The number of people taking out personal loans has risen dramatically over the last ten or fifteen years, but what are the reasons for this? In this article we'll look at the main uses of the loans that we take out.

Debt Consolidation

This is possibly the biggest single reason people take out a personal loan, with billions being lent to help people sort out their finances. The basic idea is to take out one single loan that you use to pay off all your other debts, leaving you with just one repayment to make. Not only does this make your financial life simpler and more easily managed, but if done properly the result should be that your debt is costing you less overall to service each month.

New Car

Although there are many different kinds of auto finance available, from basic car loans to vehicle plus finance packages, many of these deals work out to be quite expensive, and are often suited to people with poorer credit ratings. A normal personal loan, with a lower interest rate and less restrictions, can be a better option for funding a vehicle purchase for many people. The key benefit is that you're free to spend the loan amount on any car from any dealer, or even buy privately - an option not usually open to users of dedicated auto finance packages.

Home Improvements

The extreme rise in property prices over the last decade or so has left many people with large amounts of equity in their home. This means that their house is worth far more than the mortgage still owed on it. For some homeowners it can make good sense to 'cash in' some of this equity in the form of a loan, using the money to reinvest in their property by improving it. This can mean extra building works, improvements to faciilities such as bathrooms and kitchens, landscape gardening, or any other costly exercise that will ultimately increase the value of a property even further in the coming years.

Vacation or Travel

Also given the large amounts of equity many people have, a popular option is to free up some of this cash to finance a once in a lifetime vacation, cruise, or other kind of expensive travel. It's not generally recommended that you use your home as collateral for this kind of loan spending, as you'll be risking the future of your home with little to show for it once the vacation is over. An unsecured personal loan, however, is an ideal way of spreading the cost of an unforgettable experience over a year or two.

Wedding

One final popular reason for taking out a personal loan is to pay for a wedding, either your own or a child's. Weddings these days can be incredibly expensive, usually running well into four or even five figures, and not many people have this kind of money in reserve. Naturally, a wedding day should be a day to remember always, and so many people feel it's well worth the cost of taking out a loan in order to make the day as perfect as possible. The funds will also be useful in paying for a great honeymoon, and even providing a few household essentials when moving into a first home.