More and more Americans are beginning to understand the critial role that credit scores play in their financial well-being. Your credit score is a calculated number that determines your "credit-health". The score is between 450 and 850, with 450 being the lowest score. People with credit scores below 620, often find it difficult to get loans of any kind, be it mortgage loans, car loans, personal loans, etc.

If you have bad credit and you need a personal loan, you have a few options.

If you are a homeowner, consider yourself very lucky. There are subprime lenders, who service home equity loans, HELOCs and mortgage refinance loans for consumers with problem credit. In essence, you can tap into your home equity as personal cash.

If you are not a homeowner and you do not have any assets, you can use the services of a payday loan lender. Payday loans can be a great asset, when used wisely. Remember, that payday loans have high interest rates but you can avoid accruing additional fees by paying off your loan as soon as possible.

Payday loans offer several advantages. They are quick and they require minimal qualification requirements. Most payday loan lenders will give you up to $1,500 in as fast at 24 hours, if you've been with the same employer for 3 months and you have a checking account.

Faxless payday loans or no fax payday loans, offer an additional advantage because they require no hardcopy faxing. The loan is processed online. In some cases, the application process takes 30 seconds and a loan officer calls you right after you complete your application, to verify some details and then wires you the cash.