With so many financial products available to choose from, it can be challenging to know what kind of loan, if any, is right for you. When sorting through your options, you may find that a personal loan is the one that best fits your needs. A personal loan provides you with a lump sum—a large payment made at one time, as opposed to broken up installments—to use for just about anything. You then repay that loan over a series of fixed monthly payments.