering.

The third thing you should consider is whether or not to take out payment protection insurance for your personal loan which covers your repayments if you get sick, have an accident, or made redundant. Payment protection insurance is generally speaking very expensive and sometimes can cost you more than the interest on the personal loan itself. Also when loan companies tell you the APR of the personal loan, it does not include the payment protection insurance cost so you will need to calculate it yourself if you want to know how much the true APR of your loan is taking into account the payment protection insurance. You have to decide for yourself whether it is worth the expensive price you pay for it. If you are self employed, then the value of the cover will be diminished as it will most probably not cover you for unemployment.