Cash advance loans are frequently vaunted as a quick fix for a bad cashflow problem, allowing you to bridge the gap between spending all your money and your next wage or salary. Basically, you can borrow a small amount of a few hundred dollars for a short time of a week or so, and give back the debt at your next pay day.
This type of service can actuallybe quite handy if you’ve run outof cash for day to day living expenses, or if you’re surprised by anunforeseen charge or expense that you just can’t meet when you need to, but are fast cash loans always the good choice they’re promoted as?
First, we’ll take a look at the incontestable benefits of these loans, before looking at the problems, and possible other choices you may be able to use if you make up your mind a payday loan isn’t a good choice for you.
The lending criteria for payday loans are not very demanding at all, and almost anyone who’s working and has a suitable bank account will likely have their application approved. This means that even people with poor credit scores should be able to be approved for a payday loan, even after being rejected for nearly any other sort of credit.
They are also easy to apply for, and you can often get the funds in your bank account very quickly. Some payday loan companies can even fix up an overnight transfer of the funds straight into your bank within 24 hours, which is patently very useful when you need cash urgently.
Last, once you’ve been sanctioned for your first loan, it’s normally a really simple matter to ‘top up’ your loan again if you find you need to make use of the facility if cash is again short in the future.
There are, however, two large downsides to cash advance loans which you seldom come across in the adverts and web sites promoting them. Firstly, they’re very costly in comparison to other kinds of borrowing. Because the borrowing period of the loan is so small, a fee of 20% of the amount you borrow – which is more or less standard – will result in an eye-wateringly high APR.
The second problem is related to the first: because they’re so expensive, you can easily be left lacking cash the month after once you’ve cleared the loan and paid the costs. In this situation, it’s just too easy to roll over your loan again to cover the deficit, incurring more charges, and a neverending cycle of debt.
And so, if you resolve that a payday loan isn’t the right option for you, what alternatives do you have? The first one is making use of a credit card, if you carry one. While credit cards are commonly also fairly pricey forms of credit, they do allow you to extend the debt over a a period of months rather than requiring it to be repaid straight away along with a fee.
Most banks now feature an overdraft option, which can also be used to cover a temporary lack of money. The interest rate on an authorised overdraft is in all probability going to be less expensive than that of a credit card, but your bank might not approve your application. Beware of going ahead and overdrawing without your bank’s agreement, as the interest they will levy in this case will be high.
If neither of these options is viable for you, and you have no other way of acquiring money such as borrowing off family, then a payday loan may be the best choice. Just be certain that you use it properly, and listen to the warning sign it’s giving you about the longer term condition of your finances.