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Using a Moving Company: FAQs We’ve Got You Covered On

Using a Moving Company: FAQs We’ve Got You Covered on

Moving to a new home is an exciting yet stressful endeavor. A lot of different factors go into a move, and it can be difficult to keep everything straight. A major question that we find comes up a lot: should I use a moving company? And with that question, many other questions can come up. How much will it cost? Do they pack my things? The list goes on. We’ve broken things down for you below, and have tackled some major questions that could come up when deciding to use a moving company. The key to a stress-free move is being prepared, and we are here to help you with that. 

 

How much should you tip the movers?

We know, paying for a moving company is expensive enough as it is, and to throw a tip on top of it all may feel like you’re breaking the bank. That being said, your movers are working very hard to make sure your items get from point A to point B safely, so tips are much appreciated. The amount you should tip is up to you based on your experience, the service you received, and the complexity of your move. A good rule of thumb to follow is to tip anywhere between 5-10% of the total cost, which will then be split amongst the moving team. If you are feeling tight on money, providing water, snacks, or meals for your movers is another great way to show your gratitude during the move.

Do movers cost more on weekends?

Peak times for moving include the weekends, summer, holidays, and both the first and last few days of the month. Because of the high demand during these times, you can expect the rates to be higher. Regardless of the time of year, moving during the week will always be the more affordable option. While this isn’t always the most convenient option for everyone, scheduling a mid-week move will definitely save you some cash.

When is the best time to move?

May through September, the beginning and end of the month, and weekends are the most popular times people choose to move. If you can be flexible with your move, choosing any off times will not only be cost-effective, but your movers will be considerably less busy and therefore, more attentive. Choosing the best date and time for your move will make things a lot easier and a lot less stressful when the day finally comes.

Is it worth having movers pack my things?

This really depends. Do you have a lot of large or hard to move items or a lot of breakable items? Do you have a lot of friends or family help you pack? If you are confident that you can handle the packing on your own, or have plenty of people to help you with it, it may not be worth having the extra money to have the movers pack your things. That being said, if you can afford the splurge, we do think it is worth it. There are a lot of factors that go into moving, and a million things to worry about on moving day. Having someone else handle the packing for you is a huge stress relief, and well worth it in our opinion.

How do I make my move cost less?

In our opinion, planning your move as far in advance as you can be the best way to cut down on costs. As we just mentioned, choosing your move date wisely will be a huge help in terms of cost savings. October through March are your best bet for lower costs. Opting out of having your moving crew pack everything up for you is another great way to cut costs as well. Grab a few friends and pack up your place together rather than paying someone else to do it for you. Another tip: don’t pay for boxes. While one box seems cheap, it adds up when you have a whole home to move out of. We like to head to our local liquor store to load up on boxes when we are getting ready for a move.

Do I need insurance while my belongings are being moved? 

Insurance is a great thing to consider having for your belongings while they are being moved, especially if you are moving far. Established moving companies will typically offer liability insurance for an additional fee, and there are typically different levels to choose from. Another important thing to note: if you have homeowner’s insurance, it may cover any damage to your belongings in the event that something happens. While paying for insurance may feel like an additional unnecessary cost, it is worth it for the peace of mind.

What if they charge me more than the quote?

We’ve said it already, and we will say it again. Moving can get very pricey. Make sure you are paying attention each step of the way when utilizing a moving company. If moving companies offer you quotes, make sure they are firm. On top of that, make sure you are asking the right questions when you are examining the costs behind your moving company. Are there any additional fees that may be added on to this quote? What about cancellation fees? How much more will it cost if things take longer than expected? These are all important things to know and address at the beginning to avoid being charged more than you are expecting.

Read Using a Moving Company: FAQs We’ve Got You Covered On on Apartminty.

Source: blog.apartminty.com

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Mint Money Audit: Managing Money When You Make Enough

Anna’s email requesting help with her finances began with a unique confession.

“Farnoosh, my money problem garners little sympathy,” the 32-year-old wrote. “My issue is that I make too much of it.”

Now, THIS is interesting, I thought. I immediately followed up with many questions.

Here’s what I learned through our conversation:

The Denver-based Mint user earns $220,000 per year as an engineer. Anna’s also benefited from years of big bonuses and her net worth, not including her home equity, is close to a million dollars.

After paying taxes and health benefits and maxing out her 401(k), Anna takes home between $8,000 and $10,000 each month. Her expenses mainly consist of a $1,200 mortgage payment, car insurance, gas, food and utilities, amounting to maybe a few thousand dollars per month.

The rest either goes into savings where she stashes about $5,000 to $10,000 for unexpected expenses or into a brokerage account where she has roughly $800,000 invested. A wealth management firm manages that portfolio and charges, she says, an annual 1% fee.

Anna has no consumer debt, besides her mortgage, which amounts to about $338,000. It’s a 30-year fixed rate loan with a 2.85% interest rate. The home has appreciated in recent years with about $100,000 in equity (including Anna’s initial 20% down payment).

So, what is the problem, exactly?

“My big worry is that I don’t have the habits to manage money well,” Anna told me. Her sizeable bank balance has her feeling financially free, although she worries about getting carried away with spending sometimes.

“When I see money in my bank account I rationalize that ‘yea, that vacation is doable. I don’t hold back on the things that may seem frivolous,’” she says. But It seems she wants more financial grounding and to be able to evaluate expenditures and price tags more critically.

Anna’s situation may be unique, but I think relatable in the sense that we all would like to feel more thoughtful with how we spend, save and invest. And while some may do well with earning money, it should not be assumed that they can also manage that money well.

I applaud Anna for wanting to be sure that, even with an impressive net worth, she is actually making wise financial decisions.

Here’s my advice.

Take a Deep Breath

No need to panic when spending on things and experiences that you enjoy. From what I can tell Anna’s prioritizing the serious financial stuff first like contributing the max to her 401(k) and saving all of her annual bonuses in a brokerage account. She has no credit card debt and pays all her bills on time. That’s terrific.

Sometimes we just want to hear that we’re on the right track with our money and I have a very simple way to measure this:

If you manage each paycheck by saving, investing and paying all your bills first, then by all means, you’re entitled to have fun with whatever is left without any fear or regret. Am I right?

If you’ve done the good work of taking care of your future with your money, then don’t hesitate treating yourself and others with the remaining funds today. Splurge away and enjoy your hard-earned money. And remember to enjoy the moment.

Ditch Your Money Managers

I do think Anna could find a better home for her investments.

Paying one percent of her managed assets to this firm may not seem that high of an annual fee. But when you think about Anna’s balance of $800,000, that’s $8,000 this year. What about next year and the decades after that as she contributes more to the account? That fee, compounded over the next 30 years, will amount to – conservatively – over one million dollars. Ouch.

That doesn’t even factor in the expense ratios for each mutual fund that’s in her portfolio.

If all Anna seeks is investment assistance, she may be better suited stationing her money with an automated wealth platform or robo-advisor where her money is largely invested in low-fee index funds or exchange-traded funds (ETF) and the portfolio management fee is typically 0.50% or less.

Of course, breaking up with your financial advisor is not always so simple. It’s especially hard for Anna, as she equated her money managers to “father figures.”

If I were Anna, I would just explain to my advisors over email something like, “I want be more conservative with my money and that includes being extra mindful of the various fees that I’m paying. To that end, I’ve decided to manage my money more independently. I’m sure you can understand. I appreciate your help over the years. Please let me know next steps.”

Planners know the drill and are used to having clients end relationships.  Stay strong. Nobody can really argue with the fact that saving money is a good thing!

Establish Short and Long Term Goals

Anna wants to spend and save with more conviction. I think having some concrete, tangible goals can help.

For example, she shared that she’d like to get married, have a family and own two homes – one near her office downtown and another in the mountains as a getaway.

So, the next step is to understand what these goals cost. What are, say, the going prices on a vacation home in her state? How much might she want to stash in a separate account for the future down payment on this property? Knowing the underlying costs of her goals can better direct how much to spend elsewhere.

Next time she’s planning a vacation, she may be more inclined to price compare or hunt down better deals, as opposed to just judge whether the trip is financially “doable” by the amount of money in her bank account. Now she’ll have the image of that second home and its costs and will make a more informed choice.

Contribute to a Cause

Last but not least, when you feel you make more than enough, like Anna does, this is a great opportunity to be extra charitable. If she’s seeking a way to give her money more meaning and feel purposeful in her financial life, this is a truly wonderful way to go about it. Discover a cause that you’re passionate about and make an impact as a volunteer and donor.

Have a question for Farnoosh? You can submit your questions via Twitter @Farnoosh, Facebook or email at farnoosh@farnoosh.tv (please note “Mint Blog” in the subject line).

Farnoosh Torabi is America’s leading personal finance authority hooked on helping Americans live their richest, happiest lives. From her early days reporting for Money Magazine to now hosting a primetime series on CNBC and writing monthly for O, The Oprah Magazine, she’s become our favorite go-to money expert and friend.

The post Mint Money Audit: Managing Money When You Make Enough appeared first on MintLife Blog.

Source: mint.intuit.com

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How to Teach Your Teen to Budget Like a Pro

It amazes us how quickly our girls are growing up. Next month when school starts up again, we’ll have a fourth-grader and a kindergartener.

Even though we have some time before they are ready to move out of the house, we want to spend time now prepare them for the big transition. As a parent, you probably feel the same way too. 

One crucial piece of a financial foundation kids and in particular, teens, need to master is learning to budget (and sticking with it),

While they’re home now, you have a fantastic opportunity to get them comfortable with handling their money.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are some tips from fellow parents and experts in the personal finance space to make teaching this life skill a bit easier less stressful for you and your teen!

Teach Your Teen to Budget for Real Life

Teens or not, whenever most people hear the word budget, they also hear the word ‘no’. To them, budgets feel like a strict diet. Just as fad diets fail, an unrealistic or extreme budget will more than likely discourage your teen and they will quit.

The first step before you even talk about the numbers is to discuss exactly what a successful and sustainable budget should be. When done right, a budget is something that helps you move your money towards your goals. Explain to them that at its root, budget is simply a plan about what they’d like to do.

You want a budget that can cover:

  •     Essential bills
  •     Future goals
  •     Discretionary expenses

When your teen’s budget covers those goals, they’re not only putting their finances in a good spot, but they’re moving closer to their specific long term dreams.

Creating a Doable Budget (They’ll Actually Enjoy!)

Once your teen(s) understands how a budget works, it’s important for them to create a budget that they can use in the real world. You can honestly budget however you want, but an easy budget to get your teen started is the 50/20/30.

Quite simplify, the 50/20/30 budget puts money into those three main buckets:

  •     50%  goes towards essentials
  •     20% towards savings (or investing)
  •     30% for fun and discretionary expenses

I appreciate how easy and flexible this budget can be. You can adjust the percentages for your teen’s needs, but it gives them some ballpark idea of how to portion their finances when they are out on their own.

How do you start them out on this budget?

With teens, you may have expenses like clothing or their cellphone bill count as essentials, or you may want to give your child the experience of being responsible for a small, shared family bill while they are still at home.

For older teens, you could even charge them a nominal ‘rent’ to offset their portion of the bills. In some cases, parents give that money back to their child as a gift to help with moving expenses (like for their security deposit) or use as additional savings. 

However you decide, talk it over so your teen understands why you’re doing it this way.

Share Your Family Budget

Creating a budget isn’t complicated, but it can difficult if your teen has no idea what to expect. Knowledge can be empowering.

While we may take it for granted since have to deal with the numbers, but your teen may not be aware of how much it takes to keep the lights on and roof over their heads. If you haven’t already shared your own budget already, now is the time.

Not knowing also puts them at a disadvantage when they start searching for a place or are comparing prices on expenses. Being armed with the numbers makes your teenager a more informed consumer.

When Your Teen Breaks Their Budget

Will there be times where your teenager will mess up with their budget? Probably so. However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As parents, we tend to want to protect our kids, but we also have to prepare them for the real world. As Ron Lieber, author of The Opposite of Spoiled, pointed out we should let our kids make financial mistakes. 

Wouldn’t it be better for your child to break the clothing budget while they’re still at home allowing you to help guide them through rather than having break their monthly budget while they are on their own and have bills to pay?

Mistakes will happen, they’re a part of life so giving your teen time to work those them and adjust their budget is a blessing for their future selves.

Essential Accounts for Your Teen  to Have

Since we’re talking about budgets, we should also mention some essential accounts you’d want your kid to have so they can practice managing their money.

Opening up student checking and savings accounts (usually free low on fees as well as not having minimum balance requirements) are good foundational accounts for your teen. They can deal with real-world situations pending charges, automatic transfers, and direct deposits.

As Family Balance Sheet founder Kristia Ludwick pointed out, teens should have the skill of balancing a checkbook even if they decide to go all-digital with their banking.

If they work, talk it over together and see if they can open up an IRA and start contributing. It doesn’t have to be much. The idea is to get them familiar and comfortable with the basics of investing.

Even if they put in $25 a paycheck, having them practice setting aside money in their budget for both long and short term goals is an invaluable lesson. You can also encourage them to contribute by offering a match for what they put in.

How Teens Can Easily Stay on Top of Their Money

With several accounts to keep tabs on, your teen is going to need an easy system to track their budget and goals.

With Mint, they can link up their accounts in one secure spot. They can also add their budget along with any savings goals they want to hit and make sure they stick with them.

Hopefully, these ideas and tips will make it easier to help your teen transition into a self-sufficient adult.

The post How to Teach Your Teen to Budget Like a Pro appeared first on MintLife Blog.

Source: mint.intuit.com

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What Are the Best Car Loans When You Have Bad Credit?

If you have bad credit and need a car loan, there are some challenges when compared to obtaining a standard car loan. However, pick your head up because there are a handful of great lenders that specifically tailor their programs to people with bad credit. We researched the landscape of lenders that can help you get a car loan even if you have a below-average credit score.

Based on our study, OneMain Financial and LightStream are two of the top lenders offering bad credit card loans. This is due to factors including loan options, requirements to qualify, and interest rates offered. Of course, we offer in-depth reviews of all the top lenders who offer bad credit car loans further down in this piece.

Apply now with our top pick: OneMain Financial

In this guide we also help you understand the factors that go into selecting the right auto lender, and how to get the best rate you can.

Most Important Factors for Bad Credit Car Loans

If you’re in the market for a bad credit car loan, there are a plethora of factors to consider and compare. Here are the main loan details we looked at in our study, and the ones you should prioritize as you select the best car loan for your needs.

  • Check your credit score. And understand what is in your credit report.
  • FICO scores under 579 is considered ‘poor’. But you may need a bad credit loan with a score as high as 669.
  • Interest rates and fees matter. These can make a huge difference in how much you pay for an auto loan each month.
  • Compare loan terms. Consider your repayment timeline and compare lenders with this in mind.
  • Getting prequalified online can help. Some lenders, including ones that made our ranking, let you get prequalified for a loan online without a hard inquiry on your credit report.
  • Watch out for loan restrictions. Some lenders impose restrictions on what car you can purchase. Keep this in mind to avoid unpleasant surprises later.

The Best Bad Credit Car Loans of 2021

The best bad credit car loans make it easy for consumers to qualify for the financing they need. The following lenders made our list due to their superior loan offerings, excellent customer service, and reputation in this industry.

Car Loan Company Best For… Get Started
onemain financial bad credit car loan Best for Flexibility Apply Now
bad credit car loan upgrade Best Personal Loan Option Apply Now
autocreditexpress logo Best Loan for Bad Credit and No Credit Apply Now
myautoloan bad credit car loan logo Best Loan Comparison Site Apply Now
capitalone logo Best Big Bank Loan for Bad Credit Apply Now
lightstream logo Best for Fast Funding Apply Now

Why Some Lenders Didn’t Make the Cut

While the lenders we are profiling are the best of the best, there are plenty of bad credit car loans that didn’t quite make the cut. We didn’t include any lenders that only offer auto loan refinancing, for example, since we know many people need a car loan in order to purchase a new or used car or truck. We also stayed away from bad credit car loans that charge outrageous fees for consumers with the lowest credit scores.

Bad Credit Auto Loan Reviews

We listed the top companies we selected in our study above, but we also aim to provide readers with more insights and details on each. The reviews below highlight the highlights of each lender that made our list, plus our take on who they might be best for.

OneMain Financial: Best for Flexibility

OneMain Financial offers personal loans and auto loans with interest rates that range from 18.00% to 35.99%. You can repay your auto loan in 24, 36, 48, or 60 months, and you can use this lender to borrow up to $20,000 for a new or used car. You can apply for your auto loan online and from the comfort of your own home, and it’s possible to get approved within a matter of minutes.

While OneMain Financial doesn’t list a minimum credit score requirement, it’s believed they will approve consumers with scores as low as 600. You should also note that auto loans from OneMain Financial come with an origination fee of up to 5% of your loan amount.

Sign Up With OneMain Financial Today

Why This Lender Made Our List: OneMain Financial offers a lot of flexibility in terms of your loan terms, including the option to repay your auto loan over five years. OneMain Financial also has pretty decent reviews from users for a bad credit lender, and they have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Potential Downsides to Be Aware Of: OneMain Financial charges some pretty high rates for its bad credit loans, and don’t forget that you may need to pay an origination fee that is up to 5% of your loan amount. Their loans are also capped at $20,000, which means this lender won’t work for everyone.

Who It’s Best For: This lender is best for consumers with really poor credit who need auto financing but can’t get approved for a better loan.

Upgrade: Best Personal Loan Option

Upgrade is an online lender that offers personal loans with fixed interest rates, fixed monthly payments, and a fixed repayment timeline. You can borrow up to $50,000 in an unsecured loan, which means you won’t actually use the car you purchase as collateral for the loan.

You can repay the money you borrow over 36 to 60 months, which makes it possible for you to tweak your loan offer to secure a monthly payment you can afford. Upgrade has a minimum credit score requirement of 620 to qualify, although they’ll consider additional factors such as your income and employment history.

Sign Up With Upgrade Today

Why This Lender Made Our List: Upgrade lets you “check your rate” online without a hard inquiry on your credit report. This makes it easy to shop around and compare this loan offer to others without having to fill out a full loan application. Also note that Upgrade has an A+ rating with the BBB.

Potential Downsides to Be Aware Of: Upgrade charges APRs as high as 35.89% for consumers with the worst credit, and an origination fee of up to 6% of your loan amount might also apply.

Who It’s Best For: Upgrade is best for consumers with decent credit who need to borrow a larger loan amount. This loan is also best for anyone who wants an auto loan that isn’t secured by their vehicle.

AutoCreditExpress.com: Best Loan for Bad Credit and No Credit

AutoCreditExpress.com is an online platform that lets consumers with bad credit and even no credit get the financing they need. Once you fill out some basic loan information, you’ll be connected with a lender who can offer you financing as well as a dealership in your area. From there, you’ll head to the local dealership and pull the pieces of your auto loan together, including the purchase price of the car you want.

Sign Up With Autocreditexpress.com Today

Why This Lender Made Our List: AutoCreditExpress.com has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. This platform also makes it possible for consumers with no credit at all to finance a car, which is a welcome relief for people who are building credit for the first time.

Potential Downsides to Be Aware Of: This website is a loan platform but they don’t offer loans directly to consumers. This means you won’t have any idea on rates and terms until you fill out an application and get connected with a lender.

Who It’s Best For: This loan is best for consumers with no credit or minimal credit history who cannot get approved for a loan elsewhere.

MyAutoLoan.com: Best Loan Comparison Site

MyAutoLoan.com is a loan comparison site that makes it easy to compare up to four auto loan offers in a matter of minutes. You can use this website to apply for a new auto loan, but you can also utilize it to consider refinancing offers for an auto loan you already have. You can also use funds from this platform to purchase a car from a dealer or from a private seller.

Sign Up With MyAutoLoan.com Today

Why This Lender Made Our List: Comparing auto loans in terms of their terms, rates, and fees is the best way to save money and wind up with the best deal. Since MyAutoLoan.com is a loan comparison site, they make it easy to shop around and compare competing offers.

Potential Downsides to Be Aware Of: Loan comparison sites connect you with other lenders who have their own loan terms and minimum requirements for approval. Make sure you know and understand all the details of loans you’re considering before you sign on the dotted line.

Who It’s Best For: MyAutoLoan.com is best for consumers who want to do all their auto loan shopping with a single website.

Capital One: Best Big Bank Loan for Bad Credit

Capital One offers online auto loan financing in conjunction with a program called Auto Navigator®. This program lets you get prequalified for an auto loan online, then work with a participating dealer to coordinate a loan for the car you want. Capital One also lets you search available vehicles at participating dealerships before you apply for financing, making it easy to figure out how much you might need to borrow ahead of time.

Sign Up With Capital One Today

Why This Lender Made Our List: Capital One offers the huge benefit of letting you get prequalified online without a hard inquiry to your credit report. Capital One is also a reputable bank with a long history, which should give borrowers some comfort. They have an A+ rating with the BBB and plenty of decent reviews from consumers.

Potential Downsides to Be Aware Of: You should be aware that Capital One auto loans only work at participating dealers, so you may be limited in terms of available cars to choose from.

Who It’s Best For: Capital One auto loans are best for consumers who find a car they want to buy at one of the participating lenders that works with this program.

LightStream: Best for Fast Funding

LightStream offers online loans for a variety of purposes, including auto financing. Their auto loans for consumers with excellent credit start at just 3.99% with autopay, and even their loans for consumers with lower credit scores only run as high as 16.79% with autopay.

You can apply for your LightStream loan online and get approved in a matter of minutes. This lender can also send your funds as soon as the same business day you apply.

A minimum credit score of 660 is required for loan approval, although other factors like your work history and income are considered.

Sign Up With LightStream Today

Why This Lender Made Our List: LightStream offers auto loans with exceptional terms, and that’s even true for consumers with less than perfect credit. You can also get your loan funded as soon as the same business day you apply, which is crucial if you need auto financing so you can get back on the road.

Potential Downsides to Be Aware Of: With a minimum credit score requirement of 660, these loans won’t work for consumers with the lowest credit scores.

Who It’s Best For: LightStream is best for people with decent credit who need to get auto loan financing as quickly as possible.

What You Need To Know When Applying For A Car Loan With Bad Credit

Interest rates and fees matter.

If you think your interest rate and loan fees won’t make a big difference in your monthly payment, think again. The reality is that rates and fees can make a huge difference in how much you pay for an auto loan each month. Consider this: A $10,000 loan with an APR of 35.89% will require you to pay $361 per month for five years. The same loan amount at 21.99% APR will only set you back $276 per month. At 9.99%, you would pay only $212 per month for five years. The bottom line: Make sure to compare auto loans for bad credit so you wind up with the lowest possible APR you can qualify for.

Take steps to improve your credit score before you apply.

It’s not always possible to wait to apply for a car loan, but you may be able to secure a lower interest rate and better loan terms if you can improve your credit score before you borrow money. The most important steps you can take to improve your score include paying all your bills early or on time, as well as paying down debt in order to decrease your credit utilization. You should also refrain from opening or closing too many credit card accounts in order to avoid new inquiries on your credit report and maintain the longest average length of your credit history possible.

Compare loan terms.

Some lenders let you borrow money for up to 84 months, while others let you repay your loan over 36 or 60 months at most. If you need to repay your loan over a longer timeline in order to secure an affordable monthly payment, make sure to compare lenders based on this factor. If you’re having trouble figuring out how much can you can afford, gauging affordability based on the monthly payments you can handle can also help in that effort.

Getting prequalified online can help.

Some lenders, including ones that made our ranking, let you get prequalified for a loan online without a hard inquiry on your credit report. This makes it considerably easier to compare rates and shop around without formally applying for an auto loan. Getting prequalified with more than one lender can also help you determine which one might offer the lowest rate without having to fill out a full loan application.

Watch out for loan restrictions.

As you compare the lenders on this list, keep in mind that not all lenders extend loans for any car you want. Some only let you finance cars with participating lenders in their network, which can drastically limit your options and make it impossible to purchase a car from a private seller. If you hope to purchase a car from someone you know or a website like craigslist.org, you may want to consider reaching out to your personal bank or a credit union you have a relationship with.

Bad credit car loans don’t have to be forever.

Finally, you should know that a car loan for bad credit doesn’t have to last forever. You may need to borrow money for a car right now regardless of the interest rate and terms you can qualify for, but it may be possible to refinance your loan into a better loan product later on. This is especially true if you focus on improving your credit score right away, and if you use your auto loan as an opportunity to prove your creditworthiness.

How to Get the Best Rate

1. Check your credit score.

Your credit score is one of the most important defining factors that dictate loan costs. Before you apply for an auto loan, it can help you check your credit score to see where you stand. Your score may not be as bad as you realize, but it could also be worse than you ever imagined. Either way, it helps to know this important information before you start shopping for an auto loan.

2. Improve your credit over time.

If your credit score needs work, you’ll want to take steps to start improving it right away. The most important steps you can take to boost your credit score include paying all your bills early or on time and paying down debt to decrease your credit utilization. Also, make sure you’re not opening or closing too many credit accounts within a short amount of time.

3. Check your credit reports.

Use the website AnnualCreditReport.com to get a free copy of your credit reports from all three credit bureaus. Once you have this information, check over your credit reports for errors. If you find false information that might be hurting your score, take the steps to have the incorrect information removed.

4. Compare loan offers from at least three lenders.

A crucial step to get the best rate involves shopping around and comparing loan offers from at least three different lenders. This is important since lenders with different criteria might offer a lower APR or better terms than others.

5. Be flexible with repayment terms.

Also consider a few different loan terms provided you can afford the monthly payment with each. Some auto lenders offer better rates for shorter terms, which can help you save money if you can afford to repay your loan over 24 or 36 months instead of 60+.

How We Chose the Best Auto Loans

The lenders on our list weren’t plucked out of thin air. In fact, the team behind this guide spent hours comparing auto lenders based on a wide range of criteria. Here’s everything we considered when comparing the best bad credit car loans of 2021:

Interest Rates and Loan Terms: Our team looked for loans that offer reasonable rates and terms for consumers with poor credit. While higher APRs are typically charged to consumers with a low credit score, we only considered lenders that offer sensible rates that don’t seem out of line for the auto loan market.

Ratings and Reviews: We gave preference to lenders who have decent reviews online, either through Consumer Affairs, Trustpilot, or another third party website. We also gave higher marks to lenders who have a positive rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB).

Online Availability: Lenders who offer full loan details online were definitely given top priority in our ranking, and lenders who let you get prequalified online without a hard inquiry on your credit report were given the most points in this category. But since not everyone wants to apply for a loan online, we also included some lenders that let you apply over the phone.

Approval Requirements: Finally, we looked for lenders that extend credit to consumers with low credit scores in the first place. Not all lenders offer specific information on approval requirements, but we did our best to sort out lenders that only accept borrowers with good or excellent credit.

Summary: Best Bad Credit Card Loans of 2021

  • Best for Flexibility: OneMain Financial
  • Best Personal Loan Option: Upgrade
  • Best Loan for Bad Credit and No credit: AutoCreditExpress.com
  • Best Loan Comparison Site: MyAutoLoan.com
  • Best Big Bank Loan for Bad Credit: CapitalOne
  • Best for Fast Funding: LightStream

The post What Are the Best Car Loans When You Have Bad Credit? appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

Source: goodfinancialcents.com