Vacation loan for holiday reunions
It seems like everyday for the last couple years I’ve been bombarded with the same negative “thou shalt not” messages about going into debt, and I’ve been obedient … until now. I’ve decided to thumb my nose at the nags and naysayers and take out a vacation loan.
You can call it rationalization, but I choose to call the results of a recent Harris Interactive Survey my justification for a vacation loan that will allow me to travel during this holiday season. I’ve decided my emotional need for connection and continuity supercedes my need for just a wee bit more financial security.
According to the Harris survey, people are willing to suffer the travails of holiday travel—in my case, even though it means taking out a vacation loan—so they can
create memories; maintain traditions; reconnect and build relationships; and,
improve their sense of well-being.
All of the above apply to me.
Two of my friends died this year. I chose not to take out a vacation loan to attend their memorials, and chose instead to apply the money to my Lowe’s credit card. I congratulated myself for being grown up and responsible, but took no comfort from it. Though I gained a couple points on my credit score, I still felt nothing but loss. The loss of my middle-aged friends brought home for me the knowledge of how tenuous life is.
In counterbalance, I reconnected with high school friends I’d lost track of 30 years ago (thank you Facebook), and I want to solidify those relationships, especially one with another woman who, like me, had her only child at 41.
The last time I went home to Ohio was two years ago when my sister had surgery for uterine cancer. I rationalized taking out a vacation loan then, not so much because I wanted to visit Ohio in January, but because my sister needed me, and I was doing it for her.
This year I’ve taken out a vacation loan for me, for my sister and for my friends. But more than all that, I’m doing it for my son. I want him to see that relationships with family and friends are important, tenuous and can be lost in an instant. I want him to see me living my values.
I also value financial security, and being a middle-aged woman with a young son means that’s especially important, but I have enough financial security that I can afford the small monthly payment this vacation loan will cost me over the next couple years. What I can’t afford is losing connection with my family and old friends.
Travel loans can take you home for the holidays
It’s holiday time, and that means time for families and friends to gather from far flung locales. Unfortunately, the airlines just announced they’ll be charging an additional $30 per ticket for holiday travel on top of booking and luggage fees. If you’re worried that you might not have enough cash in the bank after you buy gifts for the kids, you should look into travel loans.
Travel loans are typically unsecured personal loans. Their interest rates are usually higher than secured loans, but lower than credit card interest rates. If you have good credit, you may be able to find travel loans with interest rates as low as 6%. Read more
The difference between a secured loan and an unsecured loan
Paper or plastic? Decaf or caffeinated? Secured or unsecured? If you’re looking for a loan, but don’t know whether you need a secured loan or an unsecured loan, this is your chance to figure it all out.
The primary difference between a secured and an unsecured loan is whether or not the borrower has to put up collateral to secure the loan. For a secured loan, a lender will insist on collateral to minimize their risk. An auto loan, for instance, is secured by the car itself; the lender simply repossesses the car if the borrower fails to make payments on the loan.
On the other hand, an unsecured loan is one without collateral. When obtaining an unsecured loan, the borrower doesn’t have to specify its intended use, and it can be used for just about anything. For instance, an unsecured loan can be used for something as prosaic as debt consolidation, as pleasant as a vacation, or as essential as an emergency medical procedure.
Accordingly, because the lender can’t repossess a week in Hawaii, a zero-balance credit card or the stitches in a toddler’s forehead, the interest rate on an unsecured loan is higher than on a secured loan, reflecting the lender’s greater risk exposure.
However, the interest on an unsecured loan is usually lower than on credit cards, and is certainly lower than the interest rate charged for credit card cash advances. As an added benefit, an unsecured loan almost always comes with a fixed interest rate and carries no annual fee.
