Payday loans are often touted as a quick fix for a bad financial situation, letting you bridge the gap between running out of money and your next wage or salary coming in. The basic idea is that you can borrow a small amount of a few hundred dollars for a short period of a week or two, and repay the debt next time you get paid.
This sort of service can indeed be very useful if you’ve run out of cash for living expenses, or if you’re faced with an unexpected bill or expense that you simply can’t cover when you need to, but are payday loans always the good choice they’re presented as?
First, we’ll take a look at the undeniable advantages of these loans, before looking at the disadvantages, and possible alternatives you may be able to use if you decide a payday loan isn’t right for you.
The lending criteria for payday loans are very generous indeed, and almost anyone who’s employed and has a suitable bank account will likely be approved. This means that even people with terrible credit ratings should be able to get a payday loan, despite being rejected for nearly any other form of finance.
They are also easy to...