Personal Loans low interest

Earnest is anything but a traditional lender for unsecured personal loans and student loans. They offer merit-based loans instead of credit-based loans, which is good news for anyone just starting to establish credit. Their goal is to lend to borrowers who show signs of being financially responsible. Earnest is working to redefine credit-worthiness by taking into account much more than just your score.

They have a thorough application process, but it’s for good reason – they consider different variables and data points (such as employment history, education, and overall financial situation) that traditional lenders don’t.

Earnest*, unlike traditional lenders, says their underwriting team looks to the future to predict what your finances will look like, based upon the previously mentioned variables. They don’t place as much emphasis on your past, which is why a minimal credit history is okay.

Additionally, as their underwriting process is so thorough, Earnest doesn’t take on as much risk as traditional lenders do. With their focus on the financial responsibility level of the borrower, they have less defaults and fraud, which allows them to offer some of the lowest APRs on unsecured personal loans.

Personal Loan (Scroll Down for Student Loan Refinance)

Earnest offers up to $50, 000 for as long as three years, and their APR starts at a fixed-rate of 5.25% and goes up to 12.00%. They claim that’s lower than any other lender of their type out there, and if you receive a better quote elsewhere; they encourage you to contact them.

Typical loan structure

How does this look on paper? If you needed to borrow $20, 000, your estimated monthly payment would be $599-$638 on a three- year loan, $873-$911 on a two- year loan, and $1, 705-$1, 744 on a one-year loan. According to their website, the best available APR is on a one-year loan.

Not available everywhere

Earnest is available in the following 36 states (they are increasing the number of states regularly, and we keep this updated): Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Interesting facts

• The Posted county price (PCP) is calculated for the so-called loan commodities (except for rice and cotton) for each county by the Farm Service Agency. The PCP reflects changes in prices in major terminal grain markets (of which there are 18 in the country), corrected for the cost of transporting grain from the county to the terminal. It is...
• The Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri, aka the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, or MOHELA, is one of the largest holders and servicers of student loans nationwide. Headquartered in Chesterfield, MO, MOHELA’s mission is to “eliminate barriers for students so they can access higher education.” To this end, MOHELA...