In most cases, it’s best to avoid taking out a small-business loan unless you’re reasonably sure of a bottom-line payback over the life of the loan. No matter how attractive a new product launch or expansion of facilities might seem, these proposals should be funded through a small-business loan only if they can increase the value of your company. Unfortunately, some planned improvements won’t translate into tangible rewards, and devoting time and money to them may even endanger your long-term success. Before signing on the dotted line, ask yourself if your proposal is likely to increase efficiency, improve productivity, reduce expenses or increase profits.

Expanding your market might seem to be a good idea, but what if your ongoing loan expenses outweigh the value of any new sales? Rather than doing your own math, it might be best to obtain an independent valuation of your company. For a fee, a professional business appraiser can look objectively at your proposal and help you determine its chances of making your business more valuable. He or she will also be able to help you determine if your company’s finances can support the overall cost and repayment schedule of the planned loan. It’s better to be conservative in your estimates, but even if the figures don’t initially add up, your proposal won’t necessarily have to be canceled.

You may be able to obtain an alternative means of financing, with terms that are better suited to your company’s circumstances. A number of financing options exist that are capable of providing additional capital to the small-business owner. Two common examples are commercial lines of credit and term loans: Commercial lines of credit are usually used to meet short-term needs, such as building up inventory, bridging cash-flow gaps or preparing for a new opportunity. Although most financial institutions offer commercial lines of credit, these offers won’t be the same. You should compare interest rates and other features as you shop around. Some lines of credit are renewable; some can automatically be accessed through a comprehensive cash management account; still others may feature no principal payments until maturity or a cleanup period.

Personal loans can help you in each and every situation. You can take these loans for pursuing higher studies, for home improvement, for going on vacations, etc. There come hundreds of situations when you fall short of money for your business or personal accomplishments. Parents may feel the pinch when it comes to education of their children.

The cost of education in the UK universities has increased very much in the recent years. Young students need financial assistance to pursue their education. A study carried out by Liverpool Victoria reveals that university years remain the most expensive throughout the upbringing of a child. According to the study, the cost of attending university now stands at £32,478 including tuition fees, books and living costs. Students often have to take financial help from the lenders to pursue higher studies.

Shoppers are being encouraged to take out a personal loan instead of using store and credit cards.Research by the Yorkshire Bank found that instead getting a bargain, customers taking advantage of offers during the sale season actually end paying a significant price if they do not realise the real costs behind the different ways they choose to fund their purchases.

This is especially problematic as many shoppers plan to buy expensive “big-ticket” items such as a new kitchen (23 per cent) or bathroom suite (16 per cent) and many plan to put the cost onto credit or store cards or use shop finance packages.Yet of the people polled six out of ten people (59 per cent) admitted they are unable to pay off their store card each month, with the result that the longer they take to pay for their sales bargain, the more it actually costs them.Gary Lumby, Yorkshire Bank’s head of personal financial services, said: “If you do not have a budget in mind before hitting the sales then the ’spend now, worry later’ mentality can prove extremely expensive.”Store cards can be ideal for shoppers who can meet their monthly bills.

However, if you can’t and the high rates of interest start kicking in, they can prove real problems with some shoppers paying far more for products than they originally were before the sales.”

Consumers find it difficult to get on top of their debt because their spending habits are dictated by necessity rather than their own extravagance, according to new research. The popular image of Brits happily piling up debts to support a lavish lifestyle would appear to be far from reality.

A Bradford and Bingley study found that 13 million people or 38 per cent of overspending adults claim the reason they live beyond their means is that their salary isn’t enough to live on.”The research reveals that the majority of people are aware of their debts - but they simply don’t earn enough not to rely on credit,” said Bradford & Bingley analyst Michael Senior. “This will have severe consequences for many, as the problem is only likely to be compounded month by month.”The UK’s debt mountain is now thought to have exceeded £1 trillion.

The financial wing of the AA has cut its Internet lending rate to 5.8 per cent APR on its personal loans.The deal holds true for typical unsecured loans of between £5,000 to £25,000, and the company claims the move makes it the cheapest provider of unsecured loans in the sector.”We are aiming to become a major player in the personal finance market and this 5.8 per cent rate underlines our determination to grow by offering market-leading rates for both loans and savings,” said Lloyd East, general manager of AA Lending, said.

“Christmas is approaching fast and most people promise themselves they’ll get organised in good time. “Budgeting now and taking out a low-interest loan will help you avoid the credit card devastation that often ends up with a panic to consolidate in the New Year with the first loan that’s offered,” he added.

Most savers earn such poor interest on their accounts that they lose money and often have difficulty understanding how savings work, according to AA Savings.The AA found that over three-quarters of those with a savings account did not know what AER - the term used to express savings interest rates - stands for.When told it stands for Annual Equivalent Rate, the amount of interest an account will earn over a year, more than half were unable to work out how much £100 would earn in a year, if it was in an account earning three per cent AER.

The youngest age group, 18 to 24, were 20 per cent less likely than average to get the calculation right.Meanwhile, a significant minority of adults (six per cent) thought three per cent interest would earn £30 on their £100 investment and more than one in 10 young people (11 per cent) thought that this would be their return. “This survey shows an alarming lack of financial literacy among savers and it seems to be particularly true of young people,” said Lloyd East, director of AA Savings.

Work and Pensions Minister Alan Johnson has described the state of women’s pensions as a “national scandal”, meaning they could be more likely to need a personal loan when older.Addressing the Commons work and pensions committee he noted that “only 50 per cent of women get the basic state pension”.Women are effectively punished by the current pensions system for taking time out from work, therefore national insurance contributions, to act as carers to children and the elderly and sick.

The Guardian newspaper reported that Mr Johnson had voiced support for the LibDem-proposed ‘citizen’s pension’, moving away from a strictly contributory system.Help the Aged said that this would represent the “first step in addressing the chronic poverty experienced by older women”.The charity Oxfam estimates that poverty affects one in four women compared with one in five men, with the elderly notably at risk.