Ways to Fund a Big Purchase

So you’ve got your hopes pinned on buying that new car. Or maybe it’s a new kitchen that is on the cards? Maybe you just need to do some DIY to spruce your house up a bit? Whatever the end result is going to be, we all need an injection of cash in our lives at certain times. The trick to getting it right is to work out how to achieve that in an affordable way.

The first step should be to think about what you want to achieve. By getting a firm idea of your plans up front, you will know exactly how much money you need in order to be able to do what you have in mind.

For example if you are thinking of having double glazing fitted, ask two or three different companies to come round, measure and quote you for their services. You can either then take an average of the three figures or choose the company you would use and take their figure as the one that you need to save for.

Saving is indeed one method of coming up with the cash you need. It does require you to be disciplined in putting money away regularly though, and you also need to think about the purchase in advance in order to be able to save up in time for when you need it. If you find that your reason for wanting the cash crops up suddenly – for example your boiler could break down and needs replacing – then you obviously need to think of another solution.

In this case you could consider asking a family member to lend you the cash you need. This can be fraught with danger though because if they need the money back quickly and you cannot afford to pay them, things could become strained between you.

If you are going to go down this route the best way to proceed is to write down an agreement between you for the amount of money owed and how much you are going to pay back each week or month, and agree whether any interest should be paid on the amount you borrow. Starting on a firm footing like this will make sure that both parties know where they stand and are capable of sticking to the agreement.

An alternative route to take – and perhaps the best one if you need the money in a hurry and don’t want to rely on relatives – is to consider any of the variety of loans products available to meet your needs. These can often be arranged very quickly and paid to you within days, so you could have that double glazing or new kitchen much sooner than you think.