Paying off your debt can be hard. In fact, sometimes it seems pretty futile—if you had money, you wouldn’t have been in debt in the first place, right? To many people, the suggestion that you could use one loan to pay another off might seem risky, even irresponsible. Sometimes, though, it’s actually the best way. Say, for instance, that you have cash on the way, but you’re about to run out of time on a long-standing debt before it reaches you. In a situation like that, it could be beneficial to take out a short term loan, just to help you bridge the gap. This reason is one of several real-life situations where you might want to think seriously about a car title loan.

What is a car title loan, you might be asking? Well, it’s pretty simple. You, the borrower, use your vehicle as collateral for a short term loan, exchanging the hard copy of your vehicle title for a designated amount of money. When you pay back the money, you get the title back. It’s quick, and in most cases, it’s easy to qualify for too. Embassy Loans, for example, is a leading title loan company that will usually send you your money just a couple of days after you fill out an application for them. All you need is the right documentation to prove that you own the vehicle for which you’re turning over the title.

There are a couple of things that you should look out for when getting car title loans. For example, be advised that if you don’t pay back your loan in time, the lender can seize your vehicle, which is obviously something you want to avoid. You also want to make sure you can pay it back sooner rather than later since car title loans tend to have higher interest relative to other types of loans. However, as long as you know that you’ll be able to pay back a car title loan, it’s an excellent way to get some short term cash when you’re in a bind. Plus, it’s an easy loan to get even if you have credit trouble, which means that paying off another outstanding debt with the money from a car title loan might improve your credit and qualify you for lower interest loans in the future.

As long as you approach it responsibly, a car title loan can be a great way to get you out of a short-term financial jam. Just make sure that you go in knowing exactly what to expect, and you might very well be able to even the playing field a little.