Borrowed Cash Can Be Secured or Unsecured

by James Miller on October 9, 2009

by James Miller

When you start researching personal financing options you’ll quickly learn that there are different ways to borrow cash for all kinds of things that you need money for. The two general kinds of loans are often known as “secured” and “unsecured” loans.

Unsecured loans are loans which are given to you based on your credit rating and not based on any single possession you offer up for collateral. Your credit rating is really a measure of your past ability to pay off debts. If you’ve always paid your bills on time then you probably have a pretty good credit rating. Most credit cards are actually considered to be an unsecured loan. Unsecured loans are good for smaller purchases which you can pay off quickly. Even store credit cards are good to use in some cases because the credit limits are low and the introductory interest rates are often decent.

When you finance a car or buy a home with a mortgage the bank technically owns what you bought until you’ve paid off the loan amount plus interest. If you default on your loan then the bank can take your collateral and sell it in an effort to regain some of the money they lent you. Secured loans are a type of loan in which the lending institution has some sort of collateral or item which you own to hold until you pay off the loan.

There is often more paperwork associated with secured loans because they are so much bigger than most unsecured loans. Common secured loans include house mortgages, new car loans and most home remodeling financing options. Secured financing such as home equity lines of credit generally have a lower interest rate, which makes paying them off less expensive over the life of the loan. Depending on your tax situation you may even be able to reduce the yearly income tax that you owe.

Many expensive projects are changed when people finally begin to consider how different financing options work. No matter what type of financing you consider remember that you do have to pay the money back and you will be paying interest on the amount that is owed. Be careful and make sure you can really afford the regular payments before you go forward with your loan.

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