People living on low incomes in Harden-Murrumburrah can access small loans of up to $1,000 at no interest to buy household items such as appliances or furniture or pay for some services such as dental work. There are no establishment or account keeping fees either so if a loan is for a new washing machine costing $600 that is exactly what is paid back. Repayments on loans, usually $20-30 per fortnight, are recycled into loans for other people. Often mainstream credit, such as a credit card or a personal loan from a bank, isn’t available to people living on low incomes and they can find themselves turning to very high cost cash loans through non-bank lenders such as you see advertised on TV. Another option is to sign up with a rent-to-buy company that ends up costing 2 or 3 times the price of an item bought for cash.
NILS is a safe, fair and affordable alternative to these high cost options. Through the Young No Interest Loans Scheme (NILS), people holding health care, pensioner concession or DVA cards can apply for a No Interest Loan if they have lived at their current address for 6 months and have the willingness and capacity to repay the loan. While NILS loans can’t be used to pay bills or borrow cash, they can be used for a wide range of household items from fridges to furniture, car tyres and windscreens, televisions to computers, dental costs and medical appliances, hot water services and even lawn mowers. Contact Judy at Young NILS on 6382 6328 on Tuesday or Wednesday for more information.
