So, bad financial times have fallen upon your life. Your company decided to make cuts and you were in the mix of the people being let go. You are finding yourself out of a job and the bills still keep coming in. Is it wise to take a personal loan to help you through this rough spell?

If you have to ability to secure a personal loan while you have a lowered or non-existent household income then you may want to jump on the chance to obtain that money while you have the opportunity. It is very hard to acquire a personal loan if you have diminished your income. If you qualify now, consider taking the loan to have some extra money as a cushion while looking for a new job, if you wait, you may not be able to get that loan down the road.

Whether or not to take on more debt while unemployed is a tricky question to answer. If you do not have any significant savings in the bank, you will probably need some extra cash. Counting on unemployment is not going to fully pull you through these hard times. Unemployment will help, but it will only be a fraction of your previous income.

The most important thing to do during this time is changing your spending habits. You must cut way back on everything during this crisis. Many people make a huge mistake and think they are going to be re-employed right away, if that’s the case then great, in reality it will take longer for most people. Cutting all of the luxuries out of your lifestyle is imperative when you are experiencing a financial crunch. No more satellite TV, going out to dinner, even going to the movies; you must cut back on all of your extras and focus on paying the bills.

If you have some savings in the bank that can pull you through then this is good thing. Why would you need to take a loan? One of the most common answers is that “I don’t want to touch my savings”. Well if you think about it, you are actually hurting your overall financial profile by taking on more debt with the personal loan. If your situation lasts longer than you planned, you will be tapping into your savings at some point, but now you will have to use some of it to pay off that loan.

If you know your time off work is going to be temporary, by all means, secure a personal loan to help you through. If you are uncertain about your next job then it is time for major lifestyle changes and time to go into a major spending freeze. Pinching every penny can be a big difference in the long run. Adding on another monthly payment of a personal loan may not be the wisest decision.