What are payday loans?

Payday loans are short-term loans that are extended between two pay days. A payday loan is normally provided for 14 days. The borrower, on acceptance of the loan conditions, provides a check favoring the lender as security against the loan. On the due date, the lender deposits this check to recover the loan dues. The due date is generally the next pay day of the borrower. No credit checks are conducted for granting payday loans. Therefore, the FICO score of the borrower is irrelevant. It doesn’t matter whether the borrower has a bad credit history, or has no credit history, or has declared bankruptcy.

Qualifications for payday loans

To qualify for a payday loan, the borrower needs to fulfill all of the following conditions. There are no exceptions.

o You must be a US citizen.

o You must at least 18 years of age.

o You must be at a full time job currently and must be at this job for at least three months.

o You must either have an active checking account or a savings account.

o Your after tax salary should be at least $ 1,000 or you must have a fixed income of $800.

Cost of payday loans

Payday loans carry a very high cost. Generally the lender fees for a $ 100 payday loan is anywhere between $15 and $25. It should be remembered that this fee is for 14 days as the loan itself is extended for these many days only. If one considers the cost on an annual percentage rate (APR) basis, the average is 391%, which by any standard is exorbitant. By law, it is mandatory for the lender to specify the APR to the borrower. Many lenders do compare the cost of payday loan against other forms of financing; but the common denominator of such a comparison is that all of them are very expensive.

When to avail of payday loans?

Payday loans should be availed only during emergencies. Considering the fact that the cost of carrying a payday loan is very high, it should be a resource of last resort. If one implements good budgeting techniques and has a good financial plan, the need for borrowing by way of payday loans can be minimized. Moreover, one must ensure that a payday loan is paid on time. Payday loans should not be rolled over or extended as within no time the borrower will find himself or herself in a debt trap where money may have to be borrowed just to repay the interest.

Profile of a payday loan borrower

o A typical payday loan customer is between 25 and 40 years of age with an annual income anywhere between $ 25,000 and $ 50,000.

o According to the US Census report of Year 2000, the results of the payday loan borrowers survey are:

22% of those surveyed hold a bachelor’s degree.

51% of those surveyed have a retirement savings plan.

In excess of two-thirds of those surveyed have a savings account.

More than two-thirds of those surveyed have an annual income of at least $ 25,555.

Why are Payday loans popular?

They are popular for a number of reasons such as:

o Credit checks are not required. The personal check that you make payable to the lender acts as security.

o Approval is quick. If all the necessary documents are submitted, your loan application maybe approved in minutes.

o The paperwork involved is simple. Generally one or two documents would suffice which explains the loan process and your obligations.

o The repayment process is without hassles. The check submitted as security is encashed on the next payday by the lender. You could extend the loan to subsequent paydays for a fee. However this is very expensive.

o Easy availability. Payday loans are particularly appropriate for emergency situations provided the amount required is small and one is willing to bear the high cost of the loan.

In summary, payday loans might be a viable option if you need cash and need it fast. You still should be careful who you are working with to obtain your loan. If you don’t need money right away, there is probably a better solution for you.

my personal payday loan story that can help you

the term payday loan starts with the letter “p” which is the same letter that starts off the words pain, penalty, poor and poverty. Both the internet and the physical world are full of places where you can get a loan with bad credit, no credit check, and no employment verification but what these modern day loan sharks don’t tell you is that their interest rates are so high that one day you may end up with the payday loan mafia coming after you!

Sure, these loans look very attractive to those in financial need that are unable to get a loan by conventional means but when the facts are presented what you have to pay back just isn’t worth it. This fictional character that we all refer to as “guido” which is the person that comes to break your arms and legs when you don’t pay a loan shark back is in existence in a different way when it comes to payday loans. Instead of your arms and legs the payday loan guido comes after your heart, soul and peace of mind.

Payday loan places make their offerings look so attractive but it is all an illusion because who can really see when they are desperate? What you don’t want to happen is for what appears to be a temporary solution to become a long term problem and many times that is exactly what happens.

I’ve been caught in the payday loan otherwise known as payday advance web many times. Sometimes life’s circumstances leave us very few choices and we decide to do what we feel like we have to do to buy gas and put food on the table. Like I said, i’ve been there before and as a survivor of payday loan debt I have knowledge that can help you.

I want you to ask yourself a question which is, “if you don’t have enough money to get by what makes you think you can payoff a loan with 300%- 700% interest?” You might as well sell your first born child. Payday loans may seem good in the short run and you may get instant gratification and even a rush when you hold that cash in your hands or see it in your bank account but in the long run it is a race that many can’t win.

My story, like many, was that I obtained payday loans to cover immediate expenses I needed cash for but didn’t have money to pay the loans back so I got extension after extension paying out ungodly amounts of money. Before long I was getting new payday loans just to pay the other payday loans I had received. I was trapped in a vicious cycle with no way out and a ton of stress upon me. I became a needy fly caught in the payday loan web, especially since most of my loans were online loans; I was literally in a virtual web. The payday loan spider sucked the life blood out of my bank accounts and I didn’t know what to do.

Please understand that you can’t solve a problem with a problem and you can’t come out debt by creating more debt. The solution to your debt starts with gaining additional income sources and paying off existing debt little by little so you can be free. In my own personal payday loan crisis I got up to almost $7, 000 worth of payday loans and when renewal payment time came my entire paycheck was gone. This is a miserable experience that I pray you can avoid. You might already be at this state but even if you are I have some suggestions for you that will offer hope.

The first thing you have to do is to make a conscious decision to get out of this situation. Decide to change and become a butterfly rather than a fly caught up in the payday loan web. When a caterpillar is going through the metamorphosis in the cocoon in order to become a butterfly there is a struggle. The struggle is in fact what makes the butterfly great because the struggle to get out of the cocoon transformed actually pushes fluid from the butterfly’s body into its wings so that it can emerge in beautiful flight. This process may be a little painful but it will help you fly and be what you were made to be.

One thing that I did was to become an affiliate for payday loan companies so that I could get paid from other people acquiring payday loans. Some people are just going to get them so there is no reason why you shouldn’t get paid from the process that made you pay so much. The second thing I did is what really helped me which was to get a payday loan consolidation company to take on my debt at a reduced amount and pay the payday loans back for me on my behalf. It was one of the best choices I ever made and it was a way out of the payday loan web.

You can do a Google search to find companies that will represent you in this way but do your research and make sure that the company you choose is credible. I used pdl assistance, inc. They require an upfront fee to take your case but they will work with you on paying it and it is around $200. Next you set up a plan to pay them a monthly amount on your payday loan debt and they pay your debtors directly. They will give you different term options to pay the debt off and they will deal with the payday loan companies for you. Doing this took a huge weight off of me. I got a 12 month term to repay my payday loan debt at 35% of what I owed the payday loan companies. The $400 a month I was paying on this plan was much better than the $700 plus every two weeks I was paying for all the loans I had.

One important thing to know when you start a payday loan consolidation program is that the payday loan companies are going to call you to collect. When they call just give them the information for the company that is representing you and let them know that the debt is going to be repaid to them as part of a loan/debt consolidation program you have initiated. I obtained the fax numbers to my payday loan companies and sent them notification on who to contact regarding the repayment of my loans. If you do this make sure to include your account number and social security number so they can properly locate your account.

Some companies will continue to try and collect from you in spite of this so I have another suggestion if this happens. If you get numerous collection calls after you have informed them about your debt consolidation you need to fax and/or send them a cease and desist letter. You can get a template off the internet and submitting this letter will stop the collection calls while your debt consolidation program is in the works.

Another tip is to close the bank account you have the loan fees being deducted from if possible. You will want to start a new account before you close your existing account and under no circumstances get payday loans under the new account. You have to treat the payday loan habit like an addiction. If you are going to stop it then stop it because replicating the mistake will only make things worse for you.

If you need money then get bad credit credit cards and pay them on time to build your credit. Pay more than the minimum payment and use them to pay bills so you can pay what you need to pay while building your credit. No debt consolidation company can legally advise you to close your account but sometimes it is the only way to keep the payments from being processed and causing you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in overdraft fees. For me this was the easiest way because I had so many loans and it would have cost me a $25 fee for every stop payment processed plus the bank could have missed some.

I also want you to know that the cease and desist letter can be used for any type of debt collection and not just payday loans. It is important to know your rights and you can find them out online at the federal trade commission’s website where you can learn about the fair debt collection act. You will learn what creditors can and cannot do regarding the collection of your debts and how to stop inconvenient and harassing behavior.

I do not encourage anyone to get a payday loan because it can get out of control so easily. If you must get a payday loan be sure to get one with low fees well below the normal $30 per $100 borrowed.