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5 Common Personal Loan Refinancing Mistakes to Avoid

5 Common Personal Loan Refinancing Mistakes to Avoid

Refinancing a personal loan can save you money or cost you more than you realize. Here are a few potential mistakes that can trip borrowers up, and how to avoid them.

A lower APR and a longer term can reduce monthly personal loan payments. Here’s how each works.
Nov 4, 2026
5 min read
How refinancing can lower your monthly personal loan payments
Refinancing a personal loan can potentially lower your rate or monthly payment, but timing matters. Here’s how to know when it makes sense and when it doesn’t.
Nov 4, 2026
4 min read
When should you refinance a personal loan?
Personal loan limits vary by lender and borrower profile. Here’s what determines your maximum loan amount and what to consider before you apply.
Nov 4, 2026
4 min read
What affects your personal loan limit?

Personal Finance

How to consolidate debt without hurting your credit score

How to consolidate debt without hurting your credit score

When people worry about debt consolidation hurting their credit, they’re usually thinking about how a loan application affects their credit score. What may negatively affect a credit score is a missed payment, a closed account that shortens your credit history, or new spending on the cards you just paid off.

Your DTI ratio changes when your debts change, when your income changes, or both. There are concrete steps you can take before you apply that can move it in the right direction. In this article, we cover what the metric is, what the generally accepted thresholds look like, and how to lower it. 
Aug 31, 2026
4 min read
If you’re carrying several high-APR balances and looking at consolidation loans, you’re already asking the right question. What you need next is a framework for evaluating what’s actually in front of you. 
Aug 20, 2026
5 min read
If you’re carrying credit card debt and looking for a lower-cost way out, two options tend to come up: a balance transfer card and a personal loan. Both can reduce what you pay in interest. In this article, we’ll look closely at how they work. 
Aug 20, 2026
5 min read

Personal Loan

Refinancing a personal loan can save you money or cost you more than you realize. Here are a few potential mistakes that can trip borrowers up, and how to avoid them.
Nov 4, 2026
4 min read
A lower APR and a longer term can reduce monthly personal loan payments. Here’s how each works.
Nov 4, 2026
5 min read
Refinancing a personal loan can potentially lower your rate or monthly payment, but timing matters. Here’s how to know when it makes sense and when it doesn’t.
Nov 4, 2026
4 min read
What affects your personal loan limit?

What affects your personal loan limit?

Personal loan limits vary by lender and borrower profile. Here’s what determines your maximum loan amount and what to consider before you apply.

Personal Savings

HYSA vs CD: Which is right for your savings?

HYSA vs CD: Which is right for your savings?

Both a high-yield savings account (HYSA) and a certificate of deposit (CD) outperform a traditional savings account.

What does it take to achieve financial independence early in life? The end goal for many FIRE followers is early retirement—but it’s not the only goal.
Sep 24, 2024
9 min read
What happens when you take money out of a CD before the maturity date? Here's everything you need to know, including how CD early withdrawal penalties are calculated, how to avoid these fees, and when incurring them might be a good idea.
Jun 26, 2024
6 min read
Savings accounts are considered a low-risk and highly liquid place to hold cash—and typically provide a very low annual return. Recently, high-yield savings accounts are proving to be the exception.
Jun 26, 2024
5 min read

Personal Checking

Chances are, you’re managing money differently today than you were a few years ago. If your shopping, spending, and money management have moved online and onto your phone, you might want to consider whether an online-only bank is a fit for you.
Sep 30, 2024
7 min read
How to open a bank account online

How to open a bank account online

Opening a bank account online is a convenient way to manage your money without setting foot in a local branch. Today, many online-only banks, traditional banks, and credit unions have easy online applications, so you can shop around and open an account from the comfort of your home.

Auto Refinance

When to refinance your car loan (& when to wait)

When to refinance your car loan (& when to wait)

Refinancing your auto loan can help you get a lower interest rate or change the loan term, which could save you money on interest, lower your monthly payments—or potentially both. If you only recently bought your car, or you’ve had it for several years, you might be wondering if it’s too soon, too late, or the perfect time to refinance.  

Auto loan refinancing is when you use a new car loan to pay down your old loan—often with a lower monthly payment or interest rate. 
Apr 7, 2025
7 min read
Your credit score may be impacted when you refinance your auto loan thanks to a hard credit check, but the effects are typically short-lived.   
Mar 19, 2025
6 min read
The total cost of owning a car includes the purchase price, interest on loans, insurance, fuel, maintenance, repairs, taxes, registration, depreciation, and unexpected expenses.
Feb 5, 2025
3 min read

Business Loan

Growing your business can be an exciting time. It may also mean you need to come up with some extra cash to cover large expenses. Whether you’re looking to buy new equipment or lease a larger commercial space, a small business loan may be able to provide the funding you need to reach your goal.  
Jun 23, 2024
6 min read
7 recession-proof small businesses

7 recession-proof small businesses

Some small businesses seem to thrive no matter what the economy is doing. What’s their secret? Here are a few business ideas to consider and tips to help you bake some resiliency into your venture.

Institutional Investing

What investors need to know about the personal loan market

What investors need to know about the personal loan market

The unsecured personal loan market continues to hit record highs, and despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, shows few signs of slowing down.

Banks that diversify across customer segments, lending categories, income streams, geographies, and digital platforms are not courting fragility, but insulating themselves against it.
Jul 7, 2025
3 min read
The typical investment mix of long-term loans and securities may turn out to yield lackluster results. Banks may have another investment option: consumer credit.
May 12, 2025
4 min read

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