How Many Personal Loans Can You Have At Once?

Name: How Many Personal Loans Can You Have at Once?
Creator: Savvy
Published: 2021-10-18T14:16:38+10:30

Home > Personal Loans > How Many Personal Loans Can You Have at Once?

It won't affect your credit score.

Written by , updated on October 4th, 2023

Personal loans provide a fast, easy and versatile form of financing for Australians across the country. While many seeking out this type of finance would only consider one at a time, there are ways that you can get another loan if you already have one. Find out more about how you can access two loans at the same time in this handy Savvy guide.

How many personal loans can I take out at once?

The answer to this question ultimately depends on your overall income. Although the general answer is two, this varies from borrower to borrower based on your individual circumstances. For instance, if you’re earning comfortably more than your current loan repayments and are looking to access more funds, you may be able to take out a second. Some mid to high income-earners may even be able to comfortably balance three loans’ worth of repayments at any given time, which is the absolute maximum someone can be approved for.

However, if you’re earning a lesser income and your lender only believes that you’re capable of juggling your existing personal loan on top of your other day-to-day expenses, you won’t be approved for a second finance deal. Some people may not even be approved for one based on their credit file and income. It’s important to stress that each applicant is different and can experience a different outcome when seeking out multiple personal loans. You’ll be approved for the volume of repayments that your lender is confident you can comfortably manage.

What should I consider when applying for another personal loan?

There are several key considerations in the process of determining whether an additional personal loan is the right move for you. Firstly, having multiple personal loan applications on your file can potentially make lenders more wary of you as a borrower. Not all lenders will be willing to approve borrowers for multiple personal loans, while others may be put off by a series of applications in quick succession due to the potential for you to find yourself trapped in a cycle of debt.

It’s also important to note that you’re unlikely to receive as strong a deal as what you did on your original loan due to the fact that your disposable income is now lower and that you’ve taken on more debt than you had previously. This can manifest itself in a lower loan amount than you were looking for or higher interest rates and fees on your newer loan, adding further to the overall cost of financing by up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.

Because of this, you’ll need to thoroughly think through both the amount you need and the repayments which you can afford prior to applying for further financing. It’s crucial that you only take on what you can manage financially, as it’ll be more detrimental to you to default on two personal loans compared to one. As such, you should also only ever apply for what you need. Whilst it might make sense to add another $3,000 to your loan for safekeeping, you have to consider that you’re paying hundreds of dollars in interest and fees on that amount alone and adding to your monthly repayments.

Should I look at refinancing my current loan instead?

Refinancing can be a highly useful alternative to applying for a second (or third) personal loan that could potentially save you money overall. A personal loan refinance is when you apply for another personal loan with a different lender for the express purpose of paying out your existing deal, allowing you to repay the remainder of your debt on more favourable terms. What they can also allow you to do, however, is add to your existing loan debt and lengthen the remaining term to add necessary funds and enable you to pay them at a manageable pace.

As such, you may find that simply refinancing your loan, adding however much you need to the new loan and altering the repayment term works out to be a more efficient way of affording access to more funds. The other advantage of this is that, if you’ve been repaying your loan debt for some time, you can capitalise on your positive repayment record and/or increase in your credit score to potentially land a more favourable offer, namely a lower rate.

It’s important to note, though, that some personal loan financiers may enforce fees for discharging your loan well ahead of schedule. While this isn’t the case for all lenders, you should always check to see whether they’re charged in the event of an early refinance. You may find that the fees outweigh the benefit of refinancing altogether and that you’re better off applying for a second loan.

Frequently asked questions about multiple personal loans

Is my credit card an alternative to a personal loan?

Yes – however, credit cards are more suitable for smaller loan debts that can be repaid within their interest-free period. This is because credit cards charge much higher interest rates than personal loans, which could cost you a significant amount of money if you have a reasonable balance left over at the end of the month.

How do I find out what my interest rate will be?

Your interest rate will be determined by a variety of factors such as your credit score, employment, income and expenses. Because this will differ significantly from person to person, you can find out what this is by completing a quick quote with your lender. Many of our personal finance partners will enable you to find out your potential interest rate without it affecting your credit score, which is a useful way to give you an understanding of what it might cost before you sign on.

Will I be able to pay out my loans early?

Yes – we can give you access to a variety of lenders who don’t charge any fees for additional or early repayments. Paying out your loans ahead of schedule can be highly beneficial and save you hundreds of dollars or more overall that otherwise would’ve been spent paying interest and fees. As such, it’s worthwhile using this factor to compare different lenders in the leadup to choosing your ideal loan offer.

Can my partner and I apply for multiple personal loans?

Yes – just because you’re applying with your partner doesn’t make it any more difficult to take out a second personal loan. If anything, having a co-borrower can actually boost your likelihood of approval and increase your borrowing power. This is because lenders will be more confident in a pair of borrowers and income streams than just one.

How long can I take to repay my personal loan?

Personal loans can be repaid over as long as seven years or as few as 12 months. The shorter your personal loan, the less you’ll pay in interest and fees overall. However, if you’re looking to take on multiple loans at once, opting for a longer term may be more beneficial to ensure that they’re manageable on a month-to-month basis.

Am I able to use the same asset as security for multiple loans?

No – security on personal loans is put in place as a measure for your lender to reclaim lost funds in the event that you default on your personal loan. What this means is that you’ll need separate eligible assets for each secured personal loan you take out, as the sale of one asset likely wouldn’t satisfy the need to recoup funds on the part of both loans.

Can I apply for multiple personal loans with bad credit?

Probably not – bad credit borrowers are seen as being riskier than applicants with good credit, so the amount you can be approved to take on is much lower. Bad credit personal loans will only go up to around $12,000 with a maximum repayment term of two to three years, beyond which you’re highly unlikely to be approved for a second separate loan.