payday loans

[dropkickpa]

I'm in a tight bind (couple hundred short on rent) this month, so I've taken out a payday loan. I will be getting a nice big fat chunk of money (retropay and overtime) in my next paycheck, so the big ass fee and the loan amount will be covered by that.

Has anyone else here had to resort to this? Am I insane for doing this? Any stories would be greatly appreciated.

[parasim]

1. Hey, sometimes ya gotta do whatcha gotta do...

Yeah, I've been there. It sucks, but it certainly helped me out of a bind more than once. Luckily, I haven't had to resort to that in a long long time, so it sure wasn't the end of the world. No, I don't think you're insane at all. I mean, if you end up doing that every paycheck, well, perhaps a reassessment is in order. But we all get caught short at some time or another.

I remember once having to resort to selling half my CD collection to put food on the table. Wasn't much of a collection, so I lost a bit of weight during that time...

[dropkickpa]

4. I have no CD's left!!

Sold those LONG ago. :rofl:

Thanks for letting me know your experience. It does help.

[Donnachaidh]

2. so what was the fees and interest rate? n/t

[dropkickpa]

3. on a $250 loan

I'll be paying fees of $37.50 - works out to 260.72% interest. Which is not nearly as bad as some of them out there (I saw a couple that were 365%!!!), but still a chunk of money, and I could SO easily see how this becomes a bottomless pit of debt for some. I wouldn't even have considered this except for the fact that I KNOW I'll have the "extra" money to cover it in full in my next paycheck.

[seriousstan]

5. As a landlord, I think you probably got a better deal than the late fees on your rent.

That being said, I hope you use this as an incentive to try to get at least one months rent in the bank and consider it untouchable. I realize it isn't always easy to save money but I think the peace of mind and the financial advantage is worth it. Even if it takes time and you can only put 10 or 20 back at a time.

I am currently reviewing applications for a tenant and one of the red flags is "have you been late on rent 2 or more times in the past year. While this isn't a deal killer, it is a red flag. Eviction is a deal killer.

I would never get into the mindset that this is a source of money. I would try to see it as a one shot deal. I have friends who got into endless cycles with payday lenders and ended up evicted and broke.

Good luck with this, I really don't think you blew it or even got screwed. I'll bet the rent penalties would have been worse.

[dropkickpa]

6. Oh yeah, $50 late fee

that was the deciding factor, along with the fact that I only get paid once a month.

I NEVER want to do this again. Hell, I've always hated borrowing even $5 off my parents, so this is killing me (and my parent's interest rate is MUCH better).

I'm in line for a MUCH better paying job (33% over what I earn now, which is pittance). I'm putting half of that monthly difference away in savings, I'm sick of being literally broke (<$2 in the bank for 25 days of every month) and one tiny problem away from disaster. I need a cushion, which I used to have, but was eaten away when I stopped having a roommate to split the household bills.

I NEVER learned how to manage money from my family, my mom is a compulsive shopper, and, though I don't have that problem, I've been forced to work hard to learn money management skills, which are obviously still not up to snuff.

[AZBlue]

7. I've had to do it.

If you have to do it, you did it right - you can pay it all off with the next paycheck. Given the popularity of these companies and the big business they do, I'm guessing there are a lot of DU'ers who've had to do this once or twice.

[dropkickpa]

8. Paid it off the minute my direct deposit went through

I'm glad there IS an option like that available, but it would be a killer if it were a regular thing.

[AZBlue]

9. Yeah, it would be a killer if it was a regular thing.

And that's what they depend on - that's how they make their money. It is good that it's out there but I wish there were some regulations to cap the interest paid - if you have to continue the loan, you're paying huge bucks! Of course, I guess if it were regulated, payday loans would go away - they wouldn't make as much money that way.

[NMMNG]

10. Those companies are parasites that prey on the poor and the desperate

But then that's who typically ends up resorting to them--the poor and the desperate. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do, even if it's not the wisest thing for you. I hope you don't have to do it often, if ever again. :hi:

[dropkickpa]

11. Hopefully never again

But thank gawd that option was available to me and that I had the means to make it as painless as it was. They're parasitic vampires, and the vast majority are run by repugs that are BIG donators to GOP candidates and causes. I hated giving them any of my money, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

[TimBean]

12. pay it off as soon as you can

and set up a reserve line with a bank so if this ever happens again, you can handle it without resorting to much to high interest fees.