Can I get a car loan while unemployed, but with good credit?
I will be starting grad school in the fall and am required to have a car for the particular program I’m in. I am not planning to be employed at all during the time I am in school. I ended my job about three weeks ago so I could do some traveling before the school year starts. I will be receiving about $30,000 in grants, scholarships, and loans each school year. $10,000 of this will go to paying tuition, books, etc. and so I will therefore be living off the remaining $20,000. Is there any chance that when I go to apply for a car loan that they will consider these loans and scholarships as income in lieu of an actual earned income from a job? What are my chances of being approved as an unemployed student? I do have excellent credit.
Even with excellent credit, it may still be hard to convince a bank to lend you money without a job and also with the new debt you’ve recently added for the grad school program. What you may want to do is take some of the cash from the $20,000 in living expenses and get a cheaper, older, used car to carry you through this grad school program and then upgrade once you’ve landed the great job you’ll get once you finish school.
Most people find it very difficult to budget money when they get it in large lump sums versus when they get it in a regular pay check. The fewer regular scheduled monthly bills you have while you’re not working, the better off you’ll be. Good luck with school.
