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Where can I borrow money in the US if I have a good credit (730+)? I have heard community unions a good place to borrow money..but the lowest they could get is 12 percent. Can I borrow from a different place with an interest lower than is...I am interested in the Range of 30k to 40k dollars..and planning to repay them in 16 to 24 months..any ideas are greatly appreciated.

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  • BTW: 30-40K is huge??:-)
    – littleadv
    Jul 8, 2011 at 4:25
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    That is a vey very bad idea to borrow to invest, depending where you are investing. Are you sure you would be able to cover your borrowings, if you loose all your investments ?
    – DumbCoder
    Jul 8, 2011 at 7:33
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    By 'invest' do you mean 'play the stock market' or are you think of something more wide-ranging and/or secure?
    – DJClayworth
    Jul 8, 2011 at 13:42
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    The thing is, the people who are lending you money could be investing themselves. They don't need you to invest it for them. They're going to charge you a higher rate of interest than you have any right to expect in return from your own investments (to cover the opportunity cost of not investing it themselves, the additional risk of your default, and the administrative expenses).
    – user296
    Jul 8, 2011 at 16:08
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    Last seen more than a month ago.. Well here's another question thats likely never to get an accepted answer..
    – Chuck van der Linden
    Aug 15, 2011 at 21:56

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Borrowing to invest is almost always a bad idea. You'd have to take out an unsecured loan, which has a higher interest rate, or a secured loan and put at risk whatever you are securing the loan with.

You need some means to make payments on the loan, or if interest is being added to the balance then take the compounding effect into account with regards to the cost of the money and how much you will really end up owning.

In order to come out ahead you need to 'invest' in something that will yield a return that is higher than the cost of borrowing the money, such high yields always come with higher risk, meaning that you will actually GET that return is less and less of a sure thing.. so now you are talking about the 'chance' to make money, Or a chance your 'investment' could fail, perhaps badly. Meaning you could well do nothing but end up in debt with little to nothing to show for it.

If someone claims to have a 'sure thing' and is encouraging you to borrow money to invest in it, I'd be checking their back for a fin and remembering the lyrics "when the shark bites ... scarlet billows start to spread"

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    +1 - Also having a loan out there accruing interest might force you into selling that investment too early if it takes longer than expected to "ripen" making a risky investment even more so.
    – JohnFx ♦
    Jul 8, 2011 at 19:35
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The question should read: "Borrow huge money for speculating".

This is a bad idea on many levels. The lowest rates available will be from time-limited credit card offers, followed by broker margin accounts. Personal loans are going to be higher.

My advice: if you insist on throwing your money away, go to Vegas with $40k. At least you'll get some complimentary food and drink.

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  • -1 Vegas? Better? REALLY? :-/
    – Chris W. Rea
    Jul 8, 2011 at 14:24
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    The most you could lose at vegas is the money you take with you. If you borrow money and then speculate with it, you could lose everything if you speculated poorly, and still owe the balance to the folks you borrowed it from.. so yeah, in a sense, vegas might be better (and the food is good)
    – Chuck van der Linden
    Jul 8, 2011 at 14:43
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    That all depends on where you gamble in Vegas. Ever heard of a "Marker"?
    – JohnFx ♦
    Jul 8, 2011 at 19:33
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    And if you borrow 40K and go to Vegas with it ... you're still worse off, IMHO, than if you prudently invested the borrowed sum in the market. I'm not advocating borrowing, just taking exception to the idea that losing the money in Vegas is either equivalent or more advisable.
    – Chris W. Rea
    Jul 8, 2011 at 21:28
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    If someone has a regular source of income they would be using to pay back the loan, they would be far better off to just invest that on a regular basis, then they would not owe any interest and could take advantage of Dollar Cost Averaging as well. And considering the risk you'd have to take to make income above and beyond loan interest, you'd in effect be gambling, which I think was the point.
    – Chuck van der Linden
    Jul 11, 2011 at 7:02
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If you are looking for money to speculate in the capital markets, then your brokers will already lend to you at a MUCH more favorable rate than an outside party will.

For instance, with $4,000 you could EASILY control $40,000 with many brokers, at a 1% interest rate. This is 10:1 leverage, much like how US banks operate... every dollar that you deposit with them, they speculate with 10x as much.

Interactive Brokers will do this for you with your current credit score. They are very reputable and clear through Goldman Sachs, so although reputable is subjective in the investment banking world, you won't have to worry the federal government raiding them or anything.

If you are investing in currencies than you can easily do 50:1 leverage as an American, or 100:1 as anyone else. This means with only $400 dollars you can control $40,000 account.

If you are investing in the futures market, then there are many many ways to double and triple and quadruple your leverage at the lowest interests rates. Any contract you enter into is a loan from the market.

You have to understand, that if you did happen to have $40,000 of your own money, then you could get $4,000,000 account size for speculating, at 1% interest.

Again, these are QUICK ways to lose your money and owe a lot more! So I'd really advise against it. A margin call in the futures market can destroy you.

I advise you to just think more efficiently until you come up with a way to earn that much money initially, and then speculate.

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Borrow money and start a business. Follow your business plan and invest in yourself and your entrepreneurship.

If you mean invest in the market, do not borrow money. In your plan, you are willing to make payments right?

  1. Take the money you would make as a payment and save it until you have $1000.
  2. Open a Vanguard account
  3. Buy into the star fund
  4. Add your payment money from step 1 to the star fund every month
  5. Wait until you are of age to retire
  6. Retire

There are lots of things you can do better, but borrowing money to invest in the market for a couple of years is not one of them. Investing is boring, saving is boring, and planning your financial future is boring. It takes a consistent effort and you aren't going to get rich quick.

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Have you considered social lending (for example: Lending Club)?

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    Well, sure, you can get a loan at 7%, but do you honestly think you're going to make substantially more than 7% investing?
    – user296
    Jul 8, 2011 at 16:05
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    Don't these social lending clubs investigate what people want a loan for? I can't think of using these sites if this kind of request is on them.
    – MrChrister
    Jul 8, 2011 at 17:55
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    @MrChrister - I don't think anyone will give you a loan without asking what do you need the money for. Have you ever met a banker saying "Hey you need a loan? No problem, here's $40K"? I haven't. For secured loan - they want the security. For unsecured loan - they want explanation how you'll repay. P2P lending is no different.
    – littleadv
    Jul 8, 2011 at 19:34
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    @MrChrister - "this type of loan" - unsecured loan? Why wouldn't it be? If you mean "huge loan for investing" - then I agree with you. I invest at Lending Club, and I wouldn't invest in such a loan. But the problem with unsecured loan is that you can't really know what the borrower is doing with the money, that's why the interest rates are so high - they are riskier than a secured/mortgage loan.
    – littleadv
    Jul 8, 2011 at 20:10
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    This is the most direct answer to the question on this page, leaving all judgement to the asker. The only one I found usefully informative.
    – Marcos
    Mar 18, 2012 at 13:02

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