Making all the wrong choices to try and keep my head up...

[Anonymous]

To start I'll talk about my pay day loan hell ..So I'm 25 college grad... Working my way slowly up the ladder... But right now I have 2 pay day loans out and one really shady installment loan. Ive been on my own financially for years. And I just had a tough time paying rent so I dipped into these companies and now I'm stuck. I have a 400 loan with Ameriloan and a 300 loan with great sky financial. I can't pay my other bills anymore and my rent is due with my next pay check (the 5th of august) and as it is I will barely be able to live with paying rent ... So what can I do ? I can close my checking account this week. But what do I do from there ? Will they really call my references and harass them daily ? And me ? What can I do ? I want to get out of this cycle.. Oh and the installment loan was for 500 only after I agreed to getting it deposited did they tell me about the 350 origination fee. Cash call bought the loan and now they handle it with an interest rate that makes me sick. What can I do ?



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As far as rebuilding my credit ... I have 2 credit cards.. Maxed out with low limits .. And make steady payments.. And a legit installment loan.. My Student loans are being consolidated and I want to focus on them .. Not this pay day loan crap . I know I make enough money to build a decent credit score and get out of debt. Any help would be greatly appreicated.

[tpatterson2k9]

That is a tough situation to be in; however, it isn't the end of the world and there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

With that said, if I were you I would take a cash advance out on one of your CCs but that won't work because your CCs have low limits and are maxed.  If you have someone who could add you as an AU on their CC with a high enough limit, you could take out a large enough cash advance to pay off one of those pay day loans.  Yes, cash advances generally have higher interest than just using the CC normally, and yes, interest is charged right when the cash advance is made, but from what I know about pay day loans, I bet the interest rate would be much lower for the cash advance than for your pay day loans.  This might not be the best option as it involves you running up the limit on someone else's CC, but if your job and income are stable, then this might very well be a viable option for you.  Keep in mind though that the AU card could take up to 7-10 days to get to you, which might not work out for your pay down timetable.  Of course, the easier options would be to either get a part time job on top of what you do now or work more hours where you're at, but I imagine you would have done this already if it was available to you. 

I can understand how you feel that all your pay checks are being eaten up by interest on those pay day loans (which is why you want them paid off), but keep in mind sacrifices must be to get those pay day loans to go away.  Also, if you have someone who could add you as an AU on their CC, perhaps instead of that they would be willing to lend you the amount of the loan at a much lower interest rate.  I hope this helps.  Don't give up and let us know how your progress goes on paying these down.

[llecs]

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@Anonymous wrote:
So what can I do ? .....I want to get out of this cycle..

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I'm a firm believer that you can either out-save your problems or you can out-earn your problems. And I use "you" as in anyone reading this, including me. When you are on a limited income, you can only do so much to squeeze a buck out here or there to make everything fit in your budget. You really can't out-save this problem, unless there are more monies coming in from somewhere or you have cash saved. And any rebudgeting you do now (e.g. cancel phone, cancel internet, cancel subscriptions, cancel cable, restructure your W-4 to have a bigger paycheck, change insurance plans, change any service plans, etc.), won't be realized until after you need the $$$.

The solution is to out-earn your problem. You'd get cash fast and have $$$ left over to repay any debts and have extra for savings. You'll need to increase your income if you want everything to fit.

If I was in that situation (and you bet I was from 20-24), I would add an extra job that allows for flexible schedules along with cash tips. Waiting tables comes to mind (I did that), delivering pizzas or restaurant delivery, working as a hotel bellhop, working at a car wash, and others all can return instant tips before you even earn your first paycheck. So, by this time next week you can have cash in hand at $20-$100/day depending on what you do.

Another option is to work for a temp agency. They typically pay pretty quickly (in college, I worked for one that paid weekly), and you can have a paycheck by then and you get to determine whether or not you want to work at a given job/site.

Of course, you can get another job for the paycheck. Even then, you might get your first just when you need it.

Finally, you can turn entrepreneur and start your own business. I did this in college and it worked out very well (still own it after 15 years). That way I can decide how much $$$ I wanted and when I wanted it. I didn't need a boss to decide when I worked and how much I was worth. Based on what you do and how you execute your plan, you control the ship with regards to income. After being $20k+++ in debt and using CCs to pay off other CCs, I had to do something different. The calls do get annoying.

[Anonymous]

Someone mentioned a cash advance on a CC if you had that available. It appears that is not an option.

What about applying for a small loan to take care of the payday loans? You might need a co-signer. The interest rate might be lower and it would allow you longer to pay if off. This would also add an additional  positive tradeline to your credit report.

Is there anyone you can borrow from?

Making extra money is obviously needed as a previous poster talked about. I would agree. See if there is another job you can take on even temporarily until you get out of this situation, even IF borrowing or a loan is done, as this will help the problem disappear quicker.

It will be tough to find a solution and hard work will be required to deal with this. I hope you can find one quickly.

Good luck!!

[Anonymous]

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@llecs wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:
So what can I do ? .....I want to get out of this cycle..

---

I'm a firm believer that you can either out-save your problems or you can out-earn your problems. And I use "you" as in anyone reading this, including me. When you are on a limited income, you can only do so much to squeeze a buck out here or there to make everything fit in your budget. You really can't out-save this problem, unless there are more monies coming in from somewhere or you have cash saved. And any rebudgeting you do now (e.g. cancel phone, cancel internet, cancel subscriptions, cancel cable, restructure your W-4 to have a bigger paycheck, change insurance plans, change any service plans, etc.), won't be realized until after you need the $$$.

The solution is to out-earn your problem. You'd get cash fast and have $$$ left over to repay any debts and have extra for savings. You'll need to increase your income if you want everything to fit.

If I was in that situation (and you bet I was from 20-24), I would add an extra job that allows for flexible schedules along with cash tips. Waiting tables comes to mind (I did that), delivering pizzas or restaurant delivery, working as a hotel bellhop, working at a car wash, and others all can return instant tips before you even earn your first paycheck. So, by this time next week you can have cash in hand at $20-$100/day depending on what you do.

Another option is to work for a temp agency. They typically pay pretty quickly (in college, I worked for one that paid weekly), and you can have a paycheck by then and you get to determine whether or not you want to work at a given job/site.

Of course, you can get another job for the paycheck. Even then, you might get your first just when you need it.

Finally, you can turn entrepreneur and start your own business. I did this in college and it worked out very well (still own it after 15 years). That way I can decide how much $$$ I wanted and when I wanted it. I didn't need a boss to decide when I worked and how much I was worth. Based on what you do and how you execute your plan, you control the ship with regards to income. After being $20k+++ in debt and using CCs to pay off other CCs, I had to do something different. The calls do get annoying.

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+1

[Booner72]

I feel your pain.  I did the cash advance thing to the tune of about 2000 bucks years back.  My dad bailed me out on one, and we filed bankruptcy to get out of the other.  I could and should have gotten a second job and taken care of everything that way, but I didn't, neither did DH.  Now its 9 years later and still feeling the pain of the bk.  If you can in any way shape or form save your credit, do it.  Because you will be paying for it for many, many years to come.

Good Luck.

[RobertEG]

I would be extremely hesitant to use someone else's credit to secure cash.  You will probably find it most difficult to find someone to put you on their card as an AU with the intent of letting you run up their debt balance.  Not to mention their obligation to repay it should you not come up with the $$ each month.  Your actions will put their credit in jeopardy.  If you cant handle existing debt, asking a close friend or relative to, in effect, obligate legally for your debt is dangerous ground. 

I would not want to do that to someone who you would have to know well enough to gain their consent to offer you AU status.

If you have someone who trusts you that much, I would go the informal personal loan route before making them legally obligated to others for your debt.