You’ve got a budget, which you (mostly) stick to. You know exactly how much you have to pay out on your food shop and make sure you don’t spend over your allotted amount on takeaways each week. All of a sudden, you’re faced with an emergency expense that you hadn’t accounted for.

It’s happened to the best of us. Unless you have more money coming in than you spend each month, it’s hard to build up a pot of savings that you can use for unforeseen expenses. Whether it’s the car that you use to take the kids to school that has broken down or your boiler is on the blink, you need cash – and fast.

Payday loans

Payday loans are basically a type of short-term loan. Their name comes from the fact that in the past, many companies would demand repayment of your loan on your next payday. Now, most payday lenders offer short-term loans or emergency loans online of varying lengths, usually from a few weeks up to around 6 months.

Short-term loans have been designed for emergency expenses, as payday lenders can often get the money into your bank account within a matter of hours after approval. 

The golden rule of borrowing is to only ever borrow what you can comfortably afford to repay. When taking out a loan from a short-term loans company, always make sure you know exactly what your repayments will be and ensure that you can pay back the money you owe on time, or you may be faced with additional fees and interest.

Borrowing money on your credit card

If you have a credit card, you could use this to pay for your emergency costs. Most car repair garages, for example, will take a credit card payment for the cost of car repairs (although double-check before giving them the go-ahead). Just make sure you can either pay the card off in full on its due date or can afford to make the repayments, with interest.

If you have a good credit rating, you may even be able to take out a credit card with 0% interest on purchases for a fixed period. This may take a little more time to get than a short-term loan but if your unforeseen expenses can wait, it could be a viable option for you.

Borrowing from family

Another alternative is to borrow money from a peer, friend or family. This obviously won’t be possible for everyone.

It’s always a good idea to write down how much you’re borrowing and the repayment terms of the loan they’re giving you. This way, you’re both completely sure what you’re signing up for.

If you suddenly find yourself having to shell out for an emergency expense, you could consider taking out a short-term loan, using a credit card or borrowing from your family. Whichever route you go down, make sure that you never borrow more than you can comfortably afford to repay.