If you're like me, you find yourself in a tough position. You need a loan and you don't have any assets to put down as collateral. I own my car but the current economy has killed the value of it, so it isn't worth as much as I owe on it. I can't refinance it so I can't take out a loan that can free up more money.

I also don't own a home or an insurance policy. I basically don't have any assets that I can use for collateral, unless the bank will use my laptop or the bottle of gatorade that's on my desk.

So we don't have collateral? What kind of loan should we get? How about a signature loan? Banks don't require collateral for these so maybe we can figure out how to get one of those. Hmm...

Now the bank is going to take a look at your credit, employment history, and a bunch of other factors. If everything falls into place you may be able to get yourself a loan. Otherwise, you're going to have to take a look at some of the other options that are out there for bad credit loans with no collateral.

1. Signature loans.

Not every person can get a signature loan. If you're interested in taking out this type of loan, you should first have a look at the signature loan requirements. If you pass all of the tests you're a good candidate for this type of loan.

You can read more about the different banks here: Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Bank One, JP Morgan Chase.

2. Student loans

If you're really in a bind, you might want to consider enrolling in school. Student loans are seriously amazing. They are government backed and there are quite a few different types of loans for students where your credit isn't even checked. These include Stafford loans and Perkins loans. Pell grants are also out there and they are basically free money for students. Yes, Pell grants for bad credit exist - credit doesn't matter for Pell Grants.

The first thing you want to do if you're interested in this type of loan is check out the student loan requirements. If you're a good candidate you should enroll and get started. If you need a place to live you might need student loans for off campus housing. Make sure if you decide to go this route that you find the cheapest student loans.

3. Personal loans

Personal loans aren't that hard to find, unless you have bad credit. If you do, have a look at what I have to say on personal loans for people with bad credit. Be really careful with these loans because the interest can be extreme. Most people do more damage than good when they start looking at these loans.

If you need to take out this type of a loan you should first check out the personal loan requirements. This will help you to know whether you can qualify for the loan or not. Chances are with this type of loan, you can.