Would you get a loan for this?

[Moanaorviana]

It would be 5 grand, €90 per month over 7 years

The money would be to do up the garden-fences, grass etc, plus some on the kitchen. We would also use a little over July & August as I start a new job in September and need a stop gap. The rest would be on a treat holiday to Disney Paris (we’ve had a traumatic year) and a little on Dds birthday
The money spent on the gardens would make a huge difference if we ever wanted to sell, plus tne little bits in the kitchen

Would you do this?

Taking into account your update…still no

Just do an interest free credit card surely.

It will as all the gardens are dirt and soil at the moment

If you’re confident that you’ll be able to make the repayments, and that you won’t need to borrow much in the near future, then yes, I would. You’re using it to add value to your house, and to have a holiday that presumably your kids are going to appreciate now, where they might not if you spend 7 years saving up for it.

So why do you need to pay it back over such a long period at such high interest? Get an interest free loan on a short term basis if you really want to borrow

Interest free credit card all the way! But i honestly don't know how you're going to get all of that for 5k

It really doesn't sound enough, having work done is very expensive.

No.

Hi @Moanaorviana
I think £5k is optimistic to cover:

1. Garden upgrade
2. Smarten up kitchen
3. Disney
4. Child's birthday
5. Tide you over til new job pay evens out - this one is particularly risky as commits you to this role continuing. You would be on probation, I expect? What if it doesnt work out or they lay people off in those 7 years? Or you cant work?

Not all doom and gloom though.

Birthday
Divide months between now and that birthday and have a good day out at a theme park or zoo. This (birthday) and christmas happen every year and are expenses we know are on the horizon
Disney
Start saving for a Disney trip for 2 yrs time?) How old is the kiddo? Disney is pricey 😬 eg entry, food inside, accommodation and of course souvenirs (speaking from experience - absolutely go but fight the urge to go now is the sensible option). In 7 years, they may not have another holiday to pay for this one?
Garden and Kitchen
Cost out the elements you plan to do. Save towards those amounts alongside Disney project - even extra jobs such or using a skill to make money to save quicker if you are impatient. You may need to do it all again in 7 years. And borrow again?!

Unless anything is falling apart, you would be best to wait until you start your new job and the money is coming in regularly. That way you dont need that element of the loan either

I am not sure if you will get around to reading all replies but all credit to you for stopping and thinking about this before committing - what made you stop and ask the question?

Best wishes and good luck with new role x

Maybe for the kitchen and garden bits but not Disney - save for that over the next 3 years and go but don’t go into debt for a holiday.

No....birthdays and holidays are annual, the garden will need maintenance before you've paid it off, other emergencies happen as do traumatic events.

Dh is doing it himself, is quite reasonable

No I wouldn’t. None of those things are essential and if I didn’t have the money saved to cover them then I wouldn’t do any of them until I saved enough. This is how people get into debt.

No I wouldn’t take out a loan for those things , you’d be better off saving the €90 for a few months and doing one job at a time once you’ve saved enough at least that way you won’t be paying all the interest .

Absolutely not.

Starting a new job means you don’t have the same job security and could find yourself without a job for a couple of months at short notice through no fault of your own.

Don’t get into debt for “nice to haves” when you can’t guarantee you’ll have enough for “need to haves” (especially not at that interest rate).

Oh and need a new washing machine, just so many bits that need doing and will take a while to save for it. Dds presents etc all sorted, just bit extra for the party hire etc (we can obviously afford that, just bit extra)
Disney is not too bad price wise as wouldn’t stay at Disney itself (wouldn’t want to) would go for three days in November perhaps and stay someone cheap but ok and travel in to Disney for a day (more keen to show Dd the sights of Paris too.
I feel justified in it going to the gardens & kitchen, washing machine too. The holiday is just an extra part for fun as I feel its needed and hate getting a loan just for boring bits, I need to feel I got an experience out of it too

Another one for interest free credit card. If you don't pay it all off in the 0% term, you can move it to a new 0% for much less than the interest you're considering on the loan. Preferably get the card and buy everything you need immediately, then cut it up.

It's not so much the Loan but the fact it will take you seven years to repay.

If money is so tight that you can't save for a washing machine and have to spread it over so long, it doesn't seem a good idea.

You said your mortgage is small but are outgoings high?

Borrow if you must but not over a 7 year term, make it much shorter than that. If borrowing for a holiday and taking 7 years to pay it back sounds foolish, surely youre going to want another holiday before you've finished paying for this one?

Disneyland Paris in November? 🥶 Perhaps start new role and save to go in late Spring? (Edited to explain possible storm disruptions to UK and/Europe that may curtail your trip and enjoyment. Cold/dark/wet wouldnt be something I would risk getting in the way of a holiday)

No. Can't think of anything I would get a loan for, apart from maybe a car.

No outgoings aren’t particularly high
We can save for a washing machine, but if lending this, we could use it also for this and the other things to get it all done at once

No I wouldn’t, I’d save up , wouldn’t want that debt for 7 years , two maybe but not 7.

If you can save up for these things though, why haven’t you? If you haven’t got savings to use for this type of thing then don’t get a loan, save up and then get things when you can afford them.

No. You don't need a 'treat' holiday that you can't afford and are borrowing money for - or the other stuff. If you can't afford to pay for it, then you can't afford it.

But you're clearly going to get the loan as you keep justifying it and arguing in favour, despite most pp saying don't do it.