You want to pay off that high-interest credit card, but you don’t have a home to borrow against. What do you do?

When you think about borrowing money, you probably think of either a home equity loan or credit cards. However, those are not your only choices.

Think about the different ways you can borrow money. You can use what you are buying as collateral, like when you buy a house or a car. Those are secured loans. You can borrow with a credit card. That is unsecured, revolving credit.

In addition, for many people that is the end of the list. However, there are other ways to borrow. Like with an unsecured loan, also known as signature loan. Just the ticket if you need a little money at a lower rate, and do not have a house to put up for collateral.

It is fixed. It is a low rate. It can be as low as 9.5 percent, 10 percent for vacation houses, 12 percent for holiday loans and the amount you want to advance. It is whatever the member needs.

You can get unsecured loans at commercial banks, but you will probably find them with less hassle and lower interest at credit unions. In addition, unsecured loans now make up about 20 percent of credit, double the rate of a few years ago. However, why should you opt for a signature loan over, say, a credit card?

The chief advantages are a lower interest rate, you can borrow just what you need, your payments are fixed, like they are with a car loan or mortgage, and by making those payments, you will pay your debt off faster.

Bottom line? If you need money, hopefully you have savings. However, if you do not, and you need to borrow, don’t just reach for the plastic. Reach for the telephone and check out an unsecured loan.