Discussions

I’m kind of in a tough spot between a rock and a hard place... I’m needing to come up with some funds and I’m considering taking out a small payday loan.  
 
Has anyone ever done this? Can anyone walk me through the process?  
 
I know it’s a rough and scary ride to take out these short-term loans but I need to do it sadly. Can anyone help me out with this as far as the process goes? PM’s are welcome too.

Done it but I do know a few people that have and what I do know is it’s never “a small loan”. Some have interest rates of 40% plus..... very difficult to pay off

Jeff2345 said "Done it but I do know a few people that have and what I do know is it’s never “a small loan”. Some have interest rates of 40% plus..... very difficult to pay off "

I understand that these things are never good options. But sadly I wouldn’t be considering it if it wasn’t one of my last. It’s either this or pawn off some things that are worth little of value to begin with

You need a blank check,payroll stub ,bank statement for the last 6 weeks

A payday loan can be a vicious and expensive cycle to get out of. If your issues is a short term one then it would work, but my experience was that I had to keep doing loans because come payday I'd need to do stuff like pay bills & eat but couldn't afford to just walk away after paying off the loan (which is what the loan companies want. $$$) Pawning off stuff is a good idea if you want to eventually get the stuff back (lower interest) & you can take your time to get it back. Hit up friends/family for a loan. Shovel walks, wrap gifts for cash? Hopefully you can get the funds that you need!

Try applying for a line of credit with your bank they charge lower interest.

Where your coming from. I shot my credit when I was young and stupid and the bank wont touch me .. I have used payday loans in the past. It is a vicious cycle but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. With that said if you do decide you have to go this route I would recommend Money Mart, they seem to have the lowest payback amount. If I borrow 100 bucks I payback around 120.00. I borrowed once from the Cash Store 180.00 and they wanted a repayment of over 340.00... Just be careful with that.

Wheaties17 said "You need a blank check,payroll stub ,bank statement for the last 6 weeks "

need to make more that 300.00/ paycheck regardless of weekly pay or biweekly pay and you have to have been employed with the same employer for a period of time as well. I cant remember how long.

Get a second job or something. Don't get a payday loan. My parents got some when I was younger and living under their roof. We were always poor, no food constantly and I don't think they've even finished paying them off now (10 years later) as they had to file one of those debit consolidation things. Also I know I was having a hard time a few years ago and went to MNP for a free consultation and their advise really helped me, and I currently have no debts where as then I had over $40,000.

If the op has no alternative, then do the pay day loan and make sure it’s a one time thing. Everyone needs help sometime. One time.. Merry Xmas op.

Pasquale said "If the op has no alternative, then do the pay day loan and make sure it’s a one time thing. Everyone needs help sometime. One time.. Merry Xmas op. "

I don't think anyone is trying to make the OP feel bad, etc. Everyone *does* need help once in awhile, but payday loans are hardly an altruistic venture created to "help people out" - they are a predatory business model that countless, desperate people who *think* they have no options fall victim to. What I see here are people trying to be helpful by cautioning the OP and sharing experiences.  
 
To the OP: I have never had one, but have had friends that have, and they are NEVER a good idea, for the reasons others have stated. They have always regretted them, and they end up exasberating the problem instead of helping resolve it.  
 
Without knowing what you need the money for, are you sure you've exhausted all the options? Sometimes when borrowing money is off the table in terms of options, you can get creative with other alternatives - that part I know from experience.  
 
Whatever you decide, just be sure you're educated on your choice and that you have a FIRM plan of action to resolve your situation - not a vague "I wil pay this off", or "I will get this item out of hock", but a written plan on paper, with a firm timeline and a plan of attack. Otherwise, you'll just circle right back to where you are now.

If possible, I would try applying for a line of credit no harsh deadlines and lower interest. Depending on your income if you're having trouble making ends meet, you can make an appointment with Employment and Income Assistance and see if they can help. You can also try food banks (if you're having trouble getting groceries) I don't know exactly what the money is for or what the situation is, but there are other options out there. You can also apply for Rent Assist and if you qualify you may get an extra couple hundred of dollars a month to help you pay your rent. (This is separate from Employment and Income Assistance and it's for people in the work force as well.) Good luck in whatever you decide. If a payday loan is your only option, then you have to do what you have to do. It's unfortunate but life knocks us down sometimes. I hope that 2018 is better for you.

Jm69 said "Try applying for a line of credit with your bank they charge lower interest. "

even if it's prime plus whatever, you'll still be better off.

Bank loans and lines of credit are not an option for a lot of people. This isn't what the OP asked.

Honestly some of the people that have posted suggesting bank loans and lines of credit...  
If these were options I'm sure the OP would be taking advantage of them.  
 
To the OP  
 
years ago I was single, living on my own, had a car payment, credit card debt and the typical rent/utilities to pay. I made just a little more then minimum wage. By the time I paid all my bills I had nothing left. I worked full time and always had to tell my friends I couldn't go for a beer or I couldn't go do fun stuff because I never had any spare money left over.  
 
One day (stupidly) I decided to go and take out a payday loan. Just so I had a little extra money to spend on going for a drink with my friends one weekend.  
Back then you could borrow pretty much your entire pay cheque (these days it's only 1/3 I think) I only borrowed $100 for which I had to pay back $118 it didn't seem like that big of a deal.  
Well my budget was so tight that come two weeks later when I had to go back in and pay them the $118 I was short a bill..... Sooooo I borrowed again but this time I had to borrow a little more to offset the extra money I paid to borrow the money and, well I was borrowing anyways so might as well take another $50 for myself. I made some stupid decisions. I was young.  
Anyway long story short. It got to the point where I was borrowing pretty much my entire paycheque. Or maxing out whatever they would give me. Then every 2 weeks I would go back and pay my loan and reborrow. There was no way to get out of it. The bank wouldn't give me any money because of my debt service ratio and I couldn't afford to just pay out my payday loan because I had to pay bills.  
 
Then...  
 
The Manitoba government changed the rules on payday loans. They made it so you could only borrowed 1/3 of your income and then after you paid the loan back you had to wait a week before you could borrow again.  
 
At first this seemed like a disaster because I wasnt going to be able to borrow money for a week but I had bills due on payday AND when I did borrow I would only be able to borrow 1/3 this time so I was for sure going to have to miss a bill payment....  
 
Someone came up with the idea (I don't remember who) of going to another money shop and borrowing from them too. That way I would borrow from One place one week then offset it by borrowing from another place the week after. It was stressful I was paying massive amounts of interest to two different places. Never getting ahead. Albeit my own fault for making a stupid decision but that's what happened.  
 
I lived like that for TWO YEARS. From 2009-2011. I ended up getting a part time job just to start getting a head. I worked my day job from 8am-4:30pm then went to my evening job 5pm-10pm 3 nights a week and 8hrs on a Saturday or Sunday. it's what I had to do to fix the mess I got myself into.  
 
The reason I'm telling you this story is because looking back my reason for a payday loan was silly. What started out as me wanting to have a beer with my friends turned into two years of stress and worry about money. Now I'm not saying your situation is that trivial and it could very well be that you are in a desperate position and need money quicky. In fact by the time you read this you might have already gone and got a payday loan but if you haven't yet. I would think really hard about it because those places are set up to make it hard for you to stop borrowing from them. They pray on people who have no other option and exploit them. I don't think payday loan places should even be allowed to operate.  
Maybe if you would be willing to share what it is you need the money for somebody might be inclined to help you out. Or maybe give you some direction on how to avoid having to get a payday loan.

I had three jobs.

Whoknows123 said "Bank loans and lines of credit are not an option for a lot of people. This isn't what the OP asked. "

...but some people overlook things like lines of credit. It can't hurt to talk to the bank before turning to the predatory bottom-feeders.