With an installment loan, you borrow a specific dollar amount from a lender and you agree to pay the loan back, plus interest, in a series of payments.

Qualifying for an installment loan is a great way to pay for your car, home, higher education expenses or other personal costs. Home equity loans, which come in handy for home repairs and maintenance, are an example of installment loans.

Other examples of installment loans include mortgages, car loans, student loans, neighborhood loans and any other form of loan that involves paying back the original principal over a series of monthly, weekly, or other regularly scheduled payments.

Not everyone qualifies for installment loans, because it’s risky for lenders to give money away that they aren’t sure they’ll get back, so oftentimes credit scores, debt-to-income ratios and financial history are used to determine whether or not a borrower will qualify for the loan.

When getting a traditional installment loan from a bank or credit union, interest rates typically fluctuate based on credit scores, with lower interest rates only being offered to those borrowers with great credit, and those with poor credit either being disqualified from the process entirely, or being forced to pay high interest rates.

For newer installment loans, like car title loans, neighborhood loans and other similar types of secured personal loans, credit scores are typically ignored, and interest rates won’t fluctuate depending on financial history.

When you apply for an installment loan from a traditional financial institution, your potential lender is likely to want a great deal of information from you, including the name, address and phone number of your current employer, the number of years you’ve worked at your current job, your income level, and a variety of other related information.

However, when you apply for one of the newer types of installment loans (like car title loans), you typically won’t have to provide nearly as much information about yourself, since your credit score and other details won’t have any impact on the terms of your loan.

Before You Apply for an Installment Loan

Due to the fact that your credit score is such an important part of the loan application process for traditional loans, it is important to keep close tabs on your credit score in the months before you apply for an installment loan.

You also will want to make sure your credit reports are accurate and error-free before applying for an installment loan. You can (and should) request a free credit report once per year from each of the three major credit reporting agencies – Equifax, Experian and TransUnion – and should immediately address any errors that you find within them.

For traditional installment loans, good places to begin shopping include your local bank or credit union, or some other lender where you’ve already established a financial relationship.  For the more modern types of loans, you can get the loan from anyone who offers them, and don’t need any previous relationship with the lender.

Car Capital Financial

If you are in need of immediate cash and you own your own car in full, or have nearly paid it off, then it’s likely that you would qualify for an affordable car title loan from Car Capital Financial.

With our loans, you trade temporary ownership of your vehicle’s title for instant cash, which can be delivered in as little as 30 minutes.

During the course of your loan, you’ll continue to enjoy complete access to and use of your vehicle, without any restrictions, and once you’ve paid back the loan in full, we’ll return the title to your name.

Our auto title loans are similar to auto pawn loans, but with us, you can keep driving your car!

Our title loans let you raise money fast, without forcing you to sell or stop using any of your valuable possessions, but better yet, they’re generally much safer than other forms of fast cash, like neighborhood loans, being a human guinea pig, or taking out a credit card cash advance. Title loans are issued based on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

To get the money you want right away, give us a call at 1-888-500-9887.

What exactly are prepaid debit cards? A prepaid debit card (not prepaid credit card) is an alternative to using cash for your day-to-day transactions.

These cards function exactly like a regular credit or debit card, except that they are not tied to any specific bank or checking account.

While the autonomy from big banks may seem appealing, there are a few myths that need to be debunked before you decide to sign up for your own prepaid debit card.

Myth #1 – No Hidden Fees

Many people believe that prepaid debit cards are a great way to avoid pesky bank fees, but that isn’t always the case. While prepaid cards help chronic over-spenders avoid overdraft fees, the price for using the card is more expensive than the price for using a traditional debit card.

In fact, some prepaid debit cards charge you every time you make a deposit or a withdrawal, and that doesn’t even account for the monthly maintenance fee which you’ll have to pay for the convenience of using a prepaid card.

It may not seem like much, these little fees can add up over time, and may leave you wondering why you started using the prepaid card in the first place.

Myth #2 – Safer Than Other Forms of Payment

Banks and credit card companies provide protection to customers who are the victims of theft resulting from fraud. This means that if someone else uses your credit card, you’ll likely have an opportunity to get your money back.

Typically, banks and credit card companies both provide this type of protection, but that service is not usually available with prepaid debit cards. On the contrary, if your prepaid card is stolen and used, it’s likely that you will not be able to get any of the money back.

And even in those rare cases where prepaid cards do offer some kind of fraud protection coverage, it’s often voluntary – meaning that the prepaid debit card company can revise or rescind their coverage at any time.

Myth #3 – Improve Your Credit Score

This may be the biggest misconception of them all!

Some prepaid debit cards do have relationships with credit bureaus, where they offer access to credit score trackers, or credit reports, but using a prepaid card will do nothing to improve your credit score.

Because prepaid cards have no debt obligation, none of the data related to using them will impact your score in any way.

If you’re looking to improve your credit, the first step should be to find ways to reduce your spending, which will allow you to start paying down whatever debt you may currently have.

When prepaid debit cards are a good option?

Prepaid debit cards are typically appropriate as a short-term financial solution, or for people with serious spending problems, but that’s about it.

If you’re traveling, it may be wiser to carry a prepaid debit card than a travelers check or a wallet filled with cash, because it reduces the risk of losing lots of money all at once, but with fraud protection built into credit card and traditional debit cards, it’s not really all that necessary.

Prepaid cards should not be seen as a long-term option for your cash-handling needs either, and are definitely not necessary for people with poor credit scores.

If you’ve got bad credit, and need some financial assistance, the good news is that you do have other options. For details, check out our guide to bad credit personal loans.

Car Capital Financial

Just because you have bad credit doesn’t mean that a pre-paid debit card will be the best solution for your financial needs. And if you need to raise some serious money quickly, then prepaid debit cards aren’t going to do a thing to help!

Instead, look into getting a safe, affordable and reliable car title loan from Car Capital Financial. We’re Southern California’s premier auto title loans company, and our no credit check loans are the perfect solution for people with poor credit.

All you need is a vehicle that’s paid off, or nearly paid off, and you can get the cash you want in as little as 30 minutes! Title loans are issued based on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

To get a great loan today, call us now at 1-888-500-9887.

When taking out a loan, your lender will explain details of the interest rate and the way that the interest rate impacts your monthly payment, but this can be a confusing process for new borrowers.

It’s especially hard to understand how this works without some basic information, and some lenders simply don’t take the time to make sure that their borrowers fully understand the complexities of interest rates, but Car Capital Financial is different.

This guide will help you better understand the differences between types of interest rates, allowing you to make a more informed, better decision about whether or not one of our safe, reliable and no-credit check car title loans is a good idea for you.

Types of Interest

First, comes the question what is interest, and what is an interest rate?

Interest is simply defined as the cost of borrowing money. Typically, interest is expressed in a percentage, and is used to calculate how much money you’ll need to pay your lender for the convenience of receiving a loan from them.

In lending, the amount of money you originally borrowed  is called the principal, which you’ll have to pay back, along with the added cost of borrowing the money, which is referred to as interest.

If you borrowed $1,000, and had an interest rate of 10%, then you’d owe $1,100 to your lender, since you owe the original principal amount ($1,000) plus the interest cost (10% of $1,000, which is $100).

Interest comes in a variety of forms though, which is where some people get confused.

Fixed Interest Rate Loans

Fixed interest rate loans are the simplest types of loans, and typically, the best for consumers.

They come with an interest rate that won’t fluctuate over time, isn’t tied to market conditions, or anything else – because it’s fixed.

When you take out a fixed interest rate loan, you know exactly how much money you’ll need to pay back over the lifespan of the loan, because it’s easy to calculate the total cost of added interest.

The major advantage to getting a fixed interest rate loan is that you’re protected from rising interest rates, better able to plan your finances well into the future, and can easily plan a monthly budget since you know the exact price of your monthly payments.

Downsides to fixed interest rate loans are that you can’t take advantage of rate reductions (should interest rates fall), and other potential additional costs like not being allowed to pay more than your monthly payment, or not being allowed to pay your loan off early.

Variable Rate Interest Loans

With variable interest rate loans, lenders reserve the right to update interest rates at some specified point in time so that they match prevailing market conditions.

Typically, these types of loans are worse for borrowers, since a lender would only update the interest rate if the rates have risen since they originally issued the loan, thus making the borrowers monthly payments more expensive.

If you take out a variable interest rate loan, then you don’t know what your monthly payments will be as soon as the interest rate is allowed to fluctuate, since you can’t predict whether or not interest rates will rise and fall by that time, or by how much they might change.

The good news about variable interest rate loans is that they typically don’t come with restrictions on making additional payments (meaning you can pay the loan off early), but this isn’t always the case.

The bad news about variable interest rate loans is that they often end up costing borrowers way more than they originally thought, since increasing the interest rate can dramatically inflate the costs of the loan.

Annual Percentage Rate

Often expressed as APR, this is the percentage of interest that is paid on the loan, calculated annually (yearly). If your monthly interest rate is 2%, the APR would actually be 24%, as the percentage gets multiplied by 12 months in the year.

The APR is a calculated rate that not only includes the interest rate, but also takes into account other lender fees required to finance the loan.

The idea behind APR is to help consumers understand the tradeoffs between interest rates and the fees paid at closing (such as paying higher fees to lower interest rates or increasing interest rates to cover closing costs).

For the purposes of this article, the most important thing to keep in mind is that you understand whether or not your loan will come with a fixed interest rate, or a variable interest rate, and that if it does come with a variable interest rate, that you understand the potential implications.

Car Capital Financial

If you are still unsure of what type of loan best fits your financial situation, and you are in need of some immediate cash assistance, give Car Capital Financial a call now to find out about your options.

We’ve provided safe, reliable and affordable car title loans to Southern California residents for over 15 years, and we offer low-interest, secured personal loans without requiring credit checks.

All you need is a car that’s fully paid off, or near being paid off, and we can get you up to thousands of dollars in cold, hard cash in as little as 30 minutes. Title loans are issued based on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

Call us at 1-888-500-9887 to find out if our safe, reliable and affordable auto title loans are a good fit for your financial needs.

With the holiday season fast approaching and gas prices going up, you may start to see the money in your wallet evaporating more quickly.

Fortunately, with a few simple solutions, you can reduce your overall fuel consumption, allowing you to spend less money on gas.

Below are six effective ways you can start saving money on gas right now!

1. Remove the Junk From Your Trunk

Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%, with more weight reducing your gas mileage even further.

The heavier your car, the more gas it’ll take to get to your destination. Keep in mind that this has a bigger impact on smaller vehicles than larger ones as well, so it’s especially important for those of us driving small, gas-efficient cars.

2. Proper Maintenance

Keeping your tires filled with air and your air filter clean can help you save big money over the long-run. Under-inflated tires can lower gas mileage, but they also affect the handling, braking and tread life of your tires.

When your tires don’t have enough air in them, their rolling resistance is dramatically increased, so it takes more gas to get anywhere.

In fact, according to the Department of Energy, simply keeping your tires properly inflated can improve your gas mileage by up to 3.3%.

Even more important than tire air pressure is cleaning the air filters in your car regularly, which can improve your gas mileage by up to 7%. That may not seem like much, but it equates to some serious savings over the life of your vehicle.

3. Time Your Trips to the Pump

During a regular week, you want to fill up your tank on Wednesday or Thursday, before 10 a.m., says Chris Faulkner, president and CEO of Breitling Oil and Gas.

The reason: gas prices rise on Thursdays in anticipation of “weekend travel” and “10 a.m.” is when most station owners make their price change for the day.

Unless it is an emergency, do not buy gas Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Try to fill up before major holidays as well, when prices tend to rise dramatically in anticipation of all the driving that gets done.

4. Alternatives to Driving to Work

One of the best ways to lower your fuel expenses is to carpool to work.

You can reduce the inconvenience by sharing a ride with someone that works at the same company, and who lives near your home. Many companies have an Intranet web site where you may be able to find someone to carpool with.

Another great option is public transportation, where train and bus passes are usually available at discounted rates. Although you have to pay to use public transportation, it’s usually much less expensive than driving to work, especially if you have to pay for parking.

If you live close enough, consider walking or cycling to work, each of which will save you significant money in the long-run.

5. Turn Right

In the early 2000’s, UPS employed new routing software to increase the efficiency of its delivery fleet and reduce fuel consumption.

By eliminating as many left-hand turns as possible, UPS was able to save an estimated 10 million gallons of gas over an eight year period of time.

What makes the rule so effective? Before making a left-hand turn on a busy two-way street, you usually wind up idling—getting 0 mpg. In contrast to that, right-hand turns keep you moving, and using that gas to get somewhere rather than sitting still.

6. Drive Smoothly

If you can avoid rapid accelerations and stops, you’ll be able to further improve your fuel economy. Herky-jerky driving eats up gas because it’s inefficient, so if you’re a start-stop driver, it’s time to change that bad habit!

Once up to speed on the freeway, maintain a steady pace in top gear. Smooth acceleration, cornering, and braking also extend the life of the engine, transmission, brakes, and tires, saving you significant money on repairs and replacement expenses for your vehicle.

Car Capital Financial

Follow these six ways to save gas and you could find yourself stockpiling cash in no time!

If you need to raise cash fast, or come up with a larger amount that can be saved by cutting your gasoline costs, then keep in mind that Car Capital Financial can help.

We understand that there are times when only a quick, cash loan will help, and we’re prepared to provide financial assistance at a moment’s notice.

We offer secured personal loans in the form of car and other vehicle title loans, which can be awarded in as little as 30 minutes, and which don’t require a credit check. Title loans are issued based on the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

We’ve provided safe, reliable and affordable car title loans to residents of Southern California for over 15 years, and we’d be happy to offer you a loan today.

If you need money quickly, then please call us now at 1-888-500-9887.