A loan on which you pay a fixed amount of money for a set number of payments is called a fixed installment loan. For example: The college tuition loans, loans for cars, furniture etc. An installment loan can also be referred to as installment debt. An installment loan is granted to a borrower with a fixed number of monthly payments that are of equal amount. These amounts are amortized to include a certain amount of principal and interest calculated over a set number of months