Sizing guides
Size the loan before a lender does
Lenders decide how much to offer from your income, your debts and your credit. These guides show how they do it, so the amount you ask for is one you can get and repay.
Before you apply
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Before you apply Updated Nov 12, 2026
How much to borrow
Five steps from the real cost to an amount you can get in full and repay from an ordinary month.
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Before you apply Updated Nov 12, 2026
Income for a personal loan
Which income counts, the documents that prove it, and the $962.92 a month each $10,000 needs at 15% over 36 months.
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Before you apply Updated Nov 12, 2026
Debt-to-income and loan size
How a 36% or 40% DTI limit turns $163 or $395 of monthly room into a loan amount, with a worked example.
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Before you apply Updated Nov 12, 2026
Credit score and loan amount
How credit sets the APR, and why $400 a month repays $15,189.58 at 12% but $11,109.26 at 30% over 48 months.
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Before you apply Updated Nov 12, 2026
Minimum and maximum loan amounts
Why floors and ceilings exist, PALs from $200 to $2,000, and how $520 of monthly room caps you near $15,000.
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Before you apply Updated Nov 12, 2026
Loan amount and the law
The $73,400 Truth in Lending line for 2026, PALs up to $2,000, and state caps that shift at $2,500, $10,000, $12,000.
When the offer comes back
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When the offer comes back Updated Nov 12, 2026
Loan counteroffers
Less money, a longer term or a higher rate: how to judge a counteroffer, with a $15,000 worked example.
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When the offer comes back Updated Nov 12, 2026
Covering fees in the loan amount
A 5% fee turns 14% into a 17.65% APR on $10,000 over 3 years. How to gross up and when no-fee costs less.
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When the offer comes back Updated Nov 12, 2026
Choosing a term for your amount
$12,000 costs $2,765 in interest over 36 months and $5,509 over 60. How to pick the shortest term that fits.
Borrowing more later
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Borrowing more later Updated Nov 12, 2026
A second personal loan
Adding $5,000 to an existing loan lifts DTI from 34.6% to 38.0% in our example. When two loans or one fits better.
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Borrowing more later Updated Nov 12, 2026
Borrowing more on an existing loan
A top-up is a new loan that pays off the old one. A reset term cost $2,690 more in our $5,000 example.