How a personal loan can help you manage your outgoings
After the excesses of Christmas, many of us need to take stock of our finances in January. If you’ve got a couple or several loans to pay off each month, your financial outlook can feel daunting and scattered, and hard to manage or even out of control.
Debt consolidation can help you streamline your repayments into one tidy amount that’s easy to keep track of and manage your other outgoings around. It’s not always suitable for everyone, but it’s an option to explore if you’re feeling squeezed by the debt of more than one loan.
Why is debt consolidation helpful?
Debt consolidation can be a positive way to streamline some of your outgoings, giving you a fresh start, whether it’s the beginning of the year or any other time on the calendar.
Debt consolidation can give you:
- Fewer payments to make each month so your finances are easier to manage
- More control over your outgoings – by consolidating your payments, you’re less likely to be late or to miss a payment and incur charges
- A clear picture of when you’ll have the debt paid off, so you can plan ahead and feel positive about your progress
- A potentially lower interest rate
- A lower monthly payment, depending on the type of debts you have and the interest rates you’ve already got, although you’re likely to pay more overall in the long term
- A better credit score if you use it to pay off a credit card or a loan with a high interest rate, and if it means you’re able to pay on time every month
Is debt consolidation right for you?
Although there are many positives to debt consolidation, it isn’t right for everyone.
If your debts have spiralled and you’re struggling to pay them at all, debt consolidation isn’t the answer. You may be better off talking to an organisation like Step Change who provide free debt advice and specialist debt services.
Debt consolidation can also lead to more problems later on if you have a habit of overspending and buying more than you can afford. The single monthly payment can give you a false sense of security as it’s easier to manage, but if you then accrue more debt by overspending elsewhere, you could end up being even more stretched and owing lots more than you can manage.
How Great Western Credit Union can help you with debt consolidation
At Great Western Credit Union we offer a friendly, non-judgmental service and personal loans to consolidate your existing loans, helping get you on track to financial stability.
We won’t try to talk you into a loan or product that isn’t right for you, and we are always upfront and transparent about your interest rate and overall repayments. As a fair loan provider, our loans are more affordable than payday and doorstep lenders, and we’re competitive with many of the high street lenders too.
Your financial health is our priority, which is why we offer:
- No set up fees
- Affordable repayments to suit you, including a weekly option
- A single loan with a fixed interest rate, starting from 10.9% (use our loan calculator to see how much your repayments could be)
- No charge for repaying early, so you may find you can clear your debts faster and save money too
The first step is to complete an online application form where you can tell us how much you want to consolidate. One of our team will then get in touch to ask a few more questions so that we can make our lending decisions.
If debt consolidation is a good fit for you, we’ll organise your consolidation loan and arrange payment of your existing loans so you won’t need to contact anyone else.
To find out how much your repayments would be on a personal loan with us, use our loan calculator today. If you have any questions about borrowing with Great Western Credit Union please email our team on info@gwcu.org.uk and we’ll be happy to help.
