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Single Parent Personal Loans
If you're a single parent looking for financing, you can find and compare from a range of options right here with Savvy today.
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The benefits of personal loans for single parents
Flexible usage
Your personal loan can be utilised in any way you like, from consolidating your debts, covering unexpected medical expenses or even taking your kids for a holiday.
Funds transferred in 24 hours
Once you submit your personal loan application, you can receive an outcome in just 60 seconds and have your lender transfer your funds within 24 hours if successful.
Diverse employment types
You can get approved for a personal loan regardless of whether you hold a full-time, part-time or casual position or run your own business (or a combination of more than one).
Centrelink income accepted
Even if you’re a single mother on Centrelink, you can count single parent, carers’, veterans’ or disability benefits and the Child Care Subsidy towards your total income on your application.
Choose your schedule
You can decide on whether to pay on a monthly, fortnightly or weekly basis, enabling you to tailor the frequency of your repayments to align with your income schedule.
Bad credit options
Even if you’ve struggled with credit in the past, there are plenty of specialist lenders who can help you get approved for a bad credit personal loan to give you the boost you need
Types of personal loan
With an unsecured personal loan, you can potentially borrow as much as $75,000 without the need to attach any valuable assets, such as your car, as security. These loans are the most widely available and often the quickest, with same-day approval possible.
Secured personal loans, on the other hand, make use of collateral. This lowers your risk profile in the eyes of a lender, potentially lowering your interest rate and expanding your borrowing power beyond what you may be able to get through an unsecured loan.
Variable interest rates remain open to fluctuation during your term. This means you can benefit from decreasing rates and save on your loan if the market heads in that direction, although you’ll also pay more if rates start rising.
Fixed interest rates are locked at the beginning of your loan and remain constant throughout your repayments. This acts as a valuable protection against interest rate increases, as your loan will be unaffected, but you’ll miss out on potential drops as well.
If you’re paying off multiple debts at the moment, particularly those with high interest (such as credit card debts), consolidating them into one payment can not only make them more convenient to manage but also potentially save you money overall.
Looking to take off on a holiday with your family but want to pay it off at your own speed? Travelling can be expensive, so you can distribute the cost of your next trip over a period you’re more comfortable with by taking out a personal loan to pay for it.
There are so many costs that go into making your dream wedding a reality, from venue hire to catering to dresses and suits and so much more. By taking out a personal loan, you can start planning the big day you want, even if you can’t pay for it upfront.
Home improvements are desirable for a range of homeowners to help keep their living space fresh and interesting, not to mention increase its value. You can get past the financial hit of renovations with a personal loan paid in instalments.
Personal loans aren’t limited to PAYG employees, though. If you’re running your own business, you can still be approved for financing by submitting tax returns and other alternative documents instead of payslips and utilise your funds however you wish.
There’s a variety of expenses which come with being a student, ranging from the cost of your courses, textbooks and computer to your accommodation. Taking out a personal loan can make these costs more manageable by spacing them out.
Some lenders offer green personal loans, which are designed to be used for energy-efficient appliances and products such as solar panel and air conditioning installation in your home. You can qualify for lower interest rates and fees with this loan.
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How to increase your approval chances as a single parent
Provide loan security
If you’re able to put up an asset, such as a car, boat or other vehicle, as collateral for your personal loan, you’ll likely greatly increase your chances of approval. This is because secured loans are considered more safe by lenders, given that they come with a built-in safety blanket.
Providing security will not only increase your chances of approval, but also lower your interest rate and potentially increase your borrowing power.
Avoid job changes
Part of the personal loan process is showing your lender that your income is stable, consistent and highly unlikely to change or fall through during your loan term. If they believe that this isn’t the case, you’ll only be approved for a small sum over a short time frame or simply not approved all.
Exhibiting stability in your job is a highly effective way of showing to your lender that you’ll be able to consistently pay off your loan.
Pay off any outstanding debts
Provided you’re not taking out a loan for this very purpose, paying off debts that remain outstanding can aid your chances of approval. This is because doing so can increase your credit score, which can in turn increase your borrowing power.
The higher your score, the more you can be approved for. Other ways you can increase your credit score include lowering your credit limits on your cards and cancelling any that you don’t need.
Only apply for what you can afford
You should only ever ask for an amount on terms that you can comfortably manage, as applying for funds beyond your repayment capabilities can result in a swift rejection. While your lender may return to you with a counteroffer of an amount they’d be willing to approve you for, it’ll save much-needed time on your application to apply within your means from the get-go.
You can use Savvy’s personal loan repayment calculator to determine what sort of repayments different loan terms and amounts can come with.
Apply with a guarantor
Finally, if your profile isn’t quite strong enough to be approved for the amount you’re looking for, you can enlist the help of a guarantor on your application. This is another person, typically a parent or grandparent, who guarantees the repayment of the loan, thus adding further security to your deal.
You’re likely to also find that a guarantor will also decrease your interest rate.
Applying for your personal loan as a single parent
Find your lender with Savvy
Analyse your potential options from Savvy’s lender panel and choose a product you’re eligible for and best suits your needs.
Prepare all of your documentation and apply
Gather your photo ID, payslips, Centrelink income statements (if applicable), details on your assets and liabilities and any other required documents.
Receive your outcome and funds
Find out whether your application was successful immediately after applying and have your funds sent directly to your account within one business day.
Common personal loan queries from single parents
Not necessarily – many of our lenders offer borrowers the chance to obtain a quick quote to find out their potential interest rate without impacting their credit score. This can be beneficial for you as borrower, as you won’t be locked into a situation where you end up needing to back out of a deal due to the fact that the offered interest rate is greater than you expected and end up with a mark on your credit file.
In general, unsecured personal loans are available from $2,000 to $75,000 and secured loans $15,000 to $100,000. However, what you’re approved for will be entirely dependant on your profile as a borrower, namely your credit score, nature of employment and stability of income. Single parents who have a high disposable income and job stability, as well as a proven record of servicing debt, are more likely to be approved for loans on the higher end of the scale.
Similarly, while personal loans can vary in length between one and seven years, the term you’re approved for will depend on the risk you present as a borrower. For example, a high income-earning single mother with a great credit rating will, in most cases, be able to stretch her loan repayments out to seven years. However, because loans for single mothers with bad credit are considered a greater risk, you’ll likely only be able to borrow over a maximum term of two to three years.
No – because JobSeeker and Youth Allowance are both conditional payments based on your age, employment and study status, you can’t include them in your loan application. It’s important to note, though, that JobSeeker can be included as a supplement to either a family tax benefit or a low income, but not on its own.
Yes – depending on the nature of your employment, you can be approved for financing straight after starting a new job. This is generally limited to borrowers who are moving between full-time jobs on similar salaries, as these are the most stable employment type. Some lenders may also accept permanent part-time employees in this position. However, you’ll likely require at least six months under your belt with stable hours and income if you’re a casual employee and a minimum of one to two years of trading experience as a self-employed worker.
The fees that most commonly apply to loans are application, ongoing and late fees, while some lenders also charge for early repayments. However, most lenders won’t include any fees for paying out your loan ahead of schedule, while others don’t charge any at all (aside from late fees). Each of these can vary in cost as follows:
- Ongoing fees: $0 to $10 per month
- Establishment fee: $0 to $595
- Early repayment fee: dependant on time left to run on loan (starting from $0)
- Late payment fee: $15 to $35
Helpful personal loan guides
Still looking for the right personal loan?
Personal loans come in all shapes and sizes, so read more about the ways you can use them, as well as how they might work for you.