Usually, when purchasing home appliances people resort to credit cards because it is the most comfortable source of financing and is always in hand. However, due to the high prices of some domestic devices, resorting to cheaper sources of funds like personal loans is not a bad idea and can save you a lot of money.
Personal loans beat credit cards not only on the interest rate and thus the cost of the money borrowed, but also on the consequences that such high amount purchases have and may go unnoticed. How your credit and financial situation is affected by such purchases should not be overlooked as it may turn out too onerous.
Interest Rate On Personal Loans And Credit Cards
The interest rate charged on credit cards can easily double the rate charged for personal loans. It is amazing how abusive the rates charged by credit cards and store cards can be and almost nobody notices it. Truth is that a credit card or store card can charge an interest rate as high as 20% or even more turning financing the purchase of home appliances into an extremely expensive burden.
As opposed to credit cards, personal loans provide inexpensive sources of funds. Even unsecured personal loans can provide interest rates as low as half the rate charged by credit cards. And secured personal loans (mainly those based on home equity) can provide rates even lower than those of unsecured loans, thus becoming the cheapest sources of funds along with home loans.
Moreover, even those borrowers with bad credit, no credit or a past bankruptcy can obtain finance through bad credit personal loans and the interest rates will still be lower than the rates charged for credit card financing. Thus, if you are planning to purchase goods of certain high value, you should always consider the possibility of requesting a personal loan in order to do so.
Credit Card Debt Accumulation and Debt Risks
Another problem that credit cards have compared to personal loans is that it is too easy to accumulate debt with credit cards. Since there is only a minimum payment on credit card balances, it is very common to feel tempted not to pay the balance in full and only pay the minimum which usually consists on interests only.
This leads to debt being accumulated through a vicious circle and can eventually result in default or even bankruptcy on the long run which will have serious implications on your credit score and history and can prevent you from obtaining finance in the future. Thus, it is advisable never to pay only the minimum payments on your credit cards.
Personal loans on the other hand, provide fixed monthly payments that can easily be budgeted so you will not have problems planning for repayment. The debt gets reduced every month and there is no risk of accumulation. That’s the reason why in terms of debt repayment, and the risks associated with debt accumulation, it is always better to finance through personal loans than with credit cards. Besides, the timely payments on your loan get recorded into your credit history as positive input and thus, your credit score improves every month.