Often lenders are made out to be the enemy. It is understanding that some people will think this when they perhaps owe a lot of money, get lots of fees and charges for them and cannot seem to find good deals. However, there are some people that take advantage for lenders and gain a lot as a result of borrowing money. Below are a few examples so you can think about whether this is something that you might be able to do.
Businesses
The way that businesses grow is to invest. They have to buy more stock
employ more people or move into larger premises in order to be able to sell
more. This means that they will need to pay for this. Although they could wait
and save up to do this, they will be able to do it a lot more quickly if they borrow
the money. If they forecast correctly then they should be able to make more
money from their investment than they are paying in interest.
Mortgage Holders
Many people would like to own their own home rather than rent. Private
renting is usually more expensive than mortgage repayments and so you can
immediately start saving money. This will of course depend on the rent that you
are paying and how much your mortgage repayments are. Once you own your home
you will no longer have to pay anything monthly at all. There are some extra
expenses that come as a result of owning your own home, such as maintenance, buildings
insurance and things like this but the fact that the money that you have paid
in can be got back when the building is sold, it usually increases in value and
you do not have to pay rent means that in the long run you will be better off.
Credit Cards
Credit cards can be really useful as long as you pay off the full balance
each month. You can set up a direct debit to do this for you and this will mean
that you will not forget to pay it off and therefore never pay any interest.
There are several advantages of using the card and paying this way compared
with using a debit card or cash. Firstly, a credit card has insurance and so if
you order items and they do not turn up, you will be able to get your money
back through the card provider. If you order online the card is more secure
than a debit card. You are not paying for items right away so you can get
interest on the money that you would have spent and make yourself something
back.
So you can see that there are situations where borrowing money can be really helpful. It can actually mean that you might be able to improve your financial situation compared to if you did not borrow. There are obviously many types of borrowing where this is not the case and you will have to be careful to make sure that you pick a loan that will work for you and your lifestyle.
Some people do struggle to be self-disciplined when it comes to money and this can be a problem if they have a credit card in some cases. They may spend more than they can afford to repay and this could mean that they will end up getting into all sorts of financial trouble It is worth thinking about whether you are likely to do this, if you do get a credit card or whether there are things that you can do to make sure that things do not get out of hand. You also have to be careful with a mortgage too, as if you buy a property that decreases in value or struggle with the repayments you could end up paying more than you otherwise would need to.
It is important to be really careful when you are considering borrowing money. There are many reasons that people borrow and many different types of loans and it is important to get it right. Make sure that you will gain financially from any borrowing that you are doing, both in the short term and long term, taking all of the costs of borrowing into account. Also make sure that you pick the right loan for you and compare those loan types to make sure that you get the one that offers you the best value for money. Do not borrow more money than you need as that will lead to unnecessary expense. If you have a long-term loan, such as a mortgage, then regularly compare it to others and switch to a better lender if you can.
There is a lot to consider and think about but it is important to realise that not all borrowing is bad. There are some good reasons for borrowing as well and you just need to make sure that you are borrowing for the right reasons and that you will make financial gains from doing so.