The words “personal loan” might sound scary to you, as they can frequently be frowned upon as a last resort when you need money. In 2025, the script has flipped, and people are using personal loans to reach financial milestones, having the monetary flexibility to cross off some goals that might have been sitting on their list for years.

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GOBankingRates reached out to lending expert Kyle Enright, president of lending at Achieve, a digital personal finance company based in San Mateo, California, to get his take on three ways personal loans are helping people reach their financial goals in 2025.

Paying Off Debt

A big goal for many is to finally get out of debt and stay out for good. With a personal loan, lots of people are doing just that for the first time in their lives.

“Interest rates on personal loans can vary widely (from around 8% to 35% or even higher, depending on credit score), but are usually lower than credit card rates, which are averaging more than 20%,” explained Enright.

If you can qualify for a personal loan at a rate lower than that on your credit card(s), Enright pointed out that you can use the personal loan proceeds to pay off the higher-rate credit card debt, then be left with just the one personal loan payment at the lower rate.

“This should make it faster and less expensive to pay off the debt,” said Enright.

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Home Maintenance, Repairs and Remodeling

“You can use a personal loan for almost anything, and one of the most popular uses (after debt consolidation and payoff) is for the home,” said Enright.

According to Enright, taking care of needed maintenance and repair items before they become major problems will save money in the long run and provide a safer, more functional, and more enjoyable living environment.

“With more homeowners planning to stay in their homes for longer — whether because of high interest rates making it harder and more expensive to sell and buy, or to age in place– they can use a personal loan to help them achieve these goals,” Enright added.

Budgeting and Saving

The ability to budget for upcoming goals, as well as achieve financial resolutions, might come in many shapes and sizes, with a personal loan being one of them this year.

“A budget is intended to be a spending tool so that you can set life goals (short- and long-term) and then plan how and when you can achieve those,” Enright said. “If personal loan payments fit into your budget, you may be able to achieve a goal you set for this year.