How To Find The Best Personal Loans In Canada

Get Smart Canada When Looking For A Personal Loan

When you need a personal loan or financing fast where’s the first place you go? Many Canadians don’t know the options available to them when it comes to loans because the first place we think of is, the bank.

However, it’s 2019 and getting a personal loan from alternative lenders with a huge Canadian online presence is front and centre and appealing for Baby Boomers all the way to Gen Z.

Yes, even seniors and retired folks have lines of credit, credit cards and debt they need to pay back because not everyone is debt-free when they retire. Thus, life.

Do you want a cash advance to get you through until your next paycheque?

It happens, If you need a payday loan then do your research before signing with a company so you know that they meet your needs.

The last thing you want to do is go with the payday loan shop up the street because it is the first one you can think of.

Last week I received an email from a fan who is in trouble financially because he’s spent too much money and racked up debt on his credit cards.

He needs to pay off the credit cards and wants a personal loan to do so but at the lowest rate, he can find. Of course, being that I’m a finance nerd he emailed me looking for resources.

Personal Loan Wanted

Dear Mr CBB,

Now that Christmas is done I don’t want to see what’s coming in the mail for credit card statements.

I honestly went into the holidays knowing that we were racking up our credit cards too high and we would struggle afterwords.

Right now my wife and I both 30 years old have a good credit score and I don’t want to ruin that by defaulting on our bills nor do I want to pay minimum payments if I can help it.

Ideally, I’d like to find an institution to offer me a personal loan at the lowest rate possible so I can pay off the two credit cards totalling $5000 at 23% interest and then pay the personal loan off as fast as possible.

This year our goal is to not create any debt and to pay for everything via cash and we’ve started to use your budget although we’ve opted out of your budget challenge since it will be our first time ever using a budget.

Perhaps, next year if you run it we can hop on board but for now, we want to get our finances in order so we can get rid of the stress hanging on our shoulders.

After we pay this credit card debt and then personal loan we hope to find a new house we can call our own and start saving for a down payment and find a mortgage.

I’m kind of looking to get a personal loan fast to kick this into high-gear so I thought I would email you to see if you had any tips or leads for me.

Thanks,

Jon

Coburg, Ontario

(Note: Normally I don’t ask for personal info but Jon gave me permission to use it on this post.)

Finding The Right Personal Loans In Canada

Hey Jon,

Thanks for your question.

Honestly, I had never gone outside of the bank for a personal loan in Canada before because we never really needed one apart from our mortgage loan.

We paid that off back in 2014 only five years after assuming the mortgage.

There are a few things that I do know you will want to do when you need a loan fast.

1. Comparison is number one
2. Read customer reviews
3. Know your Credit score and read your Credit Report

The best loans for bad credit may be an online click away rather than gambling on traditional banks that offer personal loans.

Why?

Because not everyone is your friend when it comes to handing out money, especially grabbing the best interest rate.

Lower is the way to go.

What is a bad credit score in Canada?

As you can see from the chart below a poor credit score in Canada falls into the 300 categories with an excellent score in the high 700’s and above.

Keep in mind when you go for loan lenders will most likely look at your credit score and debt to income ratio.

Canada’s Credit Score Range

Besides going to a traditional brick and mortar bank, mortgage company or signing up for a credit card because you were told you may qualify from an online ad, email marketing or direct mail opting for an online search has become the new wave of sourcing a loan.

We managed to find our mortgage broker online after doing lots of online research and using a comparison site.

Today we are still confident that we negotiated the best interest rate to meet our budget needs.

I didn’t have to go far online for Jon when I stumbled upon Smarter Loans Canada.

I found I spent the majority of my time researching this website service because of the wide range of options it offers Canadians.

With over 30 experts in the field including journalists and also a part of the Canadian Lenders Association you can take comfort in knowing they know what they are doing when it comes to loans.

This is what you really want to be watching out for.

What they do is provide in-depth, up-to-date information on over 30 of Canada’s top lending companies in, a world of fast-paced finance that needs constant attention.

Over 30 professional journalists nationwide help research, review and qualify all companies that are featured on Smarter Loans.

In addition, these industry experts produce industry research, studies, surveys and other thought leadership material that helps them make the Canadian lending industry a safe, educated, and positive environment for everyone involved.

Gone are the days where rushing to the bank for a loan is the norm because alternative type financing is here to stay.

As well, the ability to apply for a loan from the comfort of home is enticing even for the pessimistic loan shopper.

Why?

People don’t want to leave home and would rather surf the web then truck it to the nearest financial institution to wait in line for a meeting with a representative.

Sitting at home in pj’s sipping on a hot tea sounds far more favourable to me as well.

Smarter Loans also has you covered so that you don’t have to worry about your online safety with them.

This is also very important and something to watch out for when searching for a personal loan online.

First off Smarter Loans services all provinces in Canada, nationwide.

On their website, you will find the ability to complete all of the following tasks below which is what all consumers need.

1. Loan Search
2. Reviews from real customers
3. Compare Lenders
4. Search Credit Cards
5. Visit their extensive Learning Centre and
6. Apply Online to reputable lenders from Coast to Coast

Let’s talk specifically about their Loan Search Tool which is fascinating because the drop-down menu allows you to choose a loan type and product type along with your province and the amount needed for your personal loan.

It’s that easy!

I tested it out quickly by putting in a Mortgage loan, Mortgage, Ontario and needing $300,000 then clicked on search.

Then, with-in seconds a list of all the mortgage companies in Ontario that lend money up to $300,000 appeared.

Ta-da, they do the work FOR YOU.

You have the opportunity to look through the list, read reviews, compare and ultimately apply online, right there and then.

How cool is that?

What I really liked to see was the in-depth analysis and up to date information about every company that works for them.

Also, their due diligence impressed me because I know they are in it for Canadians to help them secure a personal loan with the options of finding the best deal.

If it sounds too good to be true, it likely is, so always know who and what company you are dealing with.

You’ll find Smarter Loans is upfront with their customers and provides an online platform that you can be comfortable using.

Since launching back in 2016 they’ve offered their customers online security and safety, convenience, and most of all transparency all things and more that consumers expect from an online business.

I reached out to Vlad Sherbatov, president of Smarter Loans with Jon’s question to see if I could get some feedback from him.

Sure enough with-in a day I was presented with an honest opinion of his situation and some assuring avenues he might be able to take.

Hi Mr CBB,

Thanks for reaching out to me at Smarter Loans.

As to your fan’s question, since their debt balance is relatively low ($5,000) the easiest way to get rid of it is to make some conscious spending cuts and just pay it down as quickly as possible.

If that is absolutely not an option, but they have a good credit score, another option to consolidate those credit card balances is by taking out a line of credit from their bank.

It will typically have a much lower interest rate than a credit card.

The key part is the credit rating and getting approved for the line of credit by the bank.

Alternatively, on our site, they’ll find some low-interest loan providers that are intended for the near-prime and prime customers with good credit.

One such provider is Borrowell, so they can definitely check them out.

Whoever they use, they must carefully review the interest rates of the “new” loan and ensure that the math works.

Sometimes products that are positioned to the public as “consolidation loans” are still quite high on interest.

Always read the fine print and take the time to fully understand the terms of your loan.

I hope this helps!

Free Financial Resources For Personal Loans

When I started Canadian Budget Binder my goal was to set up a free resource page where I would create important documents or websites that would benefit my readers.

I’ll most certainly be adding Smarter Loans to that page so Canadians trust they will be well taken care of.

The great thing about Smarter Loans is that they offer an online Learning Center for Canadians to educate themselves before jumping into a personal loan and a blog with plenty of informative articles.

They have you covered for pretty much any loan you need so there’s no reason to search any further online other than Smarter Loans in my opinion.

• Personal loan
• Business loan
• Mortgage
• Auto loans
• Payday loans
• Equipment loans
• Bus and Coach financing
• Truck and Coach financing
• Agricultural and Farm equipment financing

Smarter Loans kind of covers it all for personal loans in Canada, don’t you think?

Discussion: How did you go about sourcing a personal loan and was there anything you’d do differently today?

Leave your comments below.

About Smarter Loans

Smarter Loans is Canada’s online loan directory for any type of financing.

The website helps Canadians find reputable lenders and compare their financial products, rates, and terms in one place.

Smarter Loans is analytical resources that help empower Canadians to make the smart loan decision for their financial needs.

SOURCE Smarter Loans

For further information: To find out more about Smarter Loans, please visit https://smarter.loans/ or contact info@smarter.loans

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