Strange & Unusual Loans

Posted by Nick Niesen on November 8th, 2010

There are as many reasons to borrow money as there are things to spend it on. People borrow for all of these various reasons. The boom currently being experienced by the consumer credit industry is proof of this. While there are many standard reasons why people will seek a loan, there are also many very unusual ones.

If you think all loans go towards buying or improving a house, buying an automobile or taking a holiday, think again. This is by no means a comprehensive list of what people borrow for.

One recent study into the purposes of personal loans uncovered some surprising results. For example, over 57% of the people surveyed in this British pole believed that plastic surgery would make them happier. Cosmetic surgery can run into the thousands of pounds and as it grows in popularity, so too does it grow as a reason for borrowing money.

Or did you know that out of the 90% of Britons who would like to change at least one aspect of their appearance, 10% of them would be willing to go into debt to do it. With plastic surgery rates rising by an average of 50% a year, what once would have been considered a very strange use of borrowed money is becoming more and more popular. It comes as no surprise then that on the list of categories for the purposes of their loans that banks have on application forms, plastic surgery is joining the ranks of car and home loans as a standard reason to borrow.

Another area that is growing in popularity is the borrowing of money to buy expensive exotic pets. Imagine the reaction of the lending agent who read the application for a £15,000 loan to buy a camel. Or the customer who wanted a black stallion worth over £10,000. More and more people are abandoning cats and dogs and choosing reptiles, monkeys and even insects as their new best friends.

Other loan applications have shown a property developer interested in converting a cave into a fully modern home, and a medieval knight enthusiast who wished to buy a suit of armor for £5,000.

It is perhaps to be expected that while the types and methods of obtaining credit have rapidly diversified, so too have our various uses for it. Nowadays, not only can anyone get a loan, but they can get it for funding even the most hair-brained of schemes. Who knows what amusing results this will lead to?