Business

Taft Financial Personal Loans Get Bad Reviews

Published

5 years ago

December 16, 2020

Taft Financial’s unrealistic personal loan offers are getting bad reviews from multiple personal finance web sites. Crixeo, the popular news and review site, has done a review of Taft Financial and has raised the question if Taft Financial ever honors the 3.09% APR or is it simply part of a long-running bait and switch scam . According to Crixeo journalist Ed Miles:

“The story is the same. They lure you in by sending you direct mail with a “personalized invitation code” and a low 3.09% APR to consolidate your high-interest credit card debt into a new personal loan. You will be directed to My Taft Financial website. More than likely you will not qualify for one of their personal loan offer and they will try and flip you into a more expensive debt product.

A personal loan is a handy tool that can enable you to consolidate your debt, make a large purchase, pay your bills, and essentially, make your life easier. However, as much as personal loans can be used for pretty much any reason, it does not mean that you should take them out.

When you take out a personal loan, you are taking on debt. Hence, the reason behind taking a personal loan should be legitimate and good enough. For example, taking out a personal loan to finance a vacation does not qualify as a good enough reason.

Therefore, if you are confused about whether you should take out a personal loan based on your financial situation, then read this guide. It will highlight what a personal loan is and when you should opt for one.

However, be on the look out for the financial scams that seem to appear in your mailbox every other day.

What is a Personal Loan?

A personal loan is a predetermined amount of money that a lender gives you for a set period. During that time, it needs to be paid in fixed monthly payments. A personal loan also comes with a fixed interest rate.

The amount of loan and interest are determined based on various factors, including the borrower’s income, credit score, and financial history. You get the amount in full, which you can use, and then make monthly payments to repay the loan. This helps you budget and manage your finances efficiently.

Reasons Why You Should Take Out a Personal Loan

1. You Need Funds Fast

Typically, an application to take out a personal loan is online and can be filled quickly. The approval for the application and the funds all get transferred pretty quickly.

For this reason, taking out a personal loan can be a good idea if an unexpected expense hits you that you cannot afford. This can include a loved one’s death, medical expenses, a leaky roof, or an unanticipated auto repair. A personal loan can be a great idea in these types of situations since you can get all the funds in less than 24 hours.

2. For Debt Consolidation

One of the most common reasons why people opt for a personal loan is for debt consolidation. This is when individuals have multiple outstanding debts with high balances that they need to pay to creditors, typically when they have a lot of personal debt and are in need of credit card relief. Taking out a personal loan helps to pay off all these outstanding debts all at once. This streamlines your finance and makes them easier to manage.

A benefit of doing this is that personal loans have lower interest rates than credit cards, which helps you save hundreds of dollars in the long term. Moreover, it allows you to improve your credit score as multiple credit card debts harm your credit score.

3. You Want to Finance a Major Purchase

If you want to make a large purchase, such as buying a car, yacht, or motorbike, you might be tempted to swipe the credit card and purchase it. However, a better alternative is taking out a personal loan to finance the purchase instead and use credit cards for short-term expenses only.

This is because the longer you take to pay back the debt on your credit card, the more interest you will have to pay. However, that is not the case for personal loans as they have fixed interest rates which do not increase.

4. You Want To Make Investments

It may not be a completely wise decision to take out a personal loan and use it to make investments because of the increased risk. This is particularly true if you plan to invest in the stock market.

However, if you are confident in the positive outcome of your investments, and if you still want to use the loan to invest, then you can. However, we must reiterate that it is not a wise decision because all of your borrowed money can go to waste if you do not make a profit from the investments.

5. For Home Remodeling and Repairs

Many people turn towards personal loans when they want to fix and make repairs around the house. They also do it even when they want to remodel the house. Some of the reasons you might want to take out a personal loan for home remodeling and repairs are to repair your furnace, get a pool, and fix a leaky roof.

If you are confident that you will pay the loan back, then it would be a good idea for you to take out a loan and use it for remodeling and repairs if you do not have the money upfront.

6. To Pay for Education

College tuition is costly. Hence, it would be helpful for students to take out a personal loan and use it to pay for their education and other related costs. In certain cases, a personal loan is a better alternative to a student loan. For example, there are restrictions on a student loan, and you cannot use it for other purposes besides education. Contrastingly, a personal loan is not that restrictive. Moreover, a personal loan has a lower interest rate than a student loan.

7. To Pay the Bills

In certain situations, there is not enough money to pay for your day-to-day bills. If you have exhausted every other option, then you can consider taking out a personal loan to pay for them. However, this is only a good option if you can find a loan with a very low-interest rate and are confident that you can pay it back.

The Bottom Line

Personal loans are an excellent option for a lot of reasons. However, you should be mindful that they have to be repaid after a certain amount of time; otherwise, they may have a negative impact on your credit history. For this reason, you should only take out a personal loan when you really need to.

Business

Scaling Success: Why Smart Habits Beat Growth Hacks in Modern eCommerce

Published

1 month ago

July 26, 2025

Matthew Wiles

There’s a romanticized image of the eCommerce founder: a daring risk-taker chasing the next big idea, fueled by late-night caffeine and last-minute inspiration. But the reality behind scaled, sustainable brands tells a different story. Success in digital commerce doesn’t come from chaos or clever hacks. It comes from habits. Repetitive, structured, often unglamorous habits.

Change, a digital platform created by eCommerce strategist Ryan, builds its entire philosophy around this truth. Through education, mentorship, and infrastructure, Change helps founders shift from scrambling for quick wins to building strong systems that grow with them. The company doesn’t just offer software. It provides the foundation for digital trade, particularly for those in the B2B space.

The Habits That Build Momentum

At the heart of Change’s philosophy are five core habits Ryan considers non-negotiable. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the foundation of sustainable growth.

First, obsess over data. Successful founders replace guesswork with metrics. They don’t rely on gut feelings. They measure performance and iterate.

Second, know your customer deeply. Not just what they buy, but why they buy. The most resilient brands build emotional loyalty, not just transactional volume.

Third, test fast. Algorithms shift. Consumer behavior changes. High-performing teams don’t resist this; they test weekly, sometimes daily, and adapt.

Fourth, manage time like a CEO. Every decision has a cost. Prioritizing high-impact actions isn’t optional; it’s survival.

Fifth, stay connected to mentorship and learning. The digital market moves quickly. The remaining founders are the ones who keep learning, never assuming they know it all.

Turning Habits into Infrastructure

What begins as personal discipline must eventually evolve into a team structure. Change teaches founders how to scale their systems, not just their sales.

Tools are essential for starting, think Notion for documentation, Asana for project management, Mixpanel or PostHog for analytics, and Loom for async communication. But tools alone don’t create momentum.

Teams need Monday metric check-ins, weekly test cycles, customer insight reviews, just to name a few. Founders set the tone by modeling behavior. It’s the rituals that matter, then, they turn it into company culture.

Ryan puts it simply: “We’re not just building tools; we’re building infrastructure for digital trade.”

Avoiding the Common Traps

Even with structure, the path isn’t always smooth. Some founders over-focus on short-term results, chasing vanity metrics or shiny tactics that feel productive but don’t move the needle.

Others fall into micromanagement, drowning in dashboards instead of building intuition. Discipline should sharpen clarity, not create rigidity. Flexibility is part of the process. Knowing when to pivot is just as important as knowing when to persist.

Scaling Through Self-Replication

In the end, eCommerce scale isn’t just about growing a business. It’s about repeating successful systems at every level. When founders internalize high-performance habits, they turn them into processes, then culture, then legacy.

Growth doesn’t require more motivation. It requires more precision. More consistency. Your calendar, not your to-do list, is your business plan.

In a space dominated by noise and novelty, Change and its founder are quietly reshaping the conversation. They aren’t chasing trends but building resilience, one habit at a time.