As many reasons as there are to spend money, there are also many reasons to borrow it. All of these are reasons why people borrow money. The fact that the consumer credit business is doing well right now is proof of this. There are many common reasons why people want to borrow money, but there are also a lot of very strange ones.
If you think that all loans are used to buy or fix up a house, buy a car, or go on vacation, you're wrong. This is by no means a full list of all the things people borrow money for.
When a recent study looked at what people use personal loans for, it found some surprising things. For instance, more than 57% of the British people polled thought that plastic surgery would make them happier. Cosmetic surgery can cost thousands of pounds, and as it becomes more popular, more and more people borrow money to pay for it.
Or, did you know that 10% of the 90% of Britons who would like to change at least one thing about their looks would be willing to go into debt to do so? With the number of people getting plastic surgery going up by an average of 50% a year, what used to be a very strange way to use borrowed money is becoming more and more common. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that banks now list plastic surgery along with car and house loans as common reasons to borrow money.
Getting loans to buy expensive exotic pets is another area that is becoming more popular. Think about how the loan officer felt when he or she read the request for a GBP15,000 loan to buy a camel. Or the customer who wanted a black stallion worth more than GBP10,000. People are getting rid of their cats and dogs more and more in favour of reptiles, monkeys, and even insects.
In other loan applications, a real estate developer wanted to turn a cave into a fully modern home, and a fan of mediaeval knights wanted to spend GBP5,000 on a suit of armour.
Even though the ways and types of credit we can get have changed quickly, the ways we use credit have also changed quickly. These days, not only can anyone get a loan, but they can also use it to pay for the most crazy ideas. Who knows what funny things will come out of this?
