A Guide To APR

Loan Pig specialise in finding the best short term loan solutions to suit the needs of any kind of consumer in the UK. Our huge panel of lenders makes it an easy matter to compare loans and repayment options and select the best payday loan or short term loan to match your personal circumstances.

Many of our customers are confused about what the term APR (Annual Percentage Rate) actually means and how it affects the loans they receive. We’ve compiled this short guide to APR to provide all the answers needed and offer a useful starting point for all our customers looking at different loans from a variety of providers.

As already discussed, APR is the abbreviation for Annual Percentage Rate and all lenders have to display the APR for loans they offer. This is a legal requirement and you can find out more on the website for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The way APR is calculated is to ensure all costs of borrowing are included. Therefore, loan company APR rates will include the interest costs and all associated fees over a 12 month period. This makes it much easier to compare different lenders, as you’ll see APR rates do vary considerably.

What Is The Official Reason For APR?

The official definition of APR which has been provided by the FCA states: “APR stands for the Annual Percentage Rate of charge. You can use it to compare different credit and loan offers. The APR takes into account not just the interest on the loan but also other charges you have to pay, for example, any arrangement fee. All lenders have to tell you what their APR is before you sign an agreement. It will vary from lender to lender.”

Why Is It So Confusing?

Different APR rates may seem a little confusing due to the fact that charges are included in all quotes. For example, your lender may quote an interest rate of 14% over the year, but highlight the official APR as 17%, and this increase is due to all the charges included within the rate. Although it may seem a little complex, it actually makes very good sense. Displaying total APR in this way makes it much easier for you to compare loan costs and choose the lender that is best suited to your budget.

How Is Interest Worked Out On My Loan?

Most lenders use their quoted interest rates to calculate the interest due on loans. So, if your lender applies an interest rate of 20% and you borrow £100 for 12 months, the total amount you would pay back over the year would be £120.

How Does APR Work?

The APR rate quoted by your lender is the total amount you will pay for the cash you borrow calculated over the entire year. In the simplest terms, if your lender quotes an APR of 30% and you borrow £100 for six months, the total you will repay is £115. This total cash pay back relates to the repayment of the £100 borrowed plus six months’ interest at the quoted rate of 30%. If you had borrowed the £100 for 12 months, you would repay a total of £130 to your lender.

How Can I Save Money On Loans?

Checking different lenders to find out what APR rates they apply to payday loans, short term loans, and credit cards means you can source the cheapest loans and save money on the charges you have to pay back. It is important to check that all providers are displaying APR rates, though. Some credit card companies state they offer credit at interest rates of just 2%, but when you look into the facts you will probably discover the interest rate charged is the monthly rate and not the APR rate.

Once you understand just how APR works and the ways it impacts on cash lent then you will be in the best position to shop around and save money on the cash you borrow.

Finding The Best Short Term Loans

Short term loans are often emergency payday loans used to top up cashflow when funds are tight, or when last-minute payments need to be made to get you out of a fix. This can make them a riskier loan option for lenders, as they also tend to be unsecured, meaning the lender cannot use your car or home as a security against defaults. For these reasons, it’s often the case that short term loans are quoted at a higher APR than loans provided by traditional financial institutions, like banks.

When you need emergency cash in a hurry, it’s a speedy matter to access short term loan providers online. And, now you understand the importance of APR, you can compare lenders to source the cheapest loans to suit your needs.

Shopping around for the best and most affordable loans is really easy with Loan Pig. You just need to type the amount you want to borrow and the amount of time you need for repayment into our quick calculator. We search around all our lenders and get back to you with a selection of lenders most suited to your needs. You can check out the APR rates of all these selected loans on the lender’s website and make your borrowing decision accordingly.

The post A Guide To APR appeared first on LoanPig.

source https://www.loanpig.co.uk/a-guide-to-apr/

Best Ways To Save Money

Everyone wants to save money right? But saving money usually means doing without or scrimping and saving. But with these five money saving tips, you could save hundreds of pounds a year without having to compromise your lifestyle.

1. Make use of price comparison websites

No matter if you’re looking for car insurance, broadband, mobile phones or a new bank account, comparing rates on price comparison websites can ensure you get the best deal.

You should get into the habit of checking price comparison websites every time you need to renew items such as car and household insurance. Once a year, it’s a good idea to go through your utility bills, mobile, broadband and bank accounts to make sure you are getting value for money on all these items.

2. Make use of a FREE overdraft

If you find you are regularly overdrawn and you don’t have a FREE overdraft facility, you are likely paying hundreds of pounds a year to your bank in interest or unauthorised overdraft fees. You can reduce this by changing to a bank account which has an interest free overdraft facility.

So, stop throwing money down the drain and get your finances in order by making full use of an interest-free overdraft facility.

3. Consolidate your credit card debt

If you have large credit card debts on multiple cards, you should think seriously about transferring them to a credit card which offers zero per cent interest on the transferred debt.

A word of warning though, such deals are usually accompanied by a transfer fee and are only available for a limited period. So, make sure the transfer fee doesn’t outweigh the interest saving and pay the debt off before the zero-rate period expires.

Alternatively, you may want to consider consolidating your credit card debt into a single loan with a reduced interest rate. Private loans usually charge much lower interest rates than credit cards, and you may be able to utilise a bad credit loan if you have a less than perfect credit score. So depending on how much you owe, you could save a significant amount by consolidating the debt into a single loan.

4. Get a better mobile phone contract

The mobile phone space is competitive, so if you’ve been with the same provider for many years the chances are you are paying too much. Much like insurance providers, mobile phone companies provide much better deals for new customers than they do for existing ones.

So, take a moment to analyse your mobile phone bill to see how much you are really using. Then use a price comparison website to see what deals are available. You will be surprised just how much money you can save by doing this.

5. Pay for things in advance

Many companies provide a discount for paying annually. Examples include your gym membership, car insurance and broadband. So, if you can afford it, pay the whole fee upfront and save a bundle.

Some companies also provide discounts at certain times of the year. So, plan ahead and pay for things when they are discounted. You could buy Christmas cards in January when they are on sale, for example – no one will notice.

By using one or more of these money saving tips you could save hundreds of pounds a year in interest and late payment fees. Put the money towards a holiday or better still pay off your credit card debt early to save even more money. The choice is yours, but it’s nice to have a choice isn’t it?

The post Best Ways To Save Money appeared first on LoanPig.

source https://www.loanpig.co.uk/best-ways-to-save-money/

How To Get A Loan With Bad Credit

If you’ve been turned down for a loan with a bank because you have bad credit, it might still be possible to get the cash you need. The key is to learn how to get a loan with bad credit and which lenders will let you still borrow money.

Why don’t banks lend to people with bad credit?

When a person applies to borrow money from a bank, the bank’s credit assessor checks that person’s credit score. A person’s credit score provides some insight into their past financial history, so the bank can see who is likely to keep up with their repayments and who is more likely to default and miss payments.

For example, someone with a high credit score above 800 obviously has a strong history of making all their repayments on time and taking their financial obligations and responsibilities seriously.

By comparison, a person with a bad credit score may have struggled with some financial difficulties in the past. As a result of those difficulties, they may have missed some payments or filed for bankruptcy.

If a person with a low credit score applies for a bank loan, it’s likely most lenders will decline the credit. Fortunately, there are some lenders willing to offer loans to people with less than perfect credit.

What is a bad credit loan?

Bad credit loans are usually set up as short-term payday loans, so you’re expected to repay the amount you borrow quickly. When assessing your application, a bad credit lender will check your credit score. Your score is considered ‘bad’ if it falls between 300 and 579.

What else do the lenders check?

Along with checking your credit score, lenders will also want to check some other criteria, including:

– You are a UK resident
– You have a regular source of income
– You have a debit card attached to your bank account
– You have a valid mobile phone number
– You have an email address

Even though you’re asked to submit a valid mobile phone number, our panel of bad credit lenders won’t call you. Instead, your information will be verified online.

How do I apply for a bad credit loan?

The process for applying for your loan is quick and easy. Simply enter the amount of money you want to borrow and the period of time you want to repay your debt over.

The online calculator will work out how much your monthly repayments will be. If you can afford to keep up with your repayments, you can proceed to enter in your personal details.

All of your personal information is kept secure and remains strictly confidential at all times.

You can find more information about the application process by viewing how it works.

How fast can I get the cash?

If your loan application is submitted and approved before 3 pm on weekdays, it’s possible to get your cash paid into your bank account on the same day. However, if your application is submitted later in the day or the approval takes a bit longer, the cash may arrive the following day.

Does a bad credit loan affect my credit score?

As with any other type of credit, applying for a bad credit loan can affect your credit score. If you make all your repayments on time, the lender will report the activity, which could reflect positively on your score.

However, if you fall behind on your payments or don’t make payments at all, the lender will also report the lack of financial responsibility. Not only will your credit score be negatively affected, but you could also incur penalty fees and late payment fees that increase the amount you owe.

It’s also important to remember that your credit score may also be impacted if your file shows lots of credit checks in a short amount of time.

The post How To Get A Loan With Bad Credit appeared first on LoanPig.

source https://www.loanpig.co.uk/how-to-get-a-loan-with-bad-credit/

Tips for Finding the Best Bargains

Tips for finding the Best Bargains

If money is tight then it’s best to do everything you can to reduce your monthly outgoings.

As well as having little or no spare money you might be one of those people who have bad credit, this could be down to a missed payment or a misunderstanding with a credit lender in the past or you could have just been going through a time where money was scarce and you got into difficulties.

The main thing when trying to recover from a history of bad credit is to keep paying of your loans at a rate that will suit you and your lender, but also keep your borrowing down, only choose the best loans for people with bad credit and only choose the amount you can really afford.

Fortunately, there are a number of fairly simple ways to reduce the amount you spend each month without having to make significant changes to your lifestyle. We’ve rounded up a few of the best and most effective ones in this article.

Get to know your Supermarket Discounts

Every supermarket discounts food at the end of the night that would otherwise be thrown away. However, they all have slightly different schedules and policies on how they do this. It’s worth visiting your supermarket a few times in the evening to suss out what this policy is (or, if you feel really brave, asking someone who is walking around with a pricing gun). The discounts on offer in the evening can go up to 90% and, if you’re able to freeze what you buy, the food can last for a long time.

Reducing the Direct Debit Mountain

Gym memberships, online streaming services, subscription deliveries: the list of things that most people sign up to and don’t really use is huge and it can cost a small fortune each month. It may be hard but look through your bank account, work out what can go and cancel those direct debits. Just make sure that you’re not locked into a minimum contract before you do. Cancellation penalties, particularly from gyms, can be incredibly steep.

Avoiding impulse Purchases

This one can be pretty hard but it’s well worth sticking with it. If you add up the amount of money that you spend on coffees, snacks, vending machine treats and other small purchases over the course of a month then you may well be staggered by the number that you come to. By cutting these out and maybe putting a pound or two in a jar at the end of every day instead, you can quickly build up an amount that will help you to take control of your situation and reduce the debt pile that you are working with.

Best Loans for People with Bad Credit

LoanPig can offer you some of the best loans for people like yourselves who might have bad credit from  5 years ago or from just a few months ago. People get into difficulties for all sorts of reasons, but remember, you can still get credit or a loan to help you through the worse even if your credit score is low.

You are more than a credit score, some lenders like LoanPig.co.uk and others will look passed your bad credit score and be able to offer the best loan for people like yourself with bad credit

The post Tips for Finding the Best Bargains appeared first on LoanPig.

source https://www.loanpig.co.uk/tips-for-finding-the-best-bargains/

How to Holiday on a Budget

How to Holiday on a Budget

Spring is in the air and you are thinking of the warmer weather that is on its way but when you’re short of cash, holidays seem incredibly out of reach.

However, if you are savvy about spending and use loans cleverly, you’ll be surprised what you can afford!

Even if you have bad credit you can still be savvy and save, save, save!!!!!

Flight comparison sites

There are many of these out there, so finding cheap flights is easier than ever. Always look to book your flights and accommodation separately to save money; the best deals out there are not usually found in traditional packages but sites offering cheap flights might be able to hook you up with a cheap hotel also!

Stay open-minded

If you can be flexible with your bucket list, you’re bound to find a bargain. Stay open-minded and book holidays to places that have offers on the flights or accommodation, you will save money AND explore somewhere new.

Remember, the UK has some beautiful and fantastic places to visit and a week at the seaside in summer can give you everything that a european beach holiday can give you, apart from the odd day of rain!!

Look into living costs

You don’t want to book cheap flights to later discover that accommodation and living costs of your destination are extortionate, look for sites that allow you to cancel so if you do find a better price or option change it, so do your homework before booking.

Look for up-and-coming destinations like Poland, Hungary, and South East Asia, for example, where you will find it difficult to break the bank when you’re there.

It is worth spending a little more on the flights to keep the living costs down when you’re on holiday; perhaps take out a loan to cover this to help you save money in the long run!

Get an apartment

Apartments often seem pricey, but this accommodation choice will save you money when you’re on holiday. There are many expenses that you’ll save by staying in an apartment rather than a hotel; your coffee in the morning, breakfast, meals out every day, drinks at the hotel bar… the list goes on!

You can take out a loan to cover the initial cost, and you won’t regret it when you get to your destination knowing that your next wage is covering the cost as a one off.

Stay local

Enjoying your home country has many advantages! You avoid exchange rate costs, you’re likely to spend less on travel, and you can stay with friends and family or camp to avoid accommodation costs. You will discover beautiful places too!

Great holidays CAN be achieved on a budget, and you may even find that you have more fun trying to be resourceful and creative with your money saving. Happy holiday!

The post How to Holiday on a Budget appeared first on LoanPig.

source https://www.loanpig.co.uk/how-to-holiday-on-a-budget/