Of course a few things to keep in mind.

1. Always use a loan as your last resort because you are paying someone for borrowing the money. If you can save your dollars then that $1,000 rig will not cost you $1,100 or more after the loan is paid in full.
2. You might check, but not all states allow banks to charge you for paying a loan off early. This may apply more in cases of mortgages etc., but nevertheless know all the facts going in. Of course it may actually be less expensive to pay the penalty; however, not sure since I have not had a loan with this type of requirement.
3. Take the time to work out the math and only get what you really need.
Sorry guys I'm not here to tell you what is best or that loans are bad. WEll ok, loans are bad in general, but I understand that sometimes they are necessary. However, I'm a real advocate for trying to pull the funds together before you take out any loan.
Nice that you will get the gear to get on the air and I hope you get what you want.

On Jul 31, 2012, at 5:35 PM, Harry Brown <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Hi all,
> Well, I'm going to be able to get a rig, power supply, and the mfj949E =
> antenna tuner!
> Now, here's the news that's the biggest news, and please spread the word =
> through the entire ham community, ok?
> So many of us want to get some kind of ham equipment, but we don't have =
> the money, and we can't get credit, right?
> Not any longer, because I'm going to tell you all how to do it.
> Today, I called my bank, and told them I wanted a personal loan and they =
> couldn't do it without credit, and I don't use credit, so, a ham friend =
> of myne, Dave, told me, "Trippy, call a credit union, and tell them you =
> want to get a personal loan."
> So, folks, I called them, and they looked at my credit history, and =
> said, "You are approved, because, your electric utility company shows =
> that you payed your bills on time for years now, and you're approved!"
> So, folks, if you want to upgrade your ham station, in whatever way, *DO =
> NOT* go to a bank, because you won't get it, and even if you do, are you =
> sitting down for this? Folks, the banks are penalizing people for paying =
> loans off early, with a fee, try, $150!
> The credit unions won't charge you fees to pay off loans early, and you =
> want to do that, if you can.
> So, now, folks, if you've got a credit union in your town, go there, and =
> get your personal loan. They will ask you what it's for, which is =
> normal, just tell them what it's for.
> And folks, you can get a little loan, all the way up to $15000, =
> depending on your income, and how much you can pay per month. I asked =
> them, "Do you except folks on social security, and they said, "yep, we =
> do!"
> So folks, we now have options in the ham community, disabled or not, =
> because we can call the ham places and actually have the money in our =
> accounts and order right over the phone!
> 73,
> Trippy, ac8s