Credit is a mysterious thing. When you have plenty of money to pay your bills or other unexpected expenses, the idea of taking out a loan or even buying something on the credit card seems crazy.

However, when you hit a cash crunch and you find yourself in need of money fast, suddenly taking out a personal loan not only sounds like a good idea - it can become one of your few good options.

For somebody with a good or even an excellent credit score, taking out a personal loan is a breeze. You can usually get a fairly decent interest rate on a personal loan. And, your rate will be even more attractive if you take out a secured loan (whereby you put up something of value as collateral).

However, when you have what most lenders consider to be a bad credit score - one under 600 - you face a very different lending situation indeed. In this case, your low credit score could make it almost impossible to qualify for a personal loan - at least when applying to most lenders. In this case, you will need to take special steps in order to not only qualify for a personal loan - but to get approved fast and at a low rate.

If you need bad credit personal loans, get approved today in 5 steps:

1. Calculate how much you really need to borrow:

Start by making sure you are a prudent and responsible borrower. Start by planning to borrow as little money as possible. Of course, you need to make sure that the money is enough to cover your upcoming expenses, but borrow not a penny more. Being conservative in the amount you borrow can help improve your chances for loan approval, despite your low credit score.

2. Research all of your personal lender options:

You need to make sure that you do a good job researching the websites of various personal lenders. In addition, consider finding a local lender - such as a pawn shop - that will extend you a loan in exchange for something of value. Keep all of your options open.

3. Focus only on working with bad credit personal loan lenders and ignore the rest:

Limit yourself solely to working with bad credit personal lenders. These are the ones who specifically make it their business to work with credit-challenged individuals.

4. Prepare yourself to talk about your credit report highlights:

Do your homework ahead of time regarding your own credit history by running your credit report from each of the 4 major credit bureaus. Then, go over each report carefully. Be ready to talk to the lender about any items that show up there that make you look less creditworthy than you really are.

5. To get the best rate, talk to at least 5 lenders:

Be disciplined in your approach by applying to 5 or more lenders. This may sound like a lot of work, but think about this: even if you get good offers from the first 4, it just may be that the 5th lender is the one to offer you the cheapest loan of them all.