So I know Tdub isint a financial advice center, but, Im thinking about taking out a personal loan of about $2000 and taking a week long trip to south africa in April. The thing is I only have a part time job and I dont make a lot of money. And yes, I know, I should use my money wisely instead of blowing it on a trip to south africa, but i wanna go somewhere, im tired of sitting around here and plus i have a friend I can stay with in johannesburg. So my question is does anyone here have any experience with personal loans, or work at a bank. What am I looking at here, is this feasible

1/4/2010 9:48:31 PM

this sounds like a bad idea all around.

1/4/2010 9:49:26 PM

$2k is a lot of money for an unsubsidized loan for someone that doesn't even have a full-time job. unless you have some kind of crazy credit (and probably even still then) i doubt youd have much luck. a credit card is probably your only option and thats just a terrible idea.

1/4/2010 9:51:15 PM

asdf wtf

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 9:54 PM. Reason : wtf]

1/4/2010 9:53:12 PM

don't do it.

are you out of school? if not.. my professor once had a good idea about the semester after graduating taking a nice vacation like this before you get into the real world bc at that point you have no real responsibility/debt and can more or less do what you want. and if you can get a job lined up then it should make it a lot easier to take that loan.

although with the whole economy thing right now it's not gonna be as easy as it used to be..

1/4/2010 9:54:36 PM

For someone without full gainful employment, and for something as small as $2000, I would say you'd be better off borrowing the money from a friend or relative, either on honor, or by some kind of binding contract.

I've lent someone 3500 with no agreement...I think if it were 5000, I'd want some kind of official language.

1/4/2010 9:58:56 PM

hi can I have $3500?

1/4/2010 10:01:03 PM

this is a bad idea

1/4/2010 10:02:42 PM

if you don't make enough to squeeze out an extra ~$50-100/month for the next 2 years , I'd think about putting the trip off for a while.

1/4/2010 10:05:14 PM

If you've ever wondered who the dumbasses who were getting mortgages they couldn't afford were, you now have your proof.

[Edited on January 4, 2010 at 10:35 PM. Reason : .]

1/4/2010 10:35:25 PM

most banks i've experienced won't do personal loans less than $5k or so...



and yea, it's a bad idea.

1/4/2010 10:37:07 PM

i've gotten a $1600 personal loan before as a short term thing to cover tuition till i got some money that was coming my way. banks will do it, but i had to verify my salary and all that so i don't know how much luck he would have without a salary.

1/4/2010 10:42:39 PM

most banks will extend you a personal line of credit. It's not a loan.

But honestly the only way you should even consider doing this is if you can get a credit card with a 1yr 0% offer and a credit limit of $2,000. Otherwise you are going to pay through the nose for this trip.

1/4/2010 11:14:33 PM

If you're still in school, why not study abroad or take a mission trip or something along those lines? No reason to go into debt if you don't have to.

1/4/2010 11:14:51 PM

where did you want to go, south africa? join the peace corps!

1/4/2010 11:20:36 PM

Quote :

"If you've ever wondered who the dumbasses who were getting mortgages they couldn't afford were, you now have your proof."

All I was doing was asking for advice, asswipe. Not like Im asking if I can buy a 300k house on a 30k salary.

1/4/2010 11:24:31 PM

Dude, no. Wait until you actually have the money. Yeah, I know the thing to do is just blow some money fresh out of college and travel the world. That's what idiots do. The smart people save money. It's not like you won't have the opportunity some time in the future.

1/4/2010 11:31:38 PM

DEBT IS DUMB!, MKAAAAAAAAAY

1/4/2010 11:40:04 PM

i wouldn't do it unless you can get a 0% credit card promotion.

imo it's much easier to enjoy a vacation when you've saved up for it rather than going on credit.

1/5/2010 12:33:46 AM

I think you all just got trolled.

1/5/2010 12:59:19 AM

i understand your need to get away, you've seen me do it multiple times.

but i go places like DC, NY, LA...if you want i can hook you up with some people in those cities. a week long trip like that shouldn't even cost you over $500, including airfare if you know where to look.

and btw, in case you never saw it: message_topic.aspx?topic=584594

[Edited on January 5, 2010 at 1:01 AM. Reason : -]

1/5/2010 1:00:30 AM

If you don't have a full time job I'd say that now is a great time to do volunteer work abroad.

A loan to pay for vacation is a bad idea all around.

1/5/2010 1:10:40 AM

Don't listen to anyone in this thread. Borrow the 2k from your parents and go to South Africa. your life is way to short.

1/5/2010 2:27:26 AM

There's a thing called the peace corps. I would seriously recommend joining it, rather than taking out a loan for a vacation, where the vacation will end quickly and the loan will end slowly. While I respect the opinion of my colleague 1985, I think you'll find that if you have other plans in life you're better off without debt for a bank.

That said, if you can get it from a friend or relative, knock yourself out.

1/5/2010 4:42:22 AM

Income, Credit History aren't enough, they are also looking at ratios when making decisions. I'll be frank, you are not likely to get a personal unsecured loan from a bank with lending conditions these days. Are you still a student? Have you maxed out the amount you can borrow in student loans? If not, take a student loan to pay for your trip. Or as said, borrow from a friend / relative.

The other good suggestion I saw in this thread is to go on a study abroad of sorts, rather than a personal trip. There are usually more opportunities for funding going this route.

That being said, your money and your choice what you do with it.

[Edited on January 5, 2010 at 7:42 AM. Reason : .]

1/5/2010 7:40:57 AM

i'm going to south africa in june and prices are higher because of the world cup then - but there is no way you'll be able to do south africa for a week for 2k in april unless you get a free plan tix somehow - even then it'll be rough since it's so close to the world cup - i don't think you'll find a plane ticket for under 1k - there isn't a nice public transportation system so to get a round you basically have to have a rental car

based on the assumption that you really didn't know any of that - i'd say you should probably take a trip to the beach first

1/5/2010 8:20:35 AM

This is what i did a couple of years ago to buy a motorcycle. ***CAREFUL though because I had a full time job and knew i could pay back the borrowed money before interest kicked in.

I used one of those convenience checks my bank sent to pay off other loans...essentially paying off other debts but then owing the bank that money. There was no interest for 6 months but there was a small fee, either 3 or 5%. After that first 6 months I think the interest was something crazy...like 20%. I wrote myself a check for about $2500, deposited it into my checking account and used that money to buy the motorcycle.

Like I said I only did it knowing for sure I could pay back that loan before interest kicked in. So that's one way you could do it.

1/5/2010 8:24:28 AM

Quote :

"There's a thing called the peace corps. I would seriously recommend joining it"

My wife's cousin is working for the Peace Corp in South Africa and he hates it. They promised him that he would be working with people/children with AIDS and helping with agriculture issues in some small village. Instead he sits behind a computer all day trying to keep their shitty network running.

He has a 29 month commitment, but will be quitting early (~20 months) as the Peace Corp keeps lying to him about putting him in a different role.

1/5/2010 9:06:04 AM

Don't go to South Africa anytime in the next few months. Due to the World Cup it will be waaaaaaaay expensive. If you must go somewhere, go somewhere that isn't South Africa.

1/5/2010 9:40:56 AM

that's probably why he wants to go

1/5/2010 9:45:01 AM

Quote :

"most banks i've experienced won't do personal loans less than $5k or so... "

we had about $10k in credit card debt from the wedding. we went to Wachovia to take out a personal loan to pay it all off. we are both in very good standing at the bank, good credit scores, etc. we just wanted to consolidate all the debt into one place with a low interest rate.

Wachovia said NO. they weren't giving out personal loans at all. it just wasn't even an option.

soooo, yeah, good luck getting a personal loan from the bank for a fucking vacation

1/5/2010 10:15:10 AM

I think a vacation is just as valid (or invalid) a reason to get a loan as a fucking party

1/5/2010 10:16:18 AM

Don't do it. Trust me, $2K may seem like an amount you could handle, but once interest kicks in, and if you don't have a solid job with solid income, then you're setting up yourself for disaster.

Save up then go!

1/5/2010 10:20:13 AM

Going into debt (on a credit card, for Christ's sake) for a wedding seems even more ridiculous than using it for a vacation. How many thousands of dollars have been wasted because a woman has to have her special "I'm a pretty princess" day that is the culmination of all their unreasonable childhood expectations?

1/5/2010 10:23:44 AM

^believe me, i know this. if i knew then what i know now, i wouldn't have done it. live and learn my friend.

1/5/2010 10:24:45 AM

^^Agreed. And it's bullshit that the man is expected to pay however many thousands of dollar bucks on a ring.

1/5/2010 10:27:43 AM

^my man wasn't expected to do anything. my rings are beautiful, and were not bank-breaking.

however, we could have done without the super expensive wedding venue and the open bar. that's where all the money went. it was a kick-ass party though, so i'm cool with it. we're all paid off, no worries. but if i had it to do over again - i'd seriously rethink a few things.

if only i'd taken my dad's money and gone to vegas with a few friends. Elvis makes a great preacher.

1/5/2010 10:30:46 AM

Quote :

"Don't listen to anyone in this thread. Borrow the 2k from your parents and go to South Africa. your life is way to short."

Borrowing the money from your parents (if they are willing) is a far different thing than borrowing from a bank or credit card. It could be argued that life is way too short to tie up your finances for years on a trip you can't afford.

1/5/2010 10:53:15 AM

Quote :

"we could have done without the open bar"

Lets not get carried away here. Don't punish your guests

1/5/2010 11:27:58 AM

^we spent over $3k on 100 of our closest, drunkest friends and family

1/5/2010 11:31:33 AM

Quote :

"Borrow the 2k from your parents and go to South Africa. your life is way to short."

best idea in this thread--because there are no 'real' banks involved, and hopefully the money isn't a huge deal to your parents

1/5/2010 11:32:31 AM

^ and GrumpyGOP - Yes, don't borrow the money from the bank, borrow it from friends/relatives that you can pay back interest free over a year or two. But certainly don't let something like not having a long term plan for your life prevent you from living your life. Look for alternatives to finance your trip. The Peace Corps would be great, so would working overseas. Maybe not in South Africa, but you could teach English somewhere. When I was studying in Budapest, someone financed their trip by teaching hang gliding on the weekends. Be creative - the resulting experience will be that much more significant than getting a loan and hanging out in a bar overseas.

1/5/2010 11:34:45 AM

I agree with ^ and ^^. Life is too short, do it while you can. With that said, ideally you can get a loan from relative, interest free or not. Second option would be a credit card advance with 0% interest. Third would be personal loan. But as others have said, credit is extremely tight right now, and your only chance would be a community bank or credit union, but there are going to charge you a ridiculous interest rate. I have full time job, a house, etc. and got a 4k loan to replace an air conditioner and got charged 18% interest rate. Its highway robbery. But like others said you may not even be able to get this unless you have collateral, ie equity in a home or vehicle, or stocks, savings, etc.

1/5/2010 2:55:46 PM

Quote :

"this sounds like a bad idea all around."

1/5/2010 3:32:58 PM

Quote :

"this is a bad idea"

1/5/2010 3:46:21 PM

World's worst idea...

1/5/2010 4:22:54 PM

Has anybody suggested that he just earn the two thousand dollars between now and April? I mean, you've got like four fucking months. We're not talking about a huge sum of money in the grand scheme of things.

1/5/2010 4:35:18 PM

well part of the problem is that it won't cost $2k but will cost much more than that

1/5/2010 5:13:50 PM

^he has a friend in south africa to stay with...so he won't have to pay for lodging.

1/5/2010 5:17:16 PM

Quote :

" Life is too short, do it while you can."

I doubt there's anybody here who's more up for adventures than I am. I've always said to try everything once except for heroin and homosexuality.

but seriously, wait until you can afford it. it's much smarter financially, you'll enjoy it more when you're taking a break from a real grind instead of a poli sci degree in college, and you'll enjoy it more when you can swing it comfortably rather than selling your soul to scrape by on the cheap because you have to.

1/5/2010 10:35:40 PM