Personal Loans
When life happens: emergency loans that make sense
Updated Jun 26, 2025
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Key takeaways:
An emergency loan can help you get cash quickly when you really need it.
Use an emergency loan for a variety of purposes, including repairs, buying new appliances, and other unexpected needs.
An emergency loan can help you avoid relying on higher-interest credit cards to pay for urgent expenses.
Life can (and does) throw curveballs. Many of us have been in a situation where we need a little extra help. If you're struggling with an unexpected expense, an emergency loan could help you get through difficult times. Let's take a look at how an emergency loan might be the right choice for you.
What is an emergency loan?
Emergency loans help people access cash quickly. An emergency loan is usually a personal loan.
Generally, emergency loans are unsecured, which means you don’t have to pledge an asset, like your car or house, to guarantee the loan. Also, some lenders offer fast funding, with the ability to get your money within a day or two.
An unsecured emergency loan could be used for a variety of purposes, depending on your needs. Some eligible uses for an emergency loan include:
Home or car repairs
Replacing a broken appliance
Covering a medical emergency
Bridging a short-term income need
With the help of an emergency loan, you might be able to avoid using your credit card or dipping into savings. The loan could smooth your cash flow during a tough time without forcing you to sacrifice your other financial goals.
An emergency loan usually comes with a fixed interest rate that won’t change for the life of the loan. The payment amount won’t change. Your loan will be set for a fixed amount of time, so you’ll know exactly when the debt will be paid off.
Pro tip: The Small Business Administration offers emergency loans to residents and businesses affected by declared disasters.
What if I need a loan today?
If you need a loan today, first take a breath. It’s important not to jump at an offer in desperation, only to end up in an even worse financial situation than you’re in now because the loan is so expensive.
Look for lenders that offer same-day funding. Funding times can vary, but some lenders offer same-day emergency loans. Same-day funding could be easier to get if you apply early in the day. Someone needs time to review your application. If it’s later in the day or the lender can’t accommodate a same-day request, focus on lenders who can provide funding within a day or two.
Read more: Hardship loans
What types of emergency loans are available today?
If you’re experiencing immediate and urgent financial hardship, these are your main borrowing options:
Personal loans
A personal loan is an unsecured loan that may offer quick funding. You’ll need to meet the lender’s credit and income requirements.
If approved, you’ll borrow a lump sum of money and pay it back over a predetermined period of time. It’s common to find lenders offering personal loans ranging from $2,000 to $50,000.
Most lenders offer fixed-rate personal loans, meaning the interest rate doesn’t change. Repayment terms typically range from 12 months to seven years. Personal loans tend to be less expensive than credit cards, and a lot less expensive than payday loans.
Credit card cash advance
If you have a credit card and it’s not maxed out, you could consider taking a cash advance. This wouldn’t require a credit check because you already own the card. It’s also quick because it’s possible to walk into a bank with your credit card and proper I.D. and get a cash advance in a matter of minutes.
Expect the cash advance to be subject to a higher interest rate than your regular purchases. That’s normal. And there’s no grace period. You’ll owe interest starting on the day you get the advance.
If you’re choosing between a cash advance and a payday loan, the cash advance will probably cost less.
Payday loans
A payday loan is a short-term emergency loan with high fees. Typically, you’ll be required to pay back the loan within about two weeks, on your next payday. Typical fees range from $13 to $15 per $100 borrowed. That’s an APR of nearly 400%. For comparison, credit card interest rates generally range from 10% to 36%.
Payday loans are only available in 29 states. It’s an extremely risky way to get cash. If you don’t repay the loan by the due date (and around 80% of borrowers can’t), you might be forced to pay the fees, renew the loan, and pay more fees on the next due date.
Most payday loans are made to borrowers who end up renewing their loans so many times, they pay more in fees than the original loan amount. Avoid payday loans if you can.
Cash advance app
A free cash advance app could help you access some of the money from an upcoming paycheck. You typically have to set up the app in advance. The first time you get a cash advance your limit might be on the low side, such as $100. If you borrow and repay responsibly, the app might increase your limit over time. In most cases, there’s a small fee for same-day cash advances. Free options require that you wait a day or two for the money.
Title loans
If you own your car, a title loan could get you fast access to cash using your car as collateral. If you don’t repay the loan, your lender can take your car and sell it.
Title loans are short-term loans, usually with repayment terms of 15 to 30 days. Most lenders allow you to borrow up to 25% to 50% of your vehicle's value. If you need cash quickly, you may be able to get a title loan today.
The APR on title loans is capped in most states, often in the same range as a credit card interest rate. If there is no rate cap in your state, a title loan is probably a bad idea. You might pay a 300-600% or higher APR. If your state’s cap is above about 36%, think carefully about the loan. It could be hard to repay with that much interest.
The major risk to you is that you could lose your car if you can’t repay the loan.
How can I increase my chances of getting approved for a loan quickly?
If you need an instant loan, you can increase your odds for fast approval by gathering all your application documentation before you apply. This includes proof of identity, income, address, and bank account information. Doing this can help you speed up the application process.
Getting prequalified before you apply for a loan could also help to speed up approval. Talk to lenders who do a soft credit check that doesn’t hurt your credit. Once you apply, they’ll likely do a hard inquiry that could knock a few points off your credit score. Prequalifying for a loan could help you understand which loans you qualify for and the terms available to you.
What are my options if I have bad credit?
If you have bad credit, it may be harder to get approved for a loan with affordable terms. But lending options are available. Some lenders work with borrowers who have scores below 580.
Here are some other options to explore if you have bad credit:
Find a co-signer: Applying for a loan with a co-signer may give a lender more confidence and improve your odds of approval. A co-signer agrees to repay the loan if you fail to do so.
Apply for a secured loan: Secured loans are loans backed by collateral. If you default on your loan, the lender can take the collateral and sell it to recover what they’re owed. Not all lenders offer secured loans, but if they do, you might be able to borrow against a bank or investment account that you own, a vehicle or boat, jewelry, or anything else with a value that can be verified.
What if I don’t qualify for an emergency loan today?
If you don’t qualify for an emergency loan today, don’t give up hope.
Consider these alternatives:
Charities or nonprofits: Contact local charities to explore the financial resources they offer. If you need money quickly, there may be organizations in your community that provide cash assistance. Don’t overlook resources like this.
Government assistance: All states offer some kind of assistance to needy residents. Some provide immediate and ongoing cash assistance. To qualify, you generally can’t have any valuable assets, and you must have almost no income.
Hardship programs: A credit card hardship program could help you get through your emergency. Your creditors or lenders may agree to reduce payments, modify the terms of your loan, or temporarily pause payments to give you time to get back on track.
Join a credit union: Many credit unions welcome members with bad credit and often loans at very affordable rates. You may even be able to join a credit union and apply for a loan on the same day. Some credit unions allow anyone to join if they make a very small ($5) donation to a specific mission or charity.
What’s next
Review emergency loan options. Consider which solutions make the most sense for your financing needs and credit situation.
Compare lenders, loan terms, rates and fees, and funding timelines.
Gather necessary documentation. Have proof of identification, income, address, and your bank account information ready to speed up the application process.
Get prequalified. This can help you compare options.
Apply.
Author Information
Written by
Natasha is a contributing writer for Achieve. She has been a financial writer for nearly a decade. She excels at providing realistic strategies to help readers improve their knowledge and change their financial situations.
Reviewed by
Jill is a personal finance editor at Achieve. For more than 10 years, she has been writing and editing helpful content on everything that touches a person’s finances, from Medicare to retirement plan rollovers to creating a spending budget.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the easiest loan to get approved for?
Secured loans are often easier to qualify for than unsecured loans. With a secured loan, you’re borrowing against something of value. For example, when you get a home equity loan, you pledge your home to the lender as a guarantee that you’ll repay the loan. This lowers the lender’s risk, which means they might be more flexible about things like your credit score.
If you’re comparing personal loans, it may be easier to qualify for smaller loans since you don’t need as much income to cover the monthly payments.
Most personal loans require a credit score of at least 620, but there are some lenders out there that specialize in making loans to people with lower credit scores.
What is a cash advance app?
A cash advance app offers you the ability to access your pay early. You connect your bank account to the app, and the app provides you a way to get a small amount of money deposited into your account. You’ll repay the loan on your next payday.
Cash advance apps can be very helpful in an emergency, but they need to be set up in advance.
What kind of loan can you get with bad credit?
If you have bad credit, one option is to find a peer-to-peer lender online. These are not banks. Investors fund the loans. So they might approve you even if a bank turns you down. There are also lenders that advertise bad credit loans.
Another option is a secured loan if you have something valuable that you can borrow against, like an investment account.
You may be tempted to borrow against your car with a title loan, but these usually come with very bad terms. It’s not a good idea unless you need the money for car repairs and the interest rate is comparable to what you’d pay on a credit card.
Finally, if you already have a credit card, you might be able to get a cash advance.
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