It’s pretty much a given that nowadays, you’ll have to take a few loans here and there in order to tide over something, perhaps an emergency of some kind? Or maybe you just need that extra bit of cash to finish something off. It could even just be the simple act of indulging some of your wants.

Whatever the case may be, there’s always going to be a period in time where you’ll borrow some money, be it in a regular loan or a cash advance – sometimes you’ll be forced to, even; with all the potential disasters and emergencies lying around the corners of life.

The issue is then, how do we borrow money to the best of our ability? How do we get loans with the most advantages while diluting the disadvantages as much as possible? Well, worry not! Here are three tips as to how you can borrow money strategically.

Know When to Borrow

First things first, and perhaps the most obvious out of the three: know when to borrow. Sounds simple enough, but there’s always a nuance in these kinds of things. First of all, you need to figure out which events are necessary and warrant a borrowing of money, it could be an emergency, it could be an opportunity to go up in life that you need a monetary boost to get, maybe even the simple act of helping a friend in need.

From that point on, you’ll have to figure out as to which of those events or things are in the end, not really that necessary to you and your goals, or maybe even those that hinder you from reaching your goals. These can be many things, but in the end, you must identify them as not to fall for borrowing money for these kinds of things.

Know Where to Borrow

Next up is knowing where to borrow said money. As on paper, it seems simple enough: go to some money-borrowing place, get the cash, get out and do your thing, then go back and return the money, right? Once again, there’s a nuance to these things, and in the case of this second tip, that nuance is a bit more black and white than usual.

It is very important that you figure out if whether or not the person or institution you’re borrowing money from is dependable and trustworthy, as the risk of getting ripped off is a risk too big to take.

Know How to Borrow

This third point is more or less a given; after all, how can you borrow money if you don’t know how to borrow said money in the first place? But again, it’s more than just an in-and-out maneuver of getting and returning cash. Among other things, knowledge of the rates of said money being borrowed is highly important when dealing with borrowed cash.

Borrowing money can be a powerful move to make in order to get to a goal, but doing it strategically will allow one to achieve better results and prevent any rugs from being pulled under oneself.