Loan Digger

Lying about anything to a long term partner is always an issue, but is it always a bad thing? Sometimes is it necessary to lie to a loved one in order to maintain happiness? Debt is a sensitive issue and many of us lie about it to try and make it easier for others but should we.
Whether or not you agree with lying to a person for the greater good is a matter of opinion, but one must consider is it the greater good? If you are lying about debt, then you probably need help with it, if not paying it off then help to get through the stressful time. Who better to provide you with emotional support than a loved one?
On the other hand, telling a loved one of money problems may only worsen the situation, if there is nothing that they could do to help is it actually your place to tell them. No body likes to be the bearer of bad news and if there is no helping it, then why should you be, after all many people do say ignorance is bliss.
In my personal opinion, if you value your partners opinion then you should keep it all in the open and up for discussion, who knows, maybe they’ll have a breakthrough idea! If you feel differently though it really is up to you, there is no right or wrong way to go about it.

Many people think negatively about debt. Indeed todays society is focused on personal debt and overspending by the masses when the can’t afford it.

My partner and I have purchased a few houses recently before the housing boom in our area. This was only possible by taking on extra buy to let mortgages. This was a huge amount of debt which most people have due to the high percentage of house sales being mortgaged. Although it is a huge amount of debt it has made us alot of money.

New business startups and even larger companies have been financed in order to get up and running, without this initial debt the concepts would never get off the ground. Amazon is prime example, it was bankrolled for years before it became profitable.

To answer the question, yes, debt has caused stress between me and my partner but I perceive it to be the right kind of debt so its a nice problem to have.

What is a personal loan? Well the clue is in the title; PERSONAL. This means that the loan is money borrowed by yourself personally for something for which you will have no tangible asset. Car loan, holiday payment scheme, student loan, home improvement etc.

I wouldn’t include a mortgage as the house will be a tangible asset and can repossesed by the lender, thus the debt would be cancelled without payment.

I would also comment that credit cards are personal loans. For the individual who pays off the full balance, they are given an interest free personal loan for up to 60 days. Those who don’t have an odd situation as they have a debt (perhaps still accruing) that increased monthly at a rate perhaps 10% above a personal loan rate. But this isn’t seen as a personal loan. Perhaps those who started to consider credit cards as a personal loan might see that they are being ripped off.

A Personal Loan is a loan that is normally unsecured. However, some banks offer you a Secured Personal Loan on your home. The maximum you can borrow on a unsecured Personal Loan is £25,000 and the loan is covered by a Credit Agreement, which is controlled by the Consumer Credit Act.

The majority of Personal Loans are unsecured, offered at a fixed rate over a fixed number of years. That way you always know the cost of the repayments each month and the rate wont change. However, most Personal Loans wont allow you to increase your payments to pay the loan off earlier or they charge you for a lump sum for paying it off before the end of the agreed term.

Generally these loans are used to consolidate existing debts on higher interest rates or to buy the luxuries in life, whilst spreading the cost over a set number of years.

I would never lie to my partner about debt, if I was in any. My relationship is very much based on trust so to me it would be as bad as cheating on my partner. We pool our financial resources so it would be fairly obvious to my partner if I was in any debt. Plus I don’t think it would be fair to lie to a partner about debt as it could affect their credit rating as well.

I have had experience of a member of my family who lies to me about debt and it has put a lot of stress on our relationship. I have been put in the situation where I don’t believe them when they tell me how much they currently owe as I know they have lied about it in the past. I also worry about their financial situation a lot although I know whatever advice I try to give them it just gets ignored.

You race to get to the post from the letterbox before your partner can see it, then pause, a lump in your throat, as you nervously wonder how bad the debt is going to be this month. If this sounds familiar, there’s every good chance that you’ve spent beyond your means, and are so embarrassed by it you don’t want anyone to know, not even your partner.

The problem with this scenario is that it won’t get better by itself. In fact, chances are, it will get steadily worse and even harder to tell your loved one. No one likes admitting they’ve made a mistake, but as prices steadily rise and mortgage payments go up, it is easier than ever to get into debt.

However, there is help out there, and being honest to yourself and your partner about your circumstances is the first step. Be prepared for them to be shocked, but have a plan - explain that you’re in trouble and need help, but that that you’re trying to sort it out. Start by calling the credit company - be honest about your circumstances and they may well be able to help you reduce your payments. Sites such as moneysavingexpert.com have lots of advice on how to cut your bills and make savings. If your partner really loves you, they will support you through this, and be proud of you for dealing with your debt.

Almost everybody will need to borrow money at some point in their life. Thankfully for those that do need a loan there have never been more options than there are today.

Whether you decide to borrow from a bank or a person will largely depend upon your credit rating and whether you have a friend or know someone who is willing to lend you money. We all enter loan agreements with good intentions but sometimes we experience problems. The sad reality is that we are far more likely to default upon repayments to our friends and other people than we are to a financial institution because of the ramifications of our actions. A bank is also far more likely to check whether the loan is affordable to you or not.

If you do have bad credit your only option will most likely be a secured loan or one charging extremely high, often usury, rates of interest. If you were to take out an unsecured loan with bad credit you will find that your repayments are very high indeed. A Payday loan, for example, charges in excess of 1200% APR. A loan from a person, particularly if they are a friend, will often result in far lower interest - if any - charged. This will obviously mean that it is paid off a lot quicker. There is also the major advantage of being able to settle in full, without additional charges, when you wish to.

Borrowing from someone you know is a lot easier and more flexible but you should always take your responsibilities seriously and treat it with the respect you would if it had been a bank loan. If you fail to do this it could irrevocably affect the relationship you have with that person.

A payday loan is just what is says, a short-term loan to get you by until next payday. The loan usually only last for one or two weeks, but has an extremely high interest rate, as much as 150% if not higher.

People who could benefit from these types of loans are those people who need emergency cash and fast, the people who have bad credit and find they can not get a loan anywhere else and simply have no where else to turn. In many ways these companies are similar to the old €˜Loan sharks’ your parents tell you about from there old days, but without the added muscle force as this is now illegal!

You go to one of these companies, one in many towns now, and write them a check with the date on that you are paid; they in return give you cash, and then on your payday take out the money on the check - which includes your interest payment owed to them.

A pay day loan is a small short term cash advance that is used to cover any expenses until your next pay day and the amount you get is based on your pay check. These are usually very expensive to pay back for example a £200 loan will usually cost you £250 to pay back on your next pay day.

They are handy due to the fact that they can usually be paid into your bank the same day as requesting them but the high charge is the bad side to getting one of these loans. On your pay day the company will automatically take the amount from your account or they will offer you the chance to put payment off until your next pay day at an added charge.

In many cases and from personal experience the borrower ends up in a worse financial situation when trying to pay back the loan than when they first needed it.

The key is that you curtail the debt as SOON as you can, before it totally spirals out of control. If you don’t get the problem solved as soon as possible then what tends to happen is that the problem is brushed under the carpet and then comes out at a later stage totally unmanageable and the person in debt wishes they’d sorted it out sooner.

Firstly, if your debt is not too severe, look on the internet for help as there are many helpful resources. Move money about so it works for you, especially taking advantage of deals with new credit cards and loans. Why pay more on a credit card when you can shift it about at take advantage over some other company’s low interest?

If this does not work then help is at hand and this is provided through a debt counsellor - make sure it is a FREE one and not one that you have been wooed by via a TV advertisement. These can be found easily on the internet and you can go along and talk to someone about managing it. Be vigilant though, because these counsellors are over subscribed and you may be preventing other people who are in real need from getting the help. Do not underestimate severity of your own case though, and get help when you think you need it