Best Installment Loans for Bad Credit: Guaranteed Approval Options

When you have bad credit, your loan options can become limited. In fact, you may feel like you don’t have any options at all. So what do you do if you need some extra cash, but don’t have enough savings or any room left on your credit cards?

You might be looking for “bad credit loans guaranteed approval”. However, according to the FTC: Legitimate lenders never “guarantee” or say that you are likely to get a loan or a credit card before you apply, especially if you have bad credit, no credit, or a bankruptcy.

So, we want to be clear that the lenders below do not offer bad credit loans with guaranteed approval, but they do specialize in lending to people with a bad credit score. These bad credit loans definitely come at a cost. While these are not payday loans, they are similar and still come with high interest rates and short repayment periods.

While we can not guarantee approval, we can refer you to some loan providers that are more likely to lend to people with a bad credit score. Keep reading to find out more about bad credit personal loans and what other financing choices may be available to you.

Bad Credit Loans: Almost Guaranteed Approval

If you’re looking for personal installment loans, there are a few go-to options to consider. Check out these online lenders offering fast approvals, oftentimes with minimal qualifications required and no credit checks.

Bad Credit Personal Loans: Are they really guaranteed?

These “guaranteed installment loans” offer near-automatic approval without even performing a credit check on the applicant.

So if you have poor credit scores and need financing, you could likely get approved for a guaranteed installment loan for bad credit. Depending on the lender, however, you may need to meet other requirements to qualify for a bad credit loan.

For example, many bad credit lenders require you to have a bank account. This may be either to deposit the loan funds into or to ensure automatic payments on the due date (similar to payday loans).

Other lenders may require a certain level of monthly income, as well as consistent employment for a certain amount of time. Even if an installment loan is advertised as “guaranteed” because there are no hard credit checks, it doesn’t mean you’ll automatically qualify without meeting other eligibility requirements.

There are certainly many “predatory” payday loan lenders out there. However, there are also legitimate lenders that will work with bad credit borrowers. Some lenders also report your positive payment history to the credit bureaus. That can help you rebuild your credit score over time.

How to Avoid a Cycle of Debt

When considering an installment loan, or any type of financing for that matter, it’s important to keep your own financial health in mind.

Most lenders are typically tasked with evaluating whether a borrower has the ability to repay. If not, the loan shouldn’t be approved. But lenders’ formulas for approval don’t necessarily consider all of your financial responsibilities.

That means you need to look at the numbers and make sure that you can truly afford the installment loan amount. Check to see what kind of fees (if any) you’ll need to pay, plus how much the principal and interest will cost you each month.

Many people get in trouble when their budgets are too tight after taking out a personal loan. If you’re not able to contribute to a savings account and a financial emergency hits, you may have to redirect your loan payments to something else. You’re then saddled with tons of fees and a credit score that just drops lower and lower.

You can see why it’s important to really take a look at your finances as they are today before taking on any other burdens. Assess what you need the loan funds for and how necessary that is in the grand scheme of your other financial goals.

We know that cash can be tight and short-term loans can help lighten the load. But it’s also vital that you think about how to sustain your finances in the long run so that you avoid getting caught in a never-ending cycle of debt.

Other Types of Financing for Poor Credit Borrowers

Installment loans are certainly an option if you need a lump sum of cash. But take a look at a few other forms of financing as well.

It’s always best to educate yourself on different types of products and ways to access money so you know which one works best for your specific situation. Here are a few ideas to get the wheels turning.

Online Unsecured Loans

Yes, you’ll likely need at least a soft credit check (and sometimes a hard one) to get an online unsecured loan, which means they will look at your credit report. However, there are some lenders that still lend to borrowers with a bad credit score.

There are a couple of perks that come with these loans. While your interest rates will still be high, they’re less likely to be in the triple-digit range that is often associated with payday loans.

Also, you may be able to get a longer loan term. This can make your monthly payments much more manageable to help you avoid that debt trap. Just be sure to compare the total cost of the loans over time.

Yes, you may pay less month to month, but if a loan is stretched out over several years, you may end up paying more interest over that period. If it loosens your budget to be able to have more flexibility on a regular basis, however, it may be worth it to you.

Payday Loans

Payday loans are costly, short-term loans that you typically have to repay with your next paycheck. With a payday loan, you can usually only borrow somewhere between $300 and $1,000 depending on your state’s law. Overall, there are many cheaper alternatives to payday loans, and we highly recommend that you avoid them altogether.

Cash Advance from Your Credit Card

If you need to pay for something that doesn’t allow for a credit card, but still have room on your line of credit, you may be able to get a cash advance. Since you already have the card, you don’t have to worry about applying for a new one, which also preserves your credit score.

You’ll often have to pay a slightly higher APR on cash advances, but if you have plans to repay it in the short-term, you may be able to save compared to high-interest loans.

No matter what type of credit score you have, it’s very likely that you can find a financing option out there. If you choose a bad credit personal loan with guaranteed approval and no credit check, make sure the rates and terms are truly worth the purpose of the loan.