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What Can I Use a PRN Personal Loan For?
Becoming a medical professional such as a physician, dentist, or veterinarian is an extremely rewarding career path. But it can also be financially draining as you complete your schooling and transition into residencies and fellowships for several years. While the long-term earning potential is high, the short- and mid-term costs can be outsized.Â
In addition to taking out student loans, many doctors-in-training including medical students and dental students, or even residents and fellows can accrue credit card debt to help cover things like moving and surprise living expenses. But revolving credit like credit cards typically comes with high, variable interest rates, and difficult to manage payments. It’s easy to rack up fees and your credit score can take a tumble.
A PRN loan can be an attractive alternative. This loan comes with a fixed interest rate, monthly payments over a set period of time, and it often helps the borrower’s credit score.
Popular Uses of PRN Personal Loans
A PRN loan is a type of flexible financing that puts you, the borrower, in control of how the funds are used. Unlike a practice loan, which is used to open or expand a medical office, PRN loans can be used for personal purposes as well. Here is a sampling of some expenses that may be covered with a PRN loan.
- Credit card refinancing/consolidation
- Moving expenses
- Home renovation
- Personal medical expenses
- Adoption/preparing for a baby
In reality, a PRN offers more benefits than simply paying for a specific expense. Panacea Financial’s customers have used PRN loans to build a stronger financial footing as they move through each stage of their career path.
“It’s all online and everyone who has accounts there has a Primary Care Banker. I texted my banker at night and he responded to my answers quickly, so I didn’t feel like it was a four-day process.”
The Challenges
Dr. J. Cliff Ganus is a Panacea Financial customer who successfully used a PRN loan after completing medical school as well as a master’s degree in public health. Originally from Arkansas, Dr. Ganus now practices family medicine in Springfield, Missouri. He took out a PRN personal loan from Panacea Financial after accumulating substantial debt while in graduate school.Â
“It was fine through medical school when we were just accumulating debt and living off our loans. But as I got out and was in residency, I saw that I had accumulated unnecessary debt with private student loans, and credit card debt,” explained Dr. Ganus. In total, his credit card balances were around $20,000 and his private student loans were between $40,000 and $50,000. After his residency, Dr. Ganus was ready to take control and start aggressively paying down those balances.
“I paid off those credit cards in one night.”
The Solution
With a PRN personal loan, Dr. Ganus paid off his high-interest credit card debt in full. This had a positive ripple effect in expanding his opportunities to pay off other debts. Switching from multiple revolving credit lines to one installment loan substantially increased his credit score. And because of that, he was able to save money in several ways including consolidating his private student loans as well.Â
Refinancing his student loans lowered his monthly payments and will ultimately save him money on the total cost of his education. “Overall, the average rate was much lower by refinancing my private student loans,” he said.Â
In addition to saving money and improving his credit score, Dr. Ganus also noted the easy application process with Panacea Financial. “It’s all online and everyone who has accounts there has a Primary Care Banker. I texted my banker at night and he responded to my answers quickly, so I didn’t feel like it was a four-day process,” Dr. Ganus said. “I paid off those credit cards in one night.”Â
Using a PRN Personal Loan Effectively
Dr. Ganus is one of many Panacea Financial clients who not only used PRN Personal Loans to save money on high-interest debt, but to really establish a strong financial foundation. Streamlining debt and improving your credit puts you at an advantage for a number of future life events, like qualifying for a mortgage or getting financing to open a new facility or practice.Â
Plus, applying for a PRN loan doesn’t have to take up much time when your schedule is already overbooked. “The really nice thing for our generation is that it’s all online with Panacea,” said Dr. Ganus. “I genuinely don’t have time to go into a bank. That’s difficult to do when you’re right out of residency, in debt, and working 16 hours a day. This group knows what it feels like.”
Panacea Financial, a division of Primis. Member FDIC.
