Not All Debts Are Equal Ranking Options From Best To Worst
It may not buy happiness, but there are few situations more stressful than not having money when you need it. If you find yourself balancing paying your bills and potentially adding financial hardship down the road, it’s only natural to wonder how best to move forward. From using credit cards to withdrawing from an RRSP, your options are numerous. But they’re not all created equally. Though borrowing is almost never a best-case scenario, it’s also true that some debts are worse than others. For a range of reasons, from unreasonably high interest rates to potentially ruining a relationship, it is recommended the following be treated only as an absolute last resort and are best avoided altogether:Friends and Family If only for a one-time small amount that you can repay quickly, borrowing money from friends and family might be okay. However, repeatedly asking a loved one for cash or failing to repay the loan in a reasonable timeframe can place potentially irreparable strain on the relationship.Alternative Lenders If you do not qualify for a loan or line of credit from a major financial institution, alternative lenders may seem like a lucrative option. However, they will usually charge high interest rates and sometimes require you to offer your vehicle or home for collateral. This causes them to not only be a high-risk option, but also a high-consequence one if you can’t afford to repay the debt.Payday Loans It’s no surprise this is also the easiest, quickest and most straightforward to access the cash you need. Payday lenders are notorious for charging ultra-high interest rates – often masked as service fees – of up to 600 percent annually. These are specifically designed to keep you coming back for loan after loan until you’re reliant on the lender to make ends meet. For more information, including the lowest-consequence ways to cover a budget shortfall, original coverage was published online on February 22, 2018. Based out of Burlington, David Gowling is a Licensed Insolvency Trustee and Senior Vice-President at MNP LTD. To learn more about how MNP Debt can help, contact our toll-free number at 905.639.3328
