How do I get a loan with a bad credit score? Carefully, is the short answer. The more you know the easier time you’ll have getting the best deal and avoiding future financial problems.

Most people who’ve been told their rating wasn’t good enough once or twice assume they have a terrible rating, so the first thing you really need to do is figure out what all those numbers mean, and decide where to go from there.

Some lenders with a lot of applications only take the best of the best, while others will still give good rates for average ratings. What your rating actually is and where you are applying matters.

Now that you’ve decided what your rating actually is, how do you get a loan with a bad credit score? Well, if your rating isn’t the best, but not too bad, I strongly suggest looking into using traditional lenders over ones meant for people with poor ratings.

Lenders that set out to take customers with poor ratings are basing their interest rates on the idea that all of their customers have terrible financial histories. This means that you are being offered an interest rate meant for someone with a worse application than yours, and you could find a better deal elsewhere.

I generally recommend finding five lenders online and comparing rates and terms. Do be sure to look over the terms because companies will sometimes make up for a low interest rate by hiding some fees in their terms because few people read them. Even if you decide to go with your local credit union (which are known for offering low rates) it’s good to comparison shop online to get an idea of what’s available to you.

However, if your rating falls below 500, I recommend finding any other way around borrowing money at all because the interest rates you will be offered will be so terrible. You’ll likely have to take a guaranteed deal, where they take any rating, and typically these rates are so high that people wind up in a cycle of debt. If you have another option, use it.

When you have a poor rating and are looking at how to get a loan with a bad credit score start by finding out what your actual situation is, and go from there.