You know, whenever I see one of those payday loans commercials on TV I often stop and wonder about the people that use the service.
Certainly it’s a great service if you only use it every once in a while because you have an emergency and either can’t access the money in your bank account or worse, don’t have any money in the bank because your waiting on your paycheck. I used the service once myself in a situation like this.
A long time ago when I used to work in the jewelry trade, before I started my own business, I got paid by paycheck. I’m fairly certain that banks are able to verify that the funds are available much quicker these days, but in the late 80’s and early 90’s banks usually held a paycheck for a few days until they could verify that the money was in the senders bank account.
If I remember correctly, I’d just been paid, but not having a bank balance if I put my check in the bank I’d have had to wait a few days for the money to clear in my account before I could use it and something came up where I needed money right away.
That’s how I came to use the Payday loan service my one and only time. I believe that as soon as I had money available to me through my bank account I went and paid back my payday loan.
As far as I’m concerned there’s nothing wrong with a service such as Payday Loans when they are used properly by people. I mean, I believe that Payday loans were created because people do need money for emergency expenses every now and then, just like I did when I used the service.
The problem that I see associated with Payday loans is more related to how people use them, rather than with the service itself.
We live in a society where people buy what they want when they want it, even if they don’t have the money for those purchases.
I know so many people, nurses and others who make decent money, that seem to live from paycheck to paycheck who use the Payday loan service regularly and also juggle their credit card payments too. Maxing out credit cards and then using one credit card to pay the other credit cards balance has becoming something I’ve seen people do more and more.
As I said most of the people that I know that do this are in fact making decent salaries. Yet their spending habits are out of control. In fact, due to their spending habits, and as a result of borrowing money so often, many of these people end up having bad credit ratings.
Yes, there are people who don’t make much money, who live on a budget, who use Payday loans when they require emergency funds because they don’t make enough to qualify for a traditional loan. I think the Payday loan service is great for those people if they use the service wisely, as in, only occasionally due to emergency and pay back the money they borrowed as soon as possible. Borrowing money and paying it back on time might even help some people develop decent credit rating.
Perhaps banks, credit card companies and services such as Payday Loans should get together and form a rehab style treatment plan for people who chronically overspend or who spend beyond their means?
I’m certainly not a tightwad. I have lots of fancy toys here – things that I don’t really need. However I’ve learned to purchase what I need when I need it, and budget for the things that I want.
There’s definitely a difference between needs and wants and society, with the media pushing goods at as every minute of the day, has forgotten that.