When you have poor spending habits, you may be convinced that you could never get a loan with bad credit. But that canard does not have to be true. A bad credit score, even one below 600, does not have to keep you out of the market for personal loans. It just means you might have to pay a bit more to access that money.

Brick and Mortar

Your first move should be to visit your local credit union. When you are looking to get a loan with bad credit, online lenders are going to be ineffective. Credit unions are more likely to be able to provide you with financing. If you work with a federal credit union, the top annual interest rate the institution can charge you is 18%.

No doubt, you will pay more than the average person, since you have poor credit.

No Payday Loans

Payday loans may look like an easy fix, but you need to beware of the terms. Many payday loans can trap borrowers in a cycle of getting money and then being behind on APRs of 500% or 1000% (yes, you read that right), which is a recipe for financial disaster.

Alternative Lenders

When you do start looking online for help, there are alternative lenders out there that have very low minimum credit score requirements or sometimes no minimum score requirement. Upstart is a company that focuses on college educated borrowers. It targets those with high levels of academic and professional achievement, even if the credit is suspect.

Find a Co-Signer

Perhaps you have a relative or friend with good credit that would be willing to co-sign on a loan. Some lenders give the co-signers early warning on missed payments or a grace period to pay back the loan. But you need to be very sure that you can handle the responsibility when you get others to vouch for you.

Build Up Your Score

All of these options are good of you want to get a loan with bad credit. But the ultimate solution will be to raise your credit score. Looking to curb your spending, pay your bills on time and consolidate expensive debt in order to pay it off quicker. That will be your most sustainable route to getting the financing that you need to live your best financial life.

When you want to get a loan with bad credit, you want to do as much research as possible and explore every avenue. And if you can, try your best to build a better credit score, so that you can improve your loan opportunities even more and get lower interest rates.