You might think a holiday loan can take away the stress of expenses at the most wonderful time of the year, but a loan can backfire. If you’re not careful, you can overstretch your budget and end up even more stressed about how you will pay the bill.
Americans spent $833 per person on gifts and other holiday items in 2022, according to a National Retail Federation survey. These expenses may seem like necessities, but they’re not if you have to borrow more than you can afford to repay.
If you haven’t been able to save money for holiday shopping and are considering a loan, here are some important considerations and alternatives.
[Read: Best Personal Loans.]
What Is a Holiday Loan?
A holiday loan is a personal loan used for holiday expenses, from plane tickets to gifts, issued by financial institutions such as banks, credit unions and online lenders.
Holiday loans are typically unsecured, which means they don’t require collateral and are available in low dollar amounts of $500 to $5,000. The size of your loan and interest rate can depend on factors such as your credit score and your income.
Although a holiday loan offers predictable payments and spreads them out over time, it is still considered bad debt. Bad debt doesn’t provide a return on your investment and can make your financial situation worse, according to the credit bureau Equifax.
“Credit card debt or personal loans for things like holiday gifts are really bad debt,” says Robert Johnson, professor of finance at Creighton University’s Heider College of Business. “They tend to come with much higher interest rates and crowd out your ability to save.”
How Holiday Loans Work
The terms of holiday loans vary considerably, but borrowers can expect to make fixed payments over 12 to 60 months. Most lenders require a good credit score to qualify for a holiday loan, especially one with a lower annual percentage rate than what you’re paying on your credit cards.
When you take out the loan, you will lock in your APR and know your monthly payment. Here is an example of terms for holiday loans from Texas-based Community Resource Credit Union.
The lender offers holiday loans up to $25,000 at APRs from 11.24% to 12.49%, depending on your credit rating, and repayment terms ranging from 36 to 72 months. If you borrowed $3,000, qualified for an APR of 11.24% and selected a 36-month term, you would pay $99 monthly. Over the life of the loan you’d pay $548 in interest.
Note that some lenders charge origination fees, usually 1% to 10% of the loan amount that may be added to your balance or deducted from what you receive. Also, if you need quick cash, you may be able to get your money the same business day as approval.
[Read: Best 0% APR Credit Cards.]
Pros and Cons of Holiday Loans
Pros
— Qualify without collateral.
— Get fast cash for holiday expenses, sometimes as soon as the same business day.
— Use the money with few restrictions.
— Pay lower APRs than with credit cards, if you have good credit.
— Break up holiday expenses into fixed monthly payments.
Cons
— You will pay interest on holiday expenses.
— You could pay fees on top of principal and interest charges.
— You may not find a lender with minimums small enough to meet your needs.
— You will increase your debt load unless you plan to pay off the loan immediately after the holidays.
— You may not qualify for a loan, or you may qualify with a high APR.
— You could overextend your budget and end up making payments long after the holiday season.
If you get a holiday loan every year, you may find that catching up is tough, says Brandon Renfro, owner of financial planning firm Belonging Wealth Management.
“By the time you roll around to the next holiday, you’re probably still feeling the effects from the previous one,” Renfro says.
And while getting a holiday loan with bad credit is possible, you may be limited to high-interest options such as payday loans that can put your finances in a crunch long after the holidays are over.
Other Ways to Finance Holiday Expenses
— Personal lines of credit. A personal line of credit may be secured or unsecured and functions like a credit card but has a fixed duration of up to 15 years. Credit lines range from $300 to $100,000 with APRs of 8.25% to 17.74%, which may be lower than your credit cards, according to the credit bureau Experian.
— Credit cards. Plastic can be an expensive way to cover holiday costs if you can’t pay off your balance when it is due. If you need to spread out payments over a few months, you will likely pay more interest using a credit card than a personal loan if you have good credit. An exception is using a credit card with a 0% APR offer you can afford to pay off before interest applies. Some credit cards offer flexible payment plans such as American Express Plan It and My Chase Plan.
— Personal loans. Personal loans not marketed as holiday loans may also be an option.
— Credit card loans. This is money you borrow against your card limit and then pay back in installments over a repayment term that varies from six months to five years. The loan is deposited directly into your bank account within a couple of days after approval, and the payment is tacked onto the minimum due each month. APRs are fixed and usually lower than purchase or cash advance rates.
— Peer-to-peer loans. With a peer-to-peer loan, a lending site handles the loan administration, but the money comes from individual investors or institutions that choose to fund your loan. Peer-to-peer loan terms may be comparable to a personal loan or personal line of credit depending on your credit.
[Read: Best Debt Consolidation Loans.]
When to Get a Holiday Loan
A holiday loan could make sense if you know that you can pay off the balance quickly. Johnson says that if you can wipe out your debt within one or two months, it may be a good choice
Maybe you are expecting a windfall, such as a year-end bonus you will use to pay the loan as soon as the money arrives. In that case, a holiday loan could come in handy.
“But if you don’t have the prospect to pay back that loan very quickly, have a less commercial Christmas,” Johnson says.
If you are considering a holiday loan, make sure you shop around and compare:
— Interest rates. If you have good credit, holiday loans should have better APRs than your credit cards
— Repayment terms. Many loans have 12-month terms, but longer terms will mean paying more in interest.
— Fees. Watch out for origination fees and prepayment penalties that detract from a good interest rate.
— Prequalification. Does the lender allow you to prequalifyand shop around without hurting your credit score? Once you find a lender that offers terms you like, then you can submit a full application and agree to a hard credit check.
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Holiday Loans: What You Should Know originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 10/03/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
