It’s 24 years this year (in a few short weeks, actually) that Mr LittleStuff and I got married. Twenty Four Years.
Firstly, I am in no way old enough to own that kind of marriage number. Yes, I got married when I was VERY young. No, really!
Secondly – oh how things have changed… and stayed the same…
It wasn’t long after we were married that Mr LittleStuff lost his job, I’d never got on in the first place… and things were in a pretty pickle financially.
Thankfully my husband has a very very kind set of parents, who agreed that if we took out a loan to get ourselves straight they’d act as guarantors; which meant we had a chance of a yes to our loan application, really saved our bacon, and got us through to a better place – from which we worked bloody hard to be sure it would never happen again.
Lending a helping hand – image courtesy of Shutterstock
None of us WANTS to get ourselves in debt. But sometimes life happens. Stuff just… happens.
And with all the best will in the world, it’s a short slippery slope into the spiral of debt; particularly if you’re struggling on your own. The help and support of a loved one can mean all the difference in the world – and often prevent the scary need for those insidious Payday loans which will literally cost you the shirt of your back just to get you through the month. Which of course then means next month you’re even more scarily balanced on the sharp edge of the financial knife.
Of course, we don’t all have handily-affluent relatives with a pile of savings they can help out with when times are tough. BUt sometimes we do have someone – like we did – who’s willing to stand up and say “yes – they’re good for it. And I trust them so much, I’ll pay if they don’t.”
Because for some people getting a loan can be difficult, especially if they have a bad credit history or no credit history at all.
Guarantor loans can provide a solution, though. It’s an unsecured loan that requires the borrower to have a second person acting as a guarantor – they’re usually just for 1-5yrs, and for smaller amounts of up to £10k.
Of course – this isn’t a new thing. Twenty-odd years ago, this was just how the bank worked – back for the the black-and-white world of credit scoring they used ot have a human bean look at your application and assess it on its merits. If you had another person willing to act as guarantor, they were more likely to trust you with their cash.
Almost anyone can act as your guarantor – a family member, a friend, your boss… anyone you’re not married to, really.
And it’s a simple principle – if you default on your payments, the lender will be knocking on your guarantor’s door, asking them to stump up. So as always, don’t take on what you can’t afford, keep up those repayments, and immediately start talking to your lender if you’re having difficulty, they’re always keen to help.
And just maybe, someone having some faith in you when the computer says no can be all the hand up you need.
