By TobiasIn the current economic climate people are still borrowing money having researched loans at MoneySupermarket.com, which is fine as long as there is a genuine need to buy the item they are taking out the loan for and they can afford to repay the money. However, there are a number of people who get carried away and borrow money to purchase things that they quite simply could do without or could just save up to buy rather than take out a loan.
Here are a few of the kind of items that you really should not take out a loan to buy.
Small, Inexpensive Purchases
You would not, for example, take out a loan to buy a book costing £6.99, a tin of paint at £9.99 or a new shirt for £19.99 as it is just not practical to do so and you can probably wait to buy these items when you have saved enough money to do so. They are not priority purchases.
When you are shopping in your local supermarket, you should be able to ignore the temptation to spend £17.99 on that T-shirt you have had your eye on for some time, especially bearing in mind that you already have six other shirts at home to choose from. It’s much more sensible to either just not buy it or at least wait until you have the money if you must.
Holidays
We all need a break in this fast-paced world that we live in, but it is not sensible to borrow the money to pay for a holiday. It’s far better to save on a regular basis instead. If you have not saved enough to have the holiday you really wanted, then find a holiday package that you can afford and pay for it from your savings. Holidays often end up costing more than you had anticipated, so why put yourself in the unfortunate position of having to repay a loan long after you have returned from your holiday.
Designer Clothes
Of course, many people love to be seen in expensive, beautifully tailored clothes but surely you would not want to buy a dress costing £500 if you have to take out a loan in the shop at a very high interest rate to do so. You can probably shop around on the high street to find a similar dress that does not have a designer label but is a fraction of the cost, allowing you to buy it for cash.
Gambling
Do not borrow money to ‘have a flutter’ on the horses or for any other kind of gambling. You are already risking your own money when you place that bet, so do not make it worse by losing money that you have borrowed, only to be faced with repaying the debt plus interest for perhaps the next 12 months or even longer.
Loans can be very useful and sometimes absolutely necessary, but they should not be used for things that you don’t really need.