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When it comes to finding financial products, the single most important rule is: shop around. "Yeah, yeah, that's obvious", I hear you protest. It may well be obvious, but, nevertheless, up to eight out of ten of us don't shop around for even the simplest financial products. Instead, we simply stroll down to the bank which holds our current account, sign on the dotted line, and end up massively out of pocket. This goes for credit cards, mortgages, savings accounts and so on. Ouch! Alas, if you can't be bothered to do a little research, then you should expect to pay through the nose for your financial products. For example, each year, millions of people take out an unsecured personal loan to pay for home improvements, a car, holiday, wedding, or to consolidate existing debts. However, not enough of us shop around to find a low-cost loan, which means that we waste a fortune on extra interest and rip-off insurance premiums. Let me give you an example: let's say that you want to borrow £8,000 over four years to pay for a major purchase, such as a new kitchen or car. Although you might save a packet by getting a discount on this purchase, not shopping around for finance could put you back to square one! Let's have a look at the current top deals, courtesy of independent financial researcher Moneyfacts (which powers the search engine in our Personal Loans centre): Best Buy personal loans (£8,000 over four years, without payment protection insurance) · Direct Line would charge a total amount repayable of £8,923.68 (5.6% typical APR), plus £35 for a same-day funds transfer; · Masterloan and Moneyback Bank would charge £8,940.48 (5.7% typical APR); and · Cahoot would charge £8,956.80 (5.8% typical APR). In contrast, the same loan from high-street bank Royal Bank of Scotland would cost a total of £9,308.64 (7.9% APR), or close to £400 more than its cheapest rival. Ouch! What's more, electing to have your repayments covered by Royal Bank's payment protection insurance (PPI) would see this total rocket to an incredible £11,237.76. In other words, this rip-off cover adds almost two grand to the total, which just goes to show how much of a massive con PPI really is! Thus, if you choose the wrong loan and get suckered into buying PPI, you could end up close to £2,400 worse off, which is a real slap in the face. So, keep your wits about you and don't choose the wrong loan, otherwise you'll end up massively out of pocket! Finally, to be a brighter borrower, read these five tips before you start shopping around. More: Pick your perfect personal loan in our Personal Loans centre!
