Having access to money throughout the month is becoming increasingly difficult, due to the constraints of every day living which are imposed on the average spender. Recent research within the UK financial sector concluded that very few people actually have savings in a current account and therefore in effect, live from month to month. This can be incredibly frustrating for people who need to purchase items that require small and disposable sums of money; if the average consumer doesn’t have disposable income that enables them to buy what essential item they may need, then the natural course of action for the consumer is to turn towards lines of credit in order to fulfill their purchasing requirements.
So how is it possible to actually purchase lower end items, if there is no disposable income from the monthly salary? Well, the easy option for people would be to turn to quick lines of credit and short-term finance options in order to purchase whatever they need. Although this is often an easy way to purchase lower end items, it clearly comes with the ramifications of high levels of interest and increased payments. That one off purchase of a £400 item, paid for with higher levels of finance can often culminate in a repayment of over £700, and therefore the question is, is the consumer item really necessary and is it needed? The simple answer therefore would be to avoid the pull towards glossy, shiny and new goods. But this isn’t really a viable option and let’s face it, you have worked incredibly hard and you surely deserve that shiny new item, don’t you?
Consumer Needs and Disposable Income
How is it possible to meet your consumer needs if you have no disposable income? There are a number of short-term finance options available for people that need money quickly. The first and most obvious solution to purchasing items quickly and easily would be to apply for a credit card. There are hundreds of different credit card options available in the UK, many of which have a wide variety of interest rates and repayment terms. One thing to always consider when looking for credit card applications is the fact that you will have to undergo a credit score when you make your application to apply for a credit card. The danger with this is that if you do have a poor credit rating, and you apply for a credit card and are turned down after making your application, then this can impact on any future credit applications, as it is deemed a black mark on your credit rating. This should not however have any impact on your quest to search for credit card options, as there are a number of credit cards that offer a wide range of applicants access to their services. Some credit card options may even implement a soft credit search prior to submitting an application and this is a good solution if you are concerned about more detailed credit searches, which can impact future credit applications.
Releasing Funds Quickly
Another option for releasing funding quickly could be searching within the unsecured lending market. This would however traditionally only be for consumers who need access to larger sums of money. Again, as with credit cards, there are hundreds of unsecured lending options available, all of which could be argued have advantages and disadvantages. For people with more solid credit scores then options could be to approach mainstream lenders, where the interest rates or annual percentage rates on any money that has been borrowed will be less. The simple fact is that mainstream lenders traditionally have a more rigid credit scoring system and therefore minimise their risks of loan applicants defaulting on their payments by doing thorough credit searches prior to the application being made and only lending to people who have a solid credit score. The simple fact is, if you find yourself in a position whereby you are looking for a quick loan, having credit checks is pretty standard within the unsecured loans industry and therefore, this is something which unfortunately cannot be avoided.
The final option we can discuss is purchasing items and repaying them on a monthly basis directly through the store in which you have purchased goods from. Catalogues have featured in the United Kingdom consumer market for over half a century and many items that are selling catalogues have a monthly repayment option attached to them. In fact, in the mid-1980s this was the most popular form of purchasing items whereby consumers would purchase a raft of goods from the traditional catalogue marketplace and repay the sums of money on a monthly basis over 12 months; this arrangement still stands and there are many catalogues that you can link in with if you need to purchase goods and you do not have disposable income. This is a safe way of accessing short term credit, but as with any hire purchase agreement the repayment fee will always be over and above the actual cost of the item. Although this can be a quick and easy way to purchase the goods that you may desperately need, looking at the long-term financial arrangements for this kind of purchase, the overall cost of the item will always be much higher than its original cost and this needs to be factored in when considering purchasing goods through catalogues.