Posts Tagged ‘Payday Loan Debt’

Payday Loan Guide For First Timers

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

If you are one of those people who are about to apply for a cash advance loan or a payday loan for the first time, then you should make an informed decision. This will avoid many payday loan problems and will also prevent you from falling into the cycle of payday loan debt. The most important thing is that you understand the risks and the implications of your actions.

In other words, you should be in a position to understand your financial limitations and capabilities so that you may make a responsible decision.  If you have doubts about your ability to repay the loan within the stipulated time frame, do not take the loan. You should search for other alternatives instead. For instance, you can request your employer to advance you some money, or you can also ask your close friends and relatives for financial help. This will help you to avoid payday loan debt. You will also save money on interest payments this way.

However, if you have made up your mind to get a loan, then you should make sure that you are getting the best deal you can. To do this, you should investigate all possible avenues, including phone directories, internet, newspaper classifieds and any other resource you can think of. Also, you should research the payday loan law of your state carefully. This will put you in a better position to understand your rights. Check to confirm that your lender is not charging unfair interest rates.

First of all, try to get as many quotes as you can from brick and mortar stores in your locality. The next step will be to check if their offers are any better that those of the online companies.

The payday loan interest rates are very high. That’s why it is a terrible thing to fall into the cycle of payday loan debt. The APRs can be as high as 200% to 300%. If you pay everything you owe within a week or two, the interest rates are barely noticeable. This is because the loan amounts associated with cash advances are very low. However, if you do not pay them for a few months the accumulated outstanding debt can grow to enormous proportions. This is one reason why cash advance lending is often said to be the next thing to loan sharking.

Whatever you do, please do not sign on the dotted line too quickly. Be responsible and make sure that you really need that money. If you are in payday loan debt, do whatever you can to cut down on your expenses. Never cross the deadline for payback. Try to pay the loan off as soon as possible. Remember the old adage: an ounce of prevention is always better than a pound of cure. It is better to avoid falling into debt in the first place than to hire professional debt relief later.

Always remember that getting another cash advance loan is not a viable method of getting out of payday loan debt. This will eventually lead to a very undesirable and embarrassing situation. You might even end up filing for bankruptcy.

Payday Loan – Credit Repair Or Credit Loss?

Saturday, August 7th, 2010

Payday loan companies often sell their services by emphasizing their payday loan credit repair capabilities. Take out a payday loan, repay it within a week, and it will be put down as a plus in your credit report, the borrower is told. Should you be resorting to payday loans as a method for credit repair?

Payday loan credit repair sounds attractive because this short-term loan can be paid within a week. So with multiple payday loans, credit repair takes as little as six months, the argument goes. There is a catch. Very few borrowers manage to repay this loan at the end of the first week.

What happens if you cannot repay the payday loan debt? The lender will offer an extension. Sounds too good to be true? It probably is. Every time the loan term is extended, the interest rate increases. Why should the borrower worry about the interest rate?

The reason is that a payday loan interest rate can be very high. In terms of APR, this is as high as 500% annually. For each $100 you borrow, the creditor levies $15-$20 as fee. When you fail to repay the loan, the fee is doubled. At the end of a few weeks, you can expect to pay more than $100 on the original loan amount of $100. Not only have you failed to repair your credit record, you are now saddled with a loan whose interest rate increases rapidly. This is sure to affect the borrower’s credit record further. Payday loan credit did not help; it just made things a lot worse.

Why are so many borrowers unable to repay this loan at the end of the stipulated period? Most people who borrow cash advances do not have savings or any other way to get quick cash during emergencies. Their paycheck does not cover their expenses. When they take out a payday loan, they are putting further strain on their already fragile resources. Not only must they repay the money they needed to borrow in the first place, but they must also pay high interest rates.

For many debtors, this starts out innocuously. They are able to repay the first loan and are back in a few weeks to borrow a second payday loan, confident that repayment is easy. However, the high interest rate is beginning to impact their bank balance. Soon, checks start bouncing and the creditor charges penalties, which further damage the debtor’s savings. Payday loan credit repair begins to appear a distant dream.

Dealing With Payday Loan Debt

Now that you have a high interest loan to repay, how should you deal with the situation? Start by contacting a debt consolidation company. Explain why you took out the loan and your goal of payday loan credit repair. They will ask you about your income, education, home ownership, and credit record. Then they will negotiate with the lenders to lower interest rate and grant an extension that enables you, as a debtor, to clear your debts. The debt consolidation company’s goal is to help you clear payday loan credit debt, manage your expenses without requiring a payday loan in future, and repairing your credit record without getting further mired in debt.