Navratri 2025: Personal loan hacks to celebrate without money stress

With festivals comes the aspiration to spend on gifts, clothes, luxurious products, and services. This happens as festivals are filled with immense positive energy and the thrill of starting something new. To meet these expenses, personal loans are often a convenient option, as aspiring borrowers seek quick funds to cover their daily expenses.

Your goal as a responsible borrower in such circumstances of euphoria and happiness should be to ensure that you do not stretch your pockets or take so much of a loan that it becomes difficult for you to service your personal loan EMIs.

Here are the top five personal loan tips that can help you navigate through festive expenses this Navratri and Dussehra, ensuring that your celebrations remain peaceful and joyous:

I. Plan your festive budget

Start by creating a realistic budget for meeting expenses. Write down and list essential expenses such as clothes, gifts, travel, and home decoration products. Then, carefully go through your savings and formulate a budget.

This should be done in a way that does not exhaust your entire savings. Post the same understanding of the shortfall. Now, once you have covered the basics, you should only seek a new personal loan to fill this gap and top it up with a modest buffer for unexpected expenses.

II. Select the loan amount carefully

Borrow the personal loan amount that you need. This is extremely important. Do not overextend your credit-taking capacity, even if you can. Overborrowing can increase long-term interest outflow and can even damage your credit score.

You can also take the help of personal loan EMI calculators before committing to any particular personal loan. Furthermore, discussing with certified financial advisors can help you make the most prudent and well-informed personal loan decision.

III. Compare lenders and offers

Navratri generally brings special deals for lending institutions on personal loans, home loans, car loans, and similar loans. These loans come with discounted rates or features such as zero processing fees. That is why, to make the best decision in such cases, you should sit down and carefully compare offers from multiple lending institutions, focusing especially on applicable interest rates, tenure flexibility, and hidden expenses, if any.

IV. Choose manageable repayment terms

While selecting a personal loan, ensure that the loan tenure and EMI fit comfortably within the monthly budget. The EMI amount should always be less than 40% of your monthly income, and this figure should be as low as possible.

For example, if your monthly income is ₹1,00,000, then your monthly EMIs should not exceed ₹40,000. So that you have some breathing space with your repayments. Further, opt for a shorter tenure if finances permit, as this brings down overall interest costs. On-time payments of bills and EMIs also assist in building stronger credit scores and boosting overall credit profiles.

V. Avoid using your emergency fund

Avoid dipping into critical life savings and emergency funds to meet festive expenses. While this might seem easier to manage, it can still cause long-term financial damage. You should treat the financial loan you availed as a bridge to assist with festive expenses and not the main source of funding your festivities.

Emergency funds should be kept safely for unforeseen expenses, such as medical procedures, accidents, and similar events. They should not be spent on leisurely expenses.

In conclusion, with smart planning and the right personal loan, you can enjoy Navratri and Dussehra celebrations without financial stress. Still, before borrowing, do consult a certified financial advisor and understand the risks associated with personal loans, such as high interest rates, processing fees, hidden charges, the possibility of debt building, along with other similar factors.

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