 TITLE: Good Reasons to Get a Personal Loan CONTENT: When to Consider a Personal Loan\n--------------------------------\nThe list of potential uses for personal loans is nearly endless, but prime circumstances when you might want to consider taking one out include:\n*   **Combining pricey credit card balances.** If you're carrying high balances on multiple credit cards, they're probably costing you a lot in interest payments, and they're likely lowering your credit score as well. Using a personal loan to pay off your credit cards, a process known as debt consolidation, can let you simplify multiple bills into one, reduce your interest charges and improve your credit score.\n*   **Emergency expenses.** If your house needs a new roof in a hurry or your furnace goes kaput, you may be able to cover the costs on a credit card. But big-ticket repairs can lead to high card balances that hurt your credit score and rack up big interest charges. The same can be true of medical emergencies: An injury or illness that requires forking over your full annual deductible in one payment could overtax your credit cards, and related expenses that aren't covered by your health care plan can add up fast. Using a personal loan to help manage these expenses can take a little stress out of the situation.\n*   **Personal events.** When mounting a pricey one-off event like a wedding, golden anniversary gala or even in some cases a funeral, a personal loan can provide a ready pool of cash to help deposits and payments for caterers, florists, venue rentals and the like.\n*   **Home remodeling.** When making a major improvement to your home, such as a kitchen remodel or expansion of your master bathroom, financing options often come down to a choice between a personal loan and a home equity line of credit (HELOC). If your credit is solid and you've been in your home long enough to have sufficient equity, you may be able to get a somewhat better interest rate and a higher spending limit with a HELOC, but home equity loans carry the risk of losing your home if you're ever unable to make payments. If you prefer not to use your home as collateral, or if you've only been in the house a few years, a personal loan could be a great financing option. END