There are two things to watch out for in particular. First, find out what you can afford to borrow given your monthly in/out goings. Then find out what your repayments on any loan will be. Be sure also to account for payment protection premiums if required.

We offer loan calculators, not least of all because it's too complicated to work out loan rates by hand. It's also your right to know how much you're going to have to repay. Incidentally, this is a separate issue from the equally pervasive comparison tables which show how much better one product is than another.

Loan calculators largely come in two versions, one to help you find out what your repayments will be for a specific type of loan, and another which gives you an idea of how much you can afford to borrow. Put them both together, and it should be fairly clear what your lending budget could be.

You will be shown what is known as a typical or best rate. Whether you are actually offered that interest rate by the lending company depends on your individual circumstances; and especially with banks this can be a problem. So there's no guarantee that the amount you see on screen will be the amount you pay. There's no substitute for asking one of our financial advisors a few questions.

With repayment loan calculators, also be sure to factor in payment protection insurance costs if you wish to take out that sort of policy. This can add a substantial amount to the repayments especially over longer periods or larger amounts.