Secured and Unsecured Low Interest Loans
Although the economy is in depair, the federal government's efforts to stir new life has opened the doors to favorable, low interest loans. Whether you're looking for a secured loan or even an unsecured loan, depending upon your current credit rating you could obtain a incredibly low interest rate.
When considering how you can best take advantage of lower interest rates, don't forget about the loans you may already have. Although refinancing may not be the best answer since refinance rates are typically higher than purchase rates, there are innovative ways to save money.
Let's look at one example: Let's say you have an auto that is paid off, but you refinance for a secured loan so you'd have cash for whatever reason. If you had refinanced it for $5,000 at a 15% interest rate, your monthly repayment would be $173.32. But let's say instead you used your new platinum credit card with a 10.59% APR to payoff that $5,000 refinance. Since the card offers such a great, low interest rate, you could pay off that loan in only 34 months instead of 36, while still paying the same monthly payment of $173.32! Your interest savings would be $442.93! (The auto loan interest would have cost you $1,239 over the life of the loan, minus the $796.07 interest charged by the platinum credit card). Because of the lower interest rates, this is one of those rare opportunities to use an revolving credit (credit card) as a high dollar unsecured loan that can actually save you money over a previous, high interest secured loan.
So no matter what your situation, be creative in your thinking and you may conjure ways you can take advantage of the low interest rates to save money.
Interest rates as of the date of this article's publication:
(Current Interest Rates - Click Here)
Unsecured Loan (Revolving Credit)
Credit Card Interest Rates
Fixed Variable
Standard 13.42 12.77
Gold 11.73 11.43
Platinum 10.59 12.25
(For unsecured personal loan interest rates, consult your bank)
Secured Loans (Mortgage and Auto)
New Home Loan Interest Rates
30yr fixed 5.62
15yr fixed 5.08
5/1 ARM 5.76
30yr fixed jumbo 7.17
5/1 jumbo ARM 6.43
Mortgage Equity Interest Rates
$30K HELOC 5.62
$50k HELOC 5.00
$30k Home Equity 7.63
$50k Home Equity 7.42
$75k Home Equity 7.47
Auto Loan Interest Rates
36 month new auto loan 6.67
48 month new auto loan 6.80
60 month new auto loan 6.80
72 month auto loan loan 7.10
36 month used auto loan 7.20