Is your business in financial trouble? Are you concerned about staying afloat while you figure things out?

If you find yourself in this position, you’re likely to search high and low for the money required to save your business.

While there are many options to consider, some business owners make the mistake of turning their attention to a loan shark. Here’s why: they can secure the money they need without a long application process. Furthermore, if they have bad credit, their chance of approval is greater than it is with more traditional options.

Even if this sounds like a great idea on the surface, you shouldn’t go down this path. It may provide you with some immediate relief, but as the days turn to weeks you’ll come to realize that there is no end in sight.

Here are some of the many reasons to avoid taking money from a loan shark:

• The interest rate will be extremely high, as there are no regulations in place
• If you don’t pay the money back in time, you may find yourself dealing with an extremely angry lender who threatens you in a variety of ways
• It’s a vicious cycle of borrowing that can be difficult to break

Turning to a loan shark to save your business could end up being the final straw in going under. Rather than opt for this type of loan, consider the following options:

• Bank loan
• Credit card
• Loan from family and/or friends
• Home equity line of credit
• Personal loan

These are all much better options, as you’re dealing with legitimate financial institutions (or loved ones) that won’t attempt to take advantage of you. Instead, they will provide you with your options and help you find the product that’s best for you and your business.

There could come a time when you need money in a hurry. In fact, you’re so anxious that you immediately begin to consider all your options – even those that are not necessarily in your best interest.

Despite the bad name, loan sharks are attractive to consumers for many reasons. Not only can you obtain the money you need in a hurry, but you don’t have to complete mounds of paperwork to do so. It’s the best of both worlds, right?

Of course, there’s a drawback: you’re doing business with a shady individual or company, all while paying more in interest than you ever should. Add this to the fact that there are no regulations, and you’ve put yourself in a bad situation.

Rather than turn to a loan shark, consider the benefits of obtaining a credit card. There are many reasons to go down this path, such as:

• Hundreds of offers to choose from, even for people who have bad or fair credit
• The opportunity to deal with a legitimate bank that has your best interests in mind
• The safety and security of borrowing from a reliable financial institution
• No personal safety risk, even if you make a late payment or default

Many people shy away from a credit card because they believe it’ll take them too long to complete the process. This may have been the case in the past – before the days of the internet – but it no longer holds true.

You can search for offers online, apply for the perfect credit card, and often times receive a decision on the spot. This gives you the opportunity to move quickly. So quickly that you can begin to use your new credit card in the immediate future.

So, if you ever find yourself trending toward a loan shark, think twice about what you’re doing. You’re much better off securing a credit card.

In the past, we’ve discussed some of the many reasons to avoid a payday loan. While it’s easy to focus on the financial impact –primarily the high interest rate – there’s something else to think about: the emotional toll this relationship can take on your life.

To start, borrowing from a loan shark can result in a cycle that’s not always difficult to break. You tell yourself you’re only taking out a single loan, but soon enough you’re coming back for more.

Here’s what we had to say about this in a past article:

“You take out a payday loan with the idea that you’ll never do so again. However, you soon find that it’s difficult to escape. Here’s why: you may not be able to repay the loan on the due date,meaning it costs you more money in fees. This leads to your debt dragging on for much longer than expected.”

When you slip into this cycle it’ll begin to weigh you down.

Here are a couple other things to keep in mind:

• Fear of higher rates and fees in the future. Forexample, if you miss a payment, you have to concern yourself with extremelyhigh fees, often accompanied by an interest rate hike.
• Fear of violence. This isn’t something you ever have to worry about when borrowing from a traditional lender. However, when borrowing from a loan shark, it’ll always be in the back of your mind. You never know if you’ll make a mistake that leads to a violent or aggressive encounter.

The emotional impact of borrowing from a loan shark is very real. If you don’t think about this upfront, you could go down a dark path that adds quite a bit of stress to your life.

Do you have any experience borrowing money from a loan shark? What was the emotional impact on your life?

There may come a point in your life when you feel like there’s no way to obtain the funding you need. If this happens, it’s natural to open your mind to any and every option – even those that don’t make good sense.

This leads to an important question: is there ever a good time to borrow money from a loan shark?

Here are some of the reasons why it’s tempting:

• There is much less paperwork than with a traditional loan or credit card
• You can receive an approval on the spot, as opposed to having to wait for your application to be reviewed
• You don’t need good credit in order to qualify

With these things in mind, it’s easy to assume that doing business with a loan shark is the best way to improve your finances (at least over the short term). Unfortunately, if you decide to go down this path, it’ll likely make things worse on you over the long run. Here’s why:

• High interest rate: Unless you’re comfortable paying an ultra-high rate, you should avoid loan sharks at all costs. You may get the money you need, but it’ll cost you big time by way of interest.
• Lack of formal documentation: It sounds nice upfront that you don’t have to complete a long application, but a lack of formal documentation can haunt you in the long run. Don’t let the application requirement scare you away from a legitimate form of borrowing.
• It can start a nasty cycle: You think you’re only borrowing money one time, but you soon find that you need more. And since you’re already in the cycle, you stay there because it’s the easiest thing to do. The more you borrow and the longer the relationship drags on, the more difficult it is to break free.

As a general rule of thumb, there is never a good time to borrow money from a loan shark. Even if you need money now and it seems like your only option, look into more legitimate lenders. You’ll be glad that you did in the end.