How to Change Horrendous Installment Loan

[Anonymous]

All,

Thank you for your help in advance.  I have a personal installment loan I took out with Citi OneMain Financial about 26 months ago.  Just today I logged into it and looked at everything for the first time.  If I remember correctly, the loan was for about $5,000, to cover medical expenses and credit card bills.  I have paid $4,996.68 on it so far, but there is still a huge remaining balance!  I was shocked to see it was still sitting at $3,230.74.  I then realized that I'd been paying more interest than principal on the loan at first, based on what the payments screen showed.  

The payments screen says I've paid $2,291.91 toward the balance and $2,704.77 in interest.  So I pay $192.18 a month and am set to do that for a little less than the next two years.  It kills me that I'll pay another $4,227.96 on what was originally a $5,000 loan and ultimately will have paid $9,224.64 for it.  You can see the APR below, 28.18%.  How can I change an installment loan?  Is there even a way to do so?  I had also signed up for some "optional protective coverages" which I want to remove if there's no way to get out of this.

Thank you again for your help and I'm sorry in advance for my boneheaded credit choices.

Current Balance: $3,230.74

Payment Due: $192.18

Date Loan Opened: 06/20/2013    

Term: 48 months    

APR: 28.18%    

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

All,

Thank you for your help in advance.  I have a personal installment loan I took out with Citi OneMain Financial about 26 months ago.  Just today I logged into it and looked at everything for the first time.  If I remember correctly, the loan was for about $5,000, to cover medical expenses and credit card bills.  I have paid $4,996.68 on it so far, but there is still a huge remaining balance!  I was shocked to see it was still sitting at $3,230.74.  I then realized that I'd been paying more interest than principal on the loan at first, based on what the payments screen showed.  

The payments screen says I've paid $2,291.91 toward the balance and $2,704.77 in interest.  So I pay $192.18 a month and am set to do that for a little less than the next two years.  It kills me that I'll pay another $4,227.96 on what was originally a $5,000 loan and ultimately will have paid $9,224.64 for it.  You can see the APR below, 28.18%.  How can I change an installment loan?  Is there even a way to do so?  I had also signed up for some "optional protective coverages" which I want to remove if there's no way to get out of this.

Thank you again for your help and I'm sorry in advance for my boneheaded credit choices.

Current Balance: $3,230.74

Payment Due: $192.18

Date Loan Opened: 06/20/2013    

Term: 48 months    

APR: 28.18%    

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Yeah, these loans are all garbage. Don't feel bad . . I've been there too.

You're most likely going to have to just pay AS MUCH as you can on this thing each month until it is paid off. Assuming your other debts are at lower interest rates, pay only the minimums on those and keep hammering on this thing until it's gone.

[Anonymous]

I understand your frustration, but when you opened the loan, there was a Truth in Lending statement that spelled all of the terms out as well as the total amount of interest you would pay. Unfortunately, too many people ignore that important piece of paper in a rush to sign everything, then complain after. If you pull out your original paperwork, you will see it and will see that you are paying basically double for that money over the term on the loan.

[Anonymous]

First thing's first - don't beat yourself up! Everyone makes mistakes and what's done is done. Don't stress over things that cannot be changed (in this case, taking out the loan) and instead focus on what can be changed. 

One option would be to call Citi and see if they'd be willing to refinance the loan at a lower APR. Stress the fact that you've made on-time payments throughout the life of the loan (assuming you have 100% payment history) and they may be willing to drop the APR. Alongside this, try and pay as much as you can each month beyond your current payment amount to cut down on the principal. 

Another option may be If your credit is good enough, you could even try to acquire a personal loan from another lender for the remaining balance if you're able to snag one with a lower interest rate (like around 10% or so) 

[Anonymous]

I would try getting a loan from Prosper or Lending Club to pay off Citi

It's a soft pull to check what APR they can offer you