Short- or long-term lending?

As long as there have been personal finance bloggers, there’s been a discussion about whether there’s really a quick fix to personal finance problems. There are a couple of things to note about this: First, it depends on the problem. There’s no “one size fits all” remedy to every bit of money trouble you can come into – you can be as frugal as possible, but there’s no telling what’s around the corner. This  brings us onto the second point – make sure you know how a solution to the financial issues you’re facing today will affect you tomorrow. That’s not to say that a short term loan will always negatively impact your finances in the future – as long as you know you’re dealing with a company that is transparent – but if you’re looking for something that will keep you in the green in the long term make sure you’re taking out a long term then the traditional ways are sometimes the best ways – you don’t always need to find alternatives to the banks. If you do decide that a short term loan like the alternative provided by Wonga is the right solution for you, do your research so that you know there’s no reason why you can’t use a lending service responsibly to keep yourself out of debt. When you’re choosing a short term lender bear in mind the amount of time you need the money for. “Short term” can mean different things, so ensure you know when you need to pay back your loan. Some providers are more flexible than others, and let you choose when to pay the balance before taking out the loan – obviously this kind of company presents the best solution if you know you want the money for only a few days or weeks, as you can choose to pay the loan off early and save some cash. After all, every cent counts!