Straight answers to 27 common money questions.

Start with options that cost little or nothing: emergency savings, a payment plan or hardship program from the company you owe, or a short loan from family with a written repayment date. If you need to borrow, a federal credit union payday alternative loan (capped at 28% APR) or a bank or credit union personal loan usually costs far less than a payday or car title loan.²¹ Compare every option.

The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the money. The APR adds most fees on top, such as an origination fee, and shows the total as a yearly rate. Compare APR to APR when you shop.¹⁰

Commercial banks averaged 11.90% APR on 24-month personal loans in August 2026, according to the Federal Reserve.¹ Online lenders and borrowers with fair or poor credit often see much higher rates.

Common fees include an origination fee, a documentation fee, late fees and optional credit or disability insurance. Secured loans can also carry non-filing insurance.¹¹ The origination fee is often taken out of the money you receive, so you get less than you borrow.

It depends on the lender. Many online lenders and some banks fund within one to seven days after approval. Credit union loans can take a few days, especially if you need to join first.

Usually not. Prequalification typically uses a soft inquiry, and soft inquiries do not affect your FICO Score. Checking your own credit report is also a soft inquiry.⁸ Ask the lender which kind of check it uses before you continue.

A full application usually triggers a hard inquiry. For most people, one hard inquiry takes fewer than five points off a FICO Score. FICO Scores count it for 12 months, and it can stay on your report for up to 24 months.⁸

FICO groups your credit report into five categories: payment history (35%), amounts owed (30%), length of credit history (15%), new credit (10%) and credit mix (10%).⁹

Use AnnualCreditReport.com, the official site for free reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.¹⁴ Dispute any errors with the bureau before you apply for a loan.

Often yes, but expect a higher APR. A secured loan, a co-signer or a credit union can lower the cost. Be wary of anyone who guarantees approval regardless of your credit; the FTC calls that a warning sign of an advance-fee loan scam.¹²

A CFPB review found a typical payday loan charged a $15 fee per $100 borrowed for about two weeks. That equals roughly 391% APR. Nearly half of borrowers take out more than 10 loans a year.³

You pay a new fee to push the due date back, but the amount you owe does not go down. Rolling over a $300 loan every two weeks at $15 per $100 costs $45 each time, or $360 after about four months, and you would still owe the $300.³

They are risky. The CFPB found an average title loan of $959 at an APR around 300%, and one in five borrowers had their vehicle seized.⁴ If you rely on your car for work, a title loan can put your job at risk too.

A small installment loan from a federal credit union. PALs have a maximum APR of 28% and an application fee of no more than $20. PALs I range from $200 to $1,000, and PALs II go up to $2,000.²

It is fast but expensive. A typical cash advance fee is 3% to 5% of the amount or $10, whichever is greater, the APR is often higher than for purchases, and interest starts right away with no grace period.¹⁷

Walk away if anyone asks for an upfront fee before you get the money, guarantees approval, contacts you out of the blue, or asks you to pay by wire transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency.¹² Real lenders do not promise approval before you apply.

Consumers reported losing $15.9 billion to fraud in 2025, up from more than $12 billion the year before, according to the FTC. Imposter scams were the most reported type.¹³

Report it to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general.¹³ If you paid by card or bank transfer, contact your bank right away to ask about stopping or reversing the payment.

Look up the lender with your state's financial regulator or attorney general, read the full loan agreement, and make sure it shows the APR and finance charge in writing. Never pay a fee to 'release' a loan.¹²

Caps are set mostly by states. As of September 2025, 45 states and DC capped the rate on a $500, six-month installment loan, and 43 states and DC capped the rate on a $2,000, two-year loan.⁶

Under the Military Lending Act, active-duty servicemembers and their covered dependents cannot be charged more than a 36% Military APR on covered loans, including payday, title and most installment loans. The Military APR includes many fees and add-on products, not just interest.⁵

If your plan allows loans, federal rules generally cap the loan at 50% of your vested balance or $50,000, whichever is less, and require repayment within five years unless the loan is for your main home.⁷ Money you borrow stops growing for retirement while it is out.

Yes. It splits a purchase into several payments. The CFPB reported 53.6 million users in 2023, with users averaging 6.3 loans per lender.¹⁶ Missed payments can lead to late fees, so track every plan you open.

No. We are an independent education website. We do not lend money, broker loans or make credit decisions.

Our guides and tools are free. If you choose to send a request through our apply page, a third-party lending network receives it and may pay us. You never pay us, and compensation does not change how we rank options. See the full disclosure.

From public, primary sources such as the Federal Reserve, the CFPB, the FTC, NCUA rules, the IRS, TransUnion and myFICO. Every number on our pages links to its source. See our sources.

We review rate data each time the Federal Reserve publishes its monthly consumer credit release, and every page shows the date it was last updated.