Determing a borrowing amount for an unsecured loan can be difficult. The first thing you need to do is determine what amount you can afford to pay every month as your principal. A good idea would be to detail a list of all your monthly expenses. Don't forget to include some funds for unforseen miscellaneous spending. Then, subtract your predicted monthly expenses from your monthly net income. You should only look to borrow an amount that will demand between 70-75% of the amount left over from your net income as a monthly payment.

Since you have calcualted what you can afford as a monthly payment, you need to figure out how much you should borrow. Going over what the intent of your loan is extremely crucial. Suppose you are looking to use your personal loan for building a new pool or some other sort of home improvement. You have received a quote from your contractor for $5000. Borrowing exactly $5000 is risky. It is very likely that there will be additional costs incurred by the time the project is done, i.e. unforseen root/rock removal, chemicals for the pool, etc.. You should borrow between 10-15% more of the quoted cost to protect yourself. If you don't end up using that extra money, you can simply pay it back.

**If you are looking for a debt consolidation loan, you must note that the interest rates associated with all your credit cards will be wiped out. Therefore, when computing how much you should borrow and what you can afford, don't include your credit card interest rates.

A loan term is the duration of time you have until your loan expires and is due paid in full. The typical range for unsecured loans is between 1-6 years.

The longer your loan term, the lower your monthly payments are going to be. However, a longer loan term will equate to you paying more money in interest costs over the life of the loan.

In certain situations, borrowing for a longer term will make more sense. For example, suppose you just moved into a new residency. After a month or so, it is discovered the your new home needs a great deal of plumbing work immediately. You utilized your savings to make the move and you have not been living in the home long enough to have developed any sort of equity for a second home mortgage. To make matters worse, paying your current bills is often a difficult task. For this situation, utilizing a longer loan term makes more sense than having to worry about a high monthly premium. True a shorter-term will ultimately save you money in the long-run, but the higher premium assocated with your loan will make it even more difficult to keep current on all of your bills. Saving money is a good thing, but having to stress making payments every month is not.