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$8,000 Personal Loans
Find and compare from a range of low rate personal loan offers here with Savvy from our panel of flexible lending partners.
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Features and benefits of $8,000 personal loan
Competitive interest rates
Our lending partners offer a wide range of personal loan products for you to choose from, helping you pick out the cheapest rate available to you right know.
Flexible usage
Unlike other types of finance, you can utilise personal loan funds however you like, with potential uses ranging from paying vet’s bills to contributing to your wedding and anything in between.
Choose your pay schedule
Personal loans allow you to choose the cycle on which you repay them, with weekly, fortnightly and monthly options all available for you to select.
No upfront payment
There’s no obligation for you to make a deposit with a personal loan: 100% of the $8,000 you need can comfortably be approved to cover whatever you need.
Low or no fees
We can connect you with lenders who don’t charge monthly account-keeping fees, establishment fees, early repayment fees or all three.
Instant approval and fast settlement
You can enjoy an instant outcome in just 60 seconds, after which you’ll receive the funds directly into your account in as few as 24 hours after applying.
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 compare $8,000 personal loans
Eligibility
First and foremost, you’ll want to make sure that you’re eligible for the personal loan you’re looking to apply for. Factors such as minimum income (from around $20,000), employment status, credit score and past borrowing are all common criteria for personal loans, so you should review them prior to applying.
Submitting an application for a loan you’re not eligible to take on is an avoidable way to have a rejection appear on your credit file.
Interest rate
One of the main factors to look for when applying for a personal loan is a low interest rate. These form the main cost of your personal loan, so it’s important to compare as many offers as you can when selecting your loan. To demonstrate this, paying an $8,000 personal loan over three years at 7.5% p.a. interest would save you over $130 in interest alone compared to an 8.5% p.a. rate.
If you have recent defaults on your file for similar loans, though, you won’t receive a positive rate and may be rejected altogether, even for bad credit loans.
Fees
Similarly, fees can make a dent in the cost of your personal loan. It’s arguably just as important to look for lenders who charge you low or no monthly and establishment fees, which you can do here with Savvy. These can be costly if not properly checked, with ongoing fees ranging up to $10 each month and establishment fees costing up to $600 (albeit typically based on a percentage of your loan amount).
Available loan terms
It’s just as important when comparing loans to look at lenders who can offer the terms you’re looking for. Some lenders will cap their loans at a minimum of two or three years in length, meaning they may not be as suitable an option if you’re looking at a one-year loan to maximise your savings. Lenders will always display these parameters on their site, so you can find this information out well before you apply.
For example, paying a $7,000 personal loan at 7.5% p.a. over one year instead of two would save you almost $300 in interest alone.
Repayment flexibility
Finally, if you want to keep the freedom to repay your loan as quickly as you like, you should prioritise lenders who won’t charge you when it comes to making additional contributions and completing your loan repayments early. This is a highly effective way to reduce the cost of your personal loan, as you can trim down the length of your loan term and save on interest and fees as a result.
Common queries about personal loans answered
If you have strong credit and earn a comfortable living with stable employment, you can potentially take out an $8,000 personal loan over as long as five years.
While the maximum for personal loans is usually seven, lenders generally won’t approve applications of that length for smaller amounts. If you’re an applicant with average credit, you’re likely to be offered a shorter term than this.
Yes – even though self-employed borrowers don’t earn their income via payslips, you can still be approved for a standard personal loan like anyone else and can use it to cover your business expenses. This can be done by submitting your last two years’ worth of tax returns in place of payslips, which are assessed in the same way. However, if you can’t supply these, you may have to turn to a low doc personal loan instead.
Most personal loans come with fixed interest rates, particularly for smaller amounts. These are very handy in bringing stability to your repayments and a sense of certainty surrounding what you’ll be paying each month towards your loan. However, you may come across some that offer variable rates, which enable you to capitalise on interest rate decreases, albeit at a higher base rate than fixed.
Refinancing your personal loan can be a great way to help you save money overall. This involves taking out another loan from a different lender to pay out your existing one, from which point you take on the new loan’s repayments instead until its conclusion. By doing so, you can access a better rate and save money overall.
This method is also useful if you want to add extra funds to your loan to consolidate other outstanding debts. If you do so, ensure that there aren’t any fees associated with refinancing that might negate the benefit of doing it in the first place.
No – for an $8,000 personal loan, there won’t be any obligation for you to provide security for your loan. This is a large part of the reason why these loans are so fast to process: there’s no need for your lender to take the time to assess the collateral you’re proposing to use and determine whether it’s fit to do so with an unsecured loan.
$8,000 personal loans explained further
How long will it take to get approved for a $8,000 personal loan?
Each applicant is likely to have a different experience when it comes to how long it’ll take to have your application approved and funded. Generally, lenders can provide an outcome on the same day you apply, sometimes within one to two hours after you submit your application, and have your funds advanced to you in 24 hours for your use. However, there are several variables which can impact the speed of the approval and funding process, so it’s important to be across these before applying so you can have a clear idea of why your funding may be delayed. These factors include:
Your loan affordability
Your lender will be able to determine very quickly whether the amount you’re asking for is beyond what they believe you’re capable of comfortably repaying. If you applied for a $7,000, one-year loan at 12% p.a. with monthly repayments of $622 but only had $750 in household disposable income each month, you wouldn’t be approved. Lenders don’t want to put you as a borrower under any risk of stress and defaulting on your loan. As such, having an idea of what you’re able to manage ahead of time (which you can estimate with our borrowing power calculator) can help smooth out any bumps in the process.
Your credit file
Lenders want to ensure the borrowers they’re approving applications for are disciplined enough to repay their loans without any hitches. Your credit score is an indication of your record when it comes to repaying past loans and other things such as utility and phone bills. If you submit your application and your lender sees a strong score and pristine record of repaying your debts over the past five years, especially similar finance agreements, you’re more likely to be approved straight away without any hiccups. Average or poor credit histories typically require more time to assess, often by specialist lenders.
Your employment stability
Part of determining whether your loan will be affordable for you across your term is looking at the consistency of your income and employment. Lenders will want to see stability, rather than constant switching between jobs and fluctuating incomes, as this indicates a higher likelihood of your income remaining the same across your term and thus maintaining your ability to support the loan. While full-time and part-time workers can apply from the day they start their new job, lenders prefer borrowers outside their probationary periods. Casual employees will generally need at least six consistent months under their belts, while self-employed workers may be required to have worked for at least two years.
How organised you are
It may not seem like a substantial factor, but the time of day and week will have a direct impact on how long it takes to get approved for financing. This is because submitting your application earlier in the day gives you a better chance of having it approved within 24 hours. Applying just before your lender shuts up shop for the day or in the evening is likely to prolong the approval process. The same applies in terms of the week, with Monday applications running a lesser risk of spanning multiple days than Friday submissions.
Another aspect of this is the required documentation. You should ensure you have this ready to submit before you start your application wherever possible, as delays caused by incorrect or missing documents are common. The documentation you’ll need to submit may differ slightly between lenders but will generally include:
- Photo ID such as your driver’s licence or passport
- Your last two payslips and/or 90 days’ worth of bank statements
- Information on any existing assets, liabilities and expenses
- Proof of address
- Evidence of current employment via a contract may be required
How can I increase my chances of approval?
There are several ways you can go about maximising your chances of approval for the $8,000 loan you’re after. You should review and familiarise yourself with these tips before you apply so you can know entering the process whether your likelihood of approval will be substantially boosted prior to even starting your application. Some of the main ways to boost your approval chances are:
- Maintain a strong credit file: lenders will always look for borrowers who can be trusted to repay a substantial debt and your credit score provides some indication of that. This is a score based on your history of repaying other loans and keeping up with ongoing debts such as credit cards, utility bills, phone bills, insurance premiums and more. Lowering your limits and paying down existing debts can boost your score before you apply.
- Have a similar loan repaid in the past: while credit scores remain important, your chances will be boosted even further if you’ve specifically repaid similar loans without issue in the past. If you have a personal or car loan on your file from within the past few years which was paid off without a hitch, lenders use this as a practical demonstration of whether you’re disciplined enough to repay another.
- Avoid job and income changes: another area lenders look to is stability in your life. Income and employment play a massive role in shaping whether your application turns out to be successful, as financiers need to be confident in your ability to consistently support payments across your term. By sticking to the same job and having a stable income, they’ll have more faith in your ability to do so.
- Stick to similar living spaces: another aspect of stability lenders often look to is your residential history. Applicants who move often are likely to have fluctuating expenses when it comes to rent and other bills, which may make it more difficult to be confident in your ability to repay your loan no matter what. Owning your home or renting long-term will both help your chances of approval.
- Borrow within your capabilities: finally, you should only ever apply for an amount and repayment terms which you can comfortably manage. Lenders have their own affordability calculations to help them determine whether the loan you’ve asked for is something you can manage with your current income and expenses, so they’ll know quite quickly whether you’re capable of paying off the loan you’re asking for.
Am I better off just using my credit card?
Probably not, although it depends on your income. Credit cards are considered useful for expenses which can be paid off promptly within the month-long interest-free period. If debts roll over into the next month, they’ll attract considerable interest, which is often higher than what you might receive on a loan. If you can afford to pay off your $8,000 debt within one month, you may well be better off putting it on your credit card, but this isn’t the case for most people.
Another factor to consider about credit cards is the lesser certainty surrounding them. With a personal loan, you’ll simply submit your fixed payments each month and not have to worry too much about having to pay any more (unless you choose a variable rate loan). However, there’s always the threat with a credit card that, if you forget to pay it off, you could end up paying a substantial amount more for your troubles. For peace of mind, a personal loan with consistently manageable repayments is the better option.
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.