Snydersville center reopens

PennDOT officials have confirmed the reason behind the Snydersville Driver License Center closing on Thursday.According to a statement from Transportation Community Relations Coordinator 2 Melanie A. Baldwin, the building at 4218 Manor Drive had a clogged water softener drain that malfunctioned. After the drain was repaired and the water was cleaned up, the site was opened the next day.Although the facility [...]

Source Business - poconorecord.com http://bit.ly/2UVwNuI

Affirm Personal Loans Review

Affirm was founded in 2012 with the goal of helping consumers afford big purchases at select retail stores. While you can apply for a personal loan with Affirm through their mobile app, you may also see this option advertised by retailers who want to offer on-the-spot financing for services or products they offer.

Should you borrow money with Affirm? Maybe and maybe not, but you should find out all the details before you decide.

Affirm Personal Loans: Key Takeaways

• Borrow up to up to $17,500.
• Repay your loan over 3, 6, or 12 months. Some stores may let you finance purchases for up to 36 months.
• Get “pre-qualified” for a loan without impacting your credit score.
• Participating stores offer 0% APR on select purchases for a limited time. Otherwise, APRs range between 10% and 30%.
• No hidden fees.
• No minimum credit score or income amount listed.

Affirm Personal Loans Review: Easy Loans for Big Purchases

When you have a big upcoming expense but you’re short on cash to cover it, a personal loan can make sense. This type of loan comes with a fixed interest rate, fixed payment, and fixed repayment term. In other words, unliked charging a purchase to a credit card, a personal loan leaves you with a monthly payment that never changes and a fixed payoff date to keep track of, so you know exactly when you’ll be debt-free.

Where some personal lenders focus on personal loans for debt consolidation or home improvement loans, Affirm takes a different approach. Their loan offers are mostly geared toward consumers preparing to make a big purchase, which is evidenced by the fact you can apply for a loan at retailers nationwide.

Aside from the convenience factor, we like the fact that Affirm lets you borrow up to $17,500 if you qualify — and the fact that many retailers let you finance your purchases with 0% APR for a limited time.

We also like the fact that Affirm loans don’t charge any fees. After all, the top lenders in the personal loan space tend not to charge origination fees or any hidden fees.

Affirm personal loans are also easy to apply for. You can fill out an application with a participating retailer at the time of purchase and get an instant decision, but you can also apply for their loans with their mobile app or website.

Affirm Personal Loans: What to Watch Out For

The biggest problem with Affirm loans is that they may get you to make big purchases you wouldn’t make otherwise. All it takes is one glance at their list of participating retailers to see what we mean. For example, you can get an Affirm loan with retailers like Cole Haan or with Expedia.com. They’re basically tempting you to finance a new purse or a vacation to the Bahamas with these offers, instead of saving up for the splurge.

Besides that, Affirm doesn’t let you borrow very much. Their loans top out of $17,500, which isn’t even close to the $35,000 or more many top lenders let you borrow.

Finally, you can apply for a personal loan from Affirm yourself through their website or app, but you won’t get a check in the mail. Instead, you’ll get a one-time use credit card you can utilize for your planned purchase. For that reason, Affirm loans don’t make sense if you plan to use your loan proceeds to consolidate debt.

Who Affirm Personal Loans are Good For:

• Consumers who need to borrow up to $17,500 for a big purchase and pay it off over a short amount of time.
• People who want to borrow money with no fees.
• Anyone who plans to finance a purchase at a store that offers 0% APR loans with Affirm.

How We Rate Affirm

At The Simple Dollar, we aim to provide a general overview of a lender’s products and services through a standard rating process. After a thorough research and discovery period, here’s how Affirm stacks up:

Affirm Loans at a Glance
Overall Rating	Affordability (interest rates, fees, and terms)
	Availability (credit requirements, geographic reach)
	Ease of Use
	Transparency

How to Apply for a Loan through Affirm

How you’ll apply for a loan through Affirm depends on whether you’re using it in a store or not. Here are the two ways to sign up:

• Select Affirm loans at the checkout when you shop at participating stores. You’ll need to provide information such as your name, address, Social Security number, income, and employment status to see if you can qualify. Remember that you can also get pre-qualified without a hard inquiry on your credit report.
• Apply for a loan through the Affirm app or website. You’ll provide the same information if you apply outside a store. Keep in mind, however, that you won’t receive a check in the mail if you’re approved through their website or mobile app. Instead, you’ll receive a credit card loaded with your loan funds.

The Bottom Line

A personal loan from Affirm can make sense in some situations, but you shouldn’t let the temptation of easy credit encourage you to overspend. There’s a reason stores like Cole Haan, Wayfair, and Orbitz.com make it easy to finance your purchases. They want you to spend more money, and they don’t care if you have to make monthly payments for years.

In addition to considering if you should be borrowing money, we also suggest shopping around with other lenders before you borrow from Affirm. Where Affirm does work with stores that let you borrow at 0% APR for a limited time, their regular interest rates start at 10% APR. If you need to borrow money for the long haul and you have good credit, it’s possible to score a personal loan with a fixed rate as low as 4.99%. And remember, you can use the loan proceeds to shop in the same stores that work with Affirm.

The bottom line: Make sure you know what you’re getting into any time you borrow money. While Affirm could help you borrow quickly and even at 0% APR, that doesn’t mean they’re the right choice.

Related Articles: 

• How to Use Balance Transfer Cards to Score 0% APR on a Big Purchase
• The Best Personal Loans
• When Does It Make Sense to Refinance or Consolidate Your Student Loans?
• Should You Use a Personal Loan to Pay Off Credit Card Debt?

The post Affirm Personal Loans Review appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar http://bit.ly/2VL7gBH

PenFed Credit Union Personal Loans Review

Established in 1935, Pentagon Federal Credit Union has come a long way since its humble beginnings. PenFed is currently one of the nation’s most accessible financial institutions with 1.7 million members worldwide and in all 50 states. The credit union holds over $25 billion in assets, and they strive to “shape the future of banking” by offering a wide range of financial products aimed at consumers with various banking needs.

PenFed offers popular checking and savings accounts, mortgage and home equity loans, auto loans, credit cards, and more. However, some of their more notable products include their personal loans and lines of credit — both of which are geared toward consumers with excellent credit.

Before you take out a personal loan, it helps to understand what PenFed has to offer and how their products compare to other options on the market.

PenFed Personal Loans: Key Takeaways

• Borrow up to $25,000 with no origination fee or hidden fees.
• Interest rates on their personal loans can be as low as 6.49% APR for qualified buyers.
• Loan terms are available from 12 to 60 months.
• Loans are available to PenFed members in all 50 states.
• Your credit score must be in the mid-600’s or higher.
• You must be a member of PenFed Credit Union to apply.

PenFed Personal Loans: Attractive Funding for PenFed Members with Good Credit

No matter where you live in the United States, it’s possible to find the funding you need with a personal loan from PenFed Credit Union. You do have to become a member of the credit union to qualify, however. Fortunately, there are a few ways to qualify for membership. To become eligible, you can:

• Be a member or employee of the U.S. military
• Work for the U.S. government
• Be a family member of military personnel or a U.S. government employee
• Join Voice for America’s Troops or the National Military Family Association, both of which are volunteer organizations, and make a minimum donation of $17.

Fortunately, your membership can be completed online once you’ve taken steps to become eligible.

If you can qualify for membership with PenFed Credit Union, you may find their personal loan terms attractive. While they don’t offer a specific minimum credit score requirement, they do maintain that their loans are available to consumers with credit scores in the mid-600’s or higher.

The lowest interest rate PenFed offers on their personal loans — 6.49% APR — will go to those with very good or exceptional credit: consumers with credit scores of 740 or higher. However, even those with less than perfect credit — scores in the mid-600’s –may secure a decent rate. The highest interest rate available on PenFed Credit Union personal loans is only 17.99%. That’s significantly lower than the highest rate at many competitors in the personal loan space — even Marcus by Goldman Sachs and Citizens Bank.

We also like the fact that PenFed Credit Union personal loans come without an origination fee or any hidden fees. This gives them a leg up over competing lenders who do charge origination fees, such as Lending Club, Best Egg, and Prosper.

The bottom line: If you don’t need to borrow more than $25,000, you have good or excellent credit, and you are a member of PenFed Credit Union, you should consider taking out one of their personal loans if you need to borrow money. Not only can you score an interest rate as low as 6.49%, but you won’t pay any loan fees.

As a side note, PenFed also offers a line of credit in amounts up to $25,000. This line of credit comes with a fixed interest rate of 14.65% APR, making it a much more expensive option for borrowers with good credit.

PenFed Credit Union: Where It Comes Up Short

While scoring a loan with a low interest rate and no origination fees is always a good deal, there are a few areas where PenFed Credit Union falls flat. The first problem is that fact that not everyone wants to take the extra steps to join a credit union — especially considering there are so many online lenders that offer personal loans with great rates.

For that reason, these loans are probably best for consumers who already belong to PenFed. Even then, you may need to work with another lender if your borrowing needs are high. PenFed Credit Union only offers personal loans in amounts up to $25,000. If you need to borrow more than that, you’ll need to choose a lender with higher available loan amounts.

The final downside of PenFed is that, unlike many of their competitors, they don’t allow you to get “pre-qualified” for one of their personal loans without a hard inquiry on your credit report. This means you’ll have to submit a full application to see what kind of rates you qualify for, and that’s only after you’ve taken steps to join PenFed if you aren’t a member already. For many borrowers who can easily get a loan elsewhere, the extra steps and hassle may not be worth it.

Who PenFed Credit Union Personal Loans are Best for:

• PenFed Credit Union members who need to borrow less than $25,000.
• Borrowers with excellent credit who can qualify for their lowest rates.
• Anyone who wants a personal loan without an origination fee or any hidden fees.

How We Rate PenFed Credit Union

At The Simple Dollar, we aim to provide a general overview of a lender’s products and services through a standard rating process. After a thorough research and discovery period, here’s how PenFed stacks up:

PenFed Personal Loans at a Glance
Overall Rating	Affordability (interest rates, fees, and terms)
	Availability (credit requirements, geographic reach)
	Ease of Use
	Transparency

How to Apply for a Personal Loan from PenFed Credit Union

We already mentioned how you’re required to join PenFed Credit Union if you’re not already a member. If you haven’t taken steps to join just yet, you can access their membership application here.

Once you’re a member, you can apply for a personal loan by completing a full loan application online. Information you’ll need to submit includes:

• Your full name
• Date of birth
• Residential address
• Social Security number
• Employment details
• Income information
• Amount of loan requested
• Purpose of loan
• Identifying documents such as a driver’s license

After your loan application has been completed, PenFed may be able to approve your loan in a matter of minutes. The lender also claims they can have your funds deposited in your bank account in a matter of a few business days.

The Bottom Line

If you’re thinking of taking out a personal loan to consolidate debt, pay for a major remodeling project, or make a large purchase, the best thing you can do is shop around. Make sure you compare loan rates and terms from at least three lenders. That way, you can gauge the kind of interest rate and loan amount you can qualify for.

PenFed may be a solid option for you if you already belong to the credit union and have a good working relationship. However, don’t be afraid to consider other lenders who may offer rates as low as 5.99% on personal loans with no origination fee — especially if you have excellent credit.

Related Articles: 

• Best Personal Loans
• When Does It Make Sense to Refinance or Consolidate Your Student Loans
• Best Debt Consolidation Loan Companies

The post PenFed Credit Union Personal Loans Review appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

Source The Simple Dollar http://bit.ly/2KG29BF