That is really great advice. Thanks for weighing in!

As you are experiencing right now, having bad credit can mean a lot of uncertainty when it comes to getting access to the credit you need. If you are in particular distress, consider reaching out to a non-profit debt counselor. If you want to check with several companies at once for credit approval, you can visit our marketplace page at www.theyukonproject.com. Apply to any one of our featured lenders and we will check your rate with up to 40 other lenders. We'll show you all the offers that will approve you so you can make the best decision for your situation.

It is definitely frustrating to not be approved.

Many lenders do look at affordability standards to see if you can afford the payments. They look at credit history to measure volatility.

You *should* be able to, but, we have received reports that OneMain is not cooperative when it comes to people wanting to pay their loans off early. Before you take a loan with them, look closely at the terms to make sure you understand what you need to do to make extra payments and that those payments will go towards principal. One trick that some lenders pull is to let you make extra payments but those payments just pre-pay your future payments. That doesn't actually save you money on interest. Do not take a loan from a company with that policy. That is a prepayment penalty by another name.

That's a good question. For many of these companies, the reason they ask for the purpose of the loan is for marketing. It's possible that they have a slightly different algorithm depending on what you say, but that's not terribly likely. Most lenders are interested in understanding whether you are credit-worthy for the loan you want. It is unlikely that you are less credit-worthy based on the purpose for the loan. But, I don't have any specific information on how OneMain does things.

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for letting us know.

Thank you for letting us know! Glad it was helpful.

@BrandonMicheals, The most important thing you need to do is to find ways to pay more towards principal. I know that sounds obvious, but credit cards are designed to minimize principal payments. Here's a rough plan: 1) Do not add any more charges to the card 2) Pay what you are right now going forward (for instance, if your current minimum payment is $150 make sure you pay at least $150 every month even though the minimum payment will be lower in the future) 3) See if you can get a consolidation loan for at least 2-3 percentage points lower than the interest rate on your Capital One card. 4) If you get a credit card consolidation loan and your new monthly payment is $144, don't just pocket the $6 difference from your credit card minimum payment. Keep paying $150. The key is to take the money you save on interest expense and use it to pay principal. That might not seem like much, but it is all about pushing every dollar you can towards the principal. That means that your finances will still feel tight for a little while, but more of your money will be going towards principal which will mean that you will be paying less towards interest...which means you can put more money towards principal...which means you will pay less towards interest...you get the idea. If you can do it, pay as much extra as you can in the first three months. Make it a game if you need to. Every dollar extra you pay in the first couple of months of a debt consolidation loan (or at the beginning of your debt pay off efforts) could save you as much as $1.50 over the life of the loan...and it will speed up how quickly you get out of debt, too. Bonus idea: Instead of paying your monthly payment once a month, split the payment in two and pay it every other week. Instead of $150 every month, pay $75 every two weeks. Why? Because a more frequent payment drops the principal which means slightly less interest will be charged. It won't be a lot, but every little advantage helps.

It is our pleasure. Thanks for watching.

It can definitely be frustrating. If a lender rejects you when you directly apply to them, they have to tell you why they said "no." It's called a "notice of adverse action" (or a NOAA). That notice should give you an idea of why they rejected you. This could be a starting point on figuring out how to improve your chances next time.

I'm sorry to hear that. It can be incredibly frustrating.

We are glad that it was helpful!

Would you be open to sharing your experience so others can learn from it?

Yes, they do an initial soft credit pull when you apply to determine prequalification. If you accept the offer, they will do a hard pull. When they do the hard inquiry they will use TransUnion or Equifax.

Glad it helped! Let us know if there is anything else we can help you with.

This is a tough situation. There are two approaches you can take. The first one is to take whatever loan you can and be aggressive about paying it off. But only do this if the lender reports to the credit bureaus. Otherwise, you are not building your credit history and you won't be any better off in a year or so. The other approach is to delay the car purchase and concentrate on building your credit history. If you truly have no credit history (or what they call a "thin file" which means not a lot of history), you can grow your credit score fairly quickly (say, six months). The way you would do it is to get a secured credit card. Make a single payment on it every month (less than $10). Don't use it for anything else. Set the card to autopay so you never miss a payment. This will establish a history of on-time payments. Within a few months, your credit score should start improving.

@@theyukonproject ive gotten my credit right and i finance inside the dealer (credit union)

Would you be open to sharing some of your personal experience so others could learn from it?

What other information could we provide that might be of help for you?

@@theyukonproject other options

Many of personal loan brands facilitate bank and credit union lending. If the brand has introduced you to a credit union, you are going to need to become a member in order to get a loan with them. That is unique to the credit union business model and bylaws.

@kontious1 Have you used Beyond Finance before? Let us know what your experience has been. How much did they charge you? Did they have other charges? Did you have to pay taxes on the amount that was forgiven? How long did it take you to get out of debt? Did you find that it took shorter (or longer) than you expected? Was the company responsive to your needs a year into the process? Did you have any creditors that sued you or refused to negotiate? We value accurate information. Feel free to clarify with details where we got something wrong (please include links to the accurate information). We do our best to research the companies we review. If we have got something wrong, please let us know.

Our pleasure!

Are you saying that you can't even make a principal-only payment or that you can't do it with a phone call? As you undoubtedly know based on your comment, extra payments are crucial to getting out of debt. Any lender that makes it difficult should be a lender to avoid.

@@theyukonproject I can financially make extra payments, but they won't make them principal payments

@jonathanschmidt417 Oh, I see. Yeah, that's pretty terrible. That means that they won't let you avoid the accruing interest. They will only allow you to pre-pay a full payment...which is prepaying interest. Some states have laws that require lenders to accept principal-only payments or limit the lender's ability to refuse such payments. You might want to do a little digging and see if your state is one of them.

😁

You're most welcome! Maximize your payments and be consistent and you WILL get out of debt!

Our marketplace is designed to give you exposure to a range of lenders so you can get the best deal you can. If you aren't seeing a lender or a loan you like, don't take what is offered.

@McCMcclain, That is great feedback. Tell us what made it so bad. We would love for your insights to benefit the rest of The Yukon Project community.

Their interest rate is extremely high… I’m paying $675 a month and the principal is not going down… it’s reminds me of predatory lending. There’s no grace with this loan… it’s been a nightmare

Ouch! I am guessing that because the loan is amortized, the interest feels front-loaded. On higher-interest loans, the first few payments can feel like it will always be interest.

According to their policy, you can send them a form that indicates your desire to cancel the relationship. Some customers have reported that they don't make it easy to get out or find fees to charge you on the way out. I cannot confirm either of those things. But, you do have the right to cancel with them. I'd love to learn how it goes.

Thanks for the feedback. People's direct experience is so crucial to understanding the real service from a lender.

I hope you can tell that we love what we do. Thank you for your support!

Happy to help! Thanks for your support.

Yes, structured settlements should be in writing. And, if something isn't clearly stated in the agreement, you shouldn't assume it will happen...even if the representative said it.

How do I cancel if I enrolled to beyond finance

@@buikhan8o6 I don’t know honestly. I continued with the program only to find out the payment arrangement letter said everything but ‘pay for delete’, which put me in a world of hurt. If I went to my creditor directly I’d have a better chance for that ‘Pay 4 Delete’. If you cancel they may want their fees up front as opposed to taking it from the installment payments. Good luck though.

I believe they do.

That totally sucks! It sure does sound like you need a new bank! There are some good online banks out there you might consider. But, find one that won't weaponize their fees.

You might want to look into a secured credit card. That can help you build your credit so you can be approved for better options. You can shop for cards here: www.cardratings.com/bestcards?src=691702 Or, if you are looking for a loan, you can shop our marketplace. We will check your rate with up to 40 lenders without hurting your credit score. theyukonproject.com/product-comparison/compare-personal-loans/ Good luck on your personal finance journey! We're rooting for you.

Yeah, that interest rate really only makes sense if you desperately need the money AND you can pay it off quickly. Of course, if you can find a better option, that is preferable.

Not necessarily. While it could feel nice to bring all of your debts into one payment, it could actually lengthen the time you are in debt or increase the amount you pay in interest. The most important thing is to get a lower interest rate and then use the money you save toward paying off extra principal. I recommend checking out this video on how to calculate when it is a good idea to consolidate credit card debt: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jZi9oWeXmbF7mtk

I'm guessing there's a story behind that sentiment.

Thanks for sharing!