Loan-hunger season : Need For Caution When Borrowing
- By Brice Mbeze
- 28 août 2023 12:37
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The season is around again when parents are eager to provide needs and get their offspring back to school. It is also a period when parents or relatives either borrow wisely or blindly to manage their financial or material challenges. As such, many would use the name of school resumption to engage loans that may ruin them for long.
In the circumstance, the temptation is high for parents to take multiple loans. Loan sources for the moment include meeting houses “njangis”, banks, colleagues at job sites, friends, and usurers. It is sweet at the time of taking, but bitter when paying back. In the days of old we heard names like “time for trust” among plantation workers. Such names suggested that at the beginning the borrower adopts a sweet tongue, but when it is time to pay back bitterness sets in. Usually, resentment comes with the inability to refund the loans. That situation stirs trouble between lenders and borrowers, and ensuing problems can extend to society in general.
Lending and borrowing, be it money, property or ideas is as old as the human society. It becomes more challenging when we consider the financial landscape. Starting a business, acquiring a home, or covering unexpected expenses, loans provide a means to managing financial challenges and achieving goals. However, it is crucial to exercise caution when engaging in the borrowing process. The importance of being vigilant when contracting loans warrants such factors to explore as source of loan, schedule for repayment, interest rates, amounts being borrowed and ability to refund. It is essential to comprehend the loan process and conditions.
The management of loans contracted is another field of play is crucial. Do borrowers always spend the money for the purpose for which the lending was made? Observably many debtors take to bars and luxury shops once the money enters their hands. They quickly forget what they took the money for and spend it on fancy or booze in bars. Their eyes open wide when it is time to repay. Yet, they must pay back with interest even with their problems still unsolved. Loaning, too, is a field of risk for both parties. The lender is restive until refunded. Meanwhile, the borrower takes a risk of having the resources to pay back. If it is a calculated risk, fine and good. But if it is a careless risk, time will tell as one may be plunging down a precipice.
Loans are a field of play involving a lender who provides funds to a borrower who has to pay back with interest over a period of time. The terms and conditions of loans, include interest rates, repayment periods, and collateral requirements. Those terms vary depending on several factors such as the borrower's creditworthiness, the purpose of the loan, its economic impact and the prevailing market conditions. Certain seasons may bring about unique financial needs and income patterns. For example, the school resumption period often involves increased expenses to pay fees, buy school needs and ensure registration for offspring.
The seasonal dynamics of loans in our society involve time, purpose and source. Now is one of the periods when people especially parents willingly or compellingly borrow to satisfy school needs for their children. While some are pushed to borrow by spouses and friends, others just develop the knack for borrowing. In many cases, the purpose and urge for borrowing usually blinds the borrower. Interest rates are overlooked at the time of taking the loan. Lenders often adjust their rates exploitatively based on market conditions, monetary policies, and the demand for credit. As a borrower, it is crucial to be aware of interest rates. Importantly also is the source of loans. For instance, borrowing from usurers is more suicidal than taking soft loans from colleagues at the work place.
The borrower’s ability to manage the debt remains central to any loaning engagement. If you do not match your income with your expenditure, then danger may be signalling with your finances. If you are borrowing for school needs, make sure you cover all aspects of the needs. So, you do not go halfway and the problem remains at hand. Borrowers must calculate well and square their challenges with the amo...
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