Payday Loans Blog

A child advocacy organization is taking aim at payday loans in Wyoming. They cite the high annual interest rates as their reason. They claim payday loans keep people in a debt trap.

First of all, what the heck does a child advocacy group have to do with products only available to those 18 and older? Kind of weird already. But let's talk about APR and debt traps.

What is so expensive about a dollar a day? For every hundred dollars borrowed, you pay about one dollar a day. For loans that should last no longer than two weeks, that's not a bad deal- $15 for every $100 borrowed.

So why do people insist on measuring these loans in annual interest rates? Yeah, if someone got a $500 payday loan for a year the interest would be terrible! That's why lenders only let you borrow up to your next payday. The point of the loan is to pay it back with your next paycheck, not roll it over and incur more fees.

Lenders want to get paid back. They don't want to rip off anyone and lose their money because the loan was too expensive. How is that a sound business model? This debt trap that peole speak of is a complete myth.

What trap? Do lenders lurk in the shadows, waiting for someone to get a loan they can't afford to pay back and then say "Gotcha!" Wow, you gave someone $500 you will never see again, you rogue you.

Payday loan critics are idiotic and ignorant. No one intelligent can have a beef with payday loans unless they have an agenda. Why would someone want to get rid of payday loans? Ask the lobbyists employed by banks and credit unions, they could tell you.

Nothing is better than realizing that a money order is a completely free service offered at Check City. Already it is frustrating that you cannot simply pay your bill in cash, so why should more difficulties be tacked on to the process? Money orders are completely your money just put into a check form and you deserve to get all of it back.

At Check City we recognize that getting a money order can be stressful. You have to make a special trip just to convert your tangible cash into a check. It can be tedious and require you to go out of your way but we want to make sure it is worth it for you.

Because of this we do not charge you any additional fees. We simply take your cash and convert it to a money order, for the exact same amount, so you can give that to whomever you owe money. This allows you to pay off your bills even when you do not have a checking account.

Finances are frustrating to deal with, but we are here to help you out in any way possible. With our money order services we hope your life is a little less hectic and you find yourself a little happier.

Dr. Stephen Graves, a professor at Cal State Northridge, has been doing some interesting research about payday loans. He has a variety of articles that supposedly exploit payday lenders for the predatory loan sharks they are.

This is another case of someone working backwords. Rather than start with a question, gather data, and draw a conclusion, payday loan critics are famous for drawing a conclusion, then going backwards and seeking data to support their misplaced hatred.

For example, Dr. Graves has two studies, one comparing payday lenders to McDonald's, the other to Starbucks. He shows that payday lenders are in poorer neighborhoods and minority neighborhoods more often thatn McDonald's and Starbucks. Um, meaning what exactly? Oh, that we are evil because clearly we must be targeting the poor and minorities, and because there are more payday lenders than Starbucks or McDonald's.

Do intelligent people really believe this nonsense? Should I run an analysis on BMW, Ferrari and used car dealerships? Gasp! Those used car dealerships must be targeting the poor and minorities those low-lifes! There's more of them than BMW and Ferrari dealerships combined and they are in poor, minority neighborhoods!

Or could it be that the poor have no need for a Ferrari dealership? Could it be that demand for BMWs doesn't meet the demand for cheaper, used cars? Yet Dr. Graves compares payday lenders to fast food and coffee chains. So what? There's more demand for payday loans than fast food or coffee in poorer neighborhoods, how is this bad in any way?

He also has a study on usury laws and the Bible and why Christians should be so against payday lending. First off, not a single scripture in the New Testament mentions interest or usury. Those all come from the Old Testament, or the old Mosaic law. That's the Jewish law, not Christian law.

Secondly, even if we were to all follow this Jewish law as if it were a Christian law, the scriptures all say to charge absolutely no usury or interest to anyone. So why are payday lenders singled out here? Name one lender in the entire universe who will lend money for ZERO interest to anyone. That's what I thought.

Payday loans are just another option for people who don't have very many. They are not predatory or evil in anyway, they can be misused like any other product. When used properly, payday loans can be a lifesaver to those in need.

Difficult economic times lead people to do a variety of things. Some will work three jobs, others will borrow payday loans, and a few people will join in the online garage sale known as Ebay. There's not much a person won't do for money when they need it.

But in spite of it all, most of us are still happy at the end of the day, because at least we have our health. Not so for a growing number of people in Michigan, as the Detroit News reported yesterday.

In desperation for money, people are selling their plasma from their blood, women are selling their eggs, and all sorts of people are subjecting themselves to clinical trials just for a few extra bucks. At least they had their health...

Is it really worth it do undergo medical tests just for a mere $80? Wouldn't it just be easier to get a payday loan to get by? I can understand people selling their hair or something, but seriously messing with your health is not worth it in the end.

There are plenty of ways to get through financially difficult times. A payday loan is a great way to get a small amount of cash for a short period of time to help you get by. Don't resort to hurting your body and jeopardizing your health just to get a few extra bucks, there are better ways to cope with financial distress.

Sometimes you are strapped for cash and the only thing you can think to do is get a title loan on your car. This means that you can receive money for a part of the value of your car. In doing so, you give up part of the ownership, but as long as you can pay it back, then in no time you obtain full ownership and are able to pay off your bills.

When you need a title loan often you have to give up your car for the time it takes to pay off the loan. With Check City, you get the money you need and the car you own back so you can go about your normal activities without missing a beat. You simply walk into the store and provide the necessary information. When you leave, you have your money and your car.

We do not want to take your car, we want to help you. So all you need to bring is your car, your title, a picture ID, and proof of residence.  After filling out a simple application form we will process it to verify the information. Once this is done, you can drive away with your money from the title loan.

Is there anything more frustrating than having a check that you cannot cash? You have the item that should translate into money but for some reason many financial institutions will not recognize it and cash it. Check City will cash those checks that others will not so you can walk out with your own money.

It is difficult to cash your check at convenient times because other financial institutions generally close before the regular work day ends. Check City understands this and so stays open much later. Most stay open til midnight and some are even open 24/7. This means that you can get your money whenever you want it.It does not matter what kind of check you are trying to cash.

Senate lawmakers in South Carolina are debating a bill today that would put regulations on payday loans in the state. Sen. Wes Hayes and others are pushing to put tighter regulations on the industry.

The bill currently would limit payday loans to a limit of $500 and consumers would only be able to get one at a time. This is of course to prevent the 1 in every 100 people who pays off one payday loan by getting another.

Since critics can always use fictitious anecdotes to generously spread their propaganda, perhaps I could employ the use of an anecdote to illustrate the reality of payday loans.

Sam Johnson is a 23 year old recent college grad living in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He works your normal 9-5 office job as an entry level employee trying to make it in the world. He takes home $950 per paycheck every other Friday.

Sam rents a condo for $750 a month. Two days before his rent was due, Sam's car broke down. Since he drove 20 minutes one way to work and no bus route went that way, he needed it fixed in order to get to work each day.

He spend $650 on repairs that he would have spent on rent. Rent wouldn't be late for another two days though, so it was ok. Except that he wasn't getting paid for a few more days. He realized that with only $100 left in his account, he couldn't pay his rent on time.

He contemplated paying late. But that was $20 a day in late fees. He didn't want to pay $100 in late fees. He thought about writing a check and hoping his landlord wouldn't cash it until he got paid. But bounced check fees and insufficient funds fees and overdraft charges plus his late rent fee would have been too risky.

But he thought he heard something about payday loans once. He went to go borrow $650 just for five days until he got paid. He got the money and paid his rent on time. When his $950 check was deposited, he paid back the $682 he owed to the lender.

Oh no wait...the Senate of South Carolina decided it would be better to protect Sam by not allowing him to borrow over $500, even though he could afford to. So Sam only got $500, couldn't afford to pay the whole rent, got depressed, lost his job, and moved back into his parents basement and now plays World of Warcraft all day long.

Thank you South Carolina Senate for limiting consumers' options in an attempt to "protect" them from potentially harmful decisions. Thank goodness the government knows what's best for us, goodness knows we don't!

Despite popular belief, there was life before the cell phone. While so many cater to the financially demanding terms of a cell phone contract, is this a necessary expense? With Check City's Prepaid Phone Card, it doesn't have to be.

It never ceases to amaze me how much cell phone companies can get away with charging. Every time I have to go into the cell phone store, I leave with a headache and a lighter wallet. Do we have to cave to the monopoly they have on the market? I believe there are ways to make the best of it. With the increasing popularity of text messaging, actual calls are becoming less and less popular. If you arrange a cell phone plan that does not include a large number of minutes, why not make up the difference with one of Check City's Phone Cards?

We've all experienced the painful costs of 'going over' our allotted amount of cell phone minutes. With a Prepaid Phone Card, there is no such thing as a fee for going over; you pay for the minutes you want to use, no matter how many or as little as that may be. There is no cell phone contract that can be changed month to month, depending on your needs at the time. Well, at Check City we have a large variety of cards to fit your unique situation. Depending on the frequency, location and duration of your phone calls, we can supply the card for you.

While cell phones are great things to have, we must be careful not to be taken advantage of in the strongly binding contracts that come with them. Don't get roped into a cell phone contract that is charging you too much for services you don't need! By using one of Check City's Prepaid Phone Cards, you can manage your calling expenses in a personally tailored way that is financially smarter.

April 15th marks the one day where the whole country unitedly dislikes the Government. Sure, we realize taxes are a necessary part of our lives, but it doesn't make our gouged paychecks or having to fill out all those tax forms any more pleasant. Check City is offering to make your Tax Day a little easier with its Tax Services program.

This year I was in awe of how thick my tax booklet was. If it weren't for the help of a tax-savvy friend, I'm not sure how accurately I would have been able to fill out my forms. All those boxes and numbers are as good as Greek to me. If you find yourself in a similar situation, there are tax preparers who can help sort out your return. The problem is, you may well end up sending your whole refund right back to them in order to pay for it.

Check City offers the aid of its well trained, friendly employees who know how to help you take full advantages of the deductions available to you. This help is much more affordable than hiring another tax professional and will yield the same results. Are you ttired of waiting on your tax return? Check City can even help you with a fund anticipation loan, which will drastically reduce the wait time on receiving your tax return.

Let Check City relieve some of your tax-related stress next year.Using Check City's Tax Services is a safe, easy way to brighten your April 15th.

In what some experts are calling a "landmark" study, new evidence is emerging that will supposedly change how teenagers think about financial decisions, such as credit, payday loans and savings. Now don't get too excited, because the results are only preliminary for right now, but astounding nonetheless.

Just what are the results? Let's have it straight from the report:

"Preliminary findings from the study show that parents are poised to be the true heroes when it comes to better money management. APLUS researchers found that parents have more influence over their children's financial knowledge, attitudes and behaviors than work experience and high school financial education combined."

Hold the phone, this is earth shattering! Children learn from their parents?!?!? My goodness, where are the news vans, the cameras....this is a big story! Those researchers at the University of Arizona should all win Nobel Prizes or something.

All joking aside, while this may be rather intuitive and probably doesn't require extensive research to figure out, people are at least figuring it out. High school jobs are not teaching youth how to manage money. High school classes are not teaching youth how to handle money. But their parents are.

What can be learned from this? Many things. First, parents who mismanage their finances will raise children who are likely to mismanage their finances. This cycle will perpetuate itself endlessly unless something is done. Second, nothing is being done outside the home for teenagers to teach them about money.

Thank goodness our high schools still teach teenagers about drama, poetry and art. This knowledge and those skills must be essential to survival in today's society. Or maybe they're not! There is a class on Drivers Ed, a class on Health/Sex Ed and no class on Finance Ed. Pretty sad state of affairs.

While we agree that it is up to parents to raise and teach their children properly, we do recognize that not all parents will teach their children as they should. That is why it is essential to have financial education courses in high school so that teenagers who know nothing about managing money can learn about it.

The answer to our country's financial problems does not lie in regulating the financial sector into oblivion. The answer is in educating the general citizenry on financial matters so that everyone can make financial decisions that are best for themselves. That's the fastest and best way to prevent people from borrowing payday loans if they cannot pay them back.