There are only three things we can think of that are called payday. One was a boring board game from the ‘70s. Another is the best candy bar ever created. Really. The best. EVER. And the third is that day of the week above all other days, the day when the boss man recognizes all of the hard work and effort we’ve put in and relinquishes that piece of paper that we work all week long for. Of course, if you’re like a lot of us, every penny represented on that piece of paper is gone before next week gets here. Between payday loans, the rent, utilities, car payments, groceries, gas, and everything else we pay for on a week to week basis, it doesn’t take long for dough to go.
Of course, the hazard of living paycheck to paycheck is that we won’t have any wiggle room if something goes wrong. Most of us handle our bills OK. The problem comes in when we’re juggling our bills, having spent ourselves out to our limit, and something unexpected comes along. Suddenly the car breaks down, or one of the kids needs to go to the doctor, and we don’t have money to cover it.
So what can you do? If you don’t have savings, good credit, or a rich uncle, chances are you’ll have to take out a payday loan. If you didn’t already know, that’s a short term loan, intended to be paid back on your next pay day that can be used for virtually any expense. Just about anyone with a job can get one, and in a genuine emergency, they can be a real life saver.
They do have high interest, though. Since most of us are already living to the limits of our means, it’s really hard to pay the loan back on payday, then get through the next week without going back to borrow again. The payday loan places are usually more than happy to loan you more money, as long as you keep paying them back, with interest, on payday. But, the interest quickly adds up to a lot of money thrown away. If you’re not careful, re loaning can cost you thousands of dollars in interest in a hurry.
So, here’s what you do if you find yourself borrowing and re borrowing every week. Tighten your belt, do without a few things, and borrow less every week until you’re not borrowing anymore. That’s going to leave you short, but so is repeatedly borrowing, and at least that way you’ll get out of the cycle eventually.