There is nothing that you can get for free today – or is there?  Believe it or not, there is actually a possibility that you can get a free (or at least very cheap) payday loan.  Honestly, I find it very hard to believe, myself.  My way of thinking is this – payday loan providers are operating because they want to make a living.  They are running a business venture and not a charitable organisation after all.  So why would they even think about giving their product or service away for free?  Who would do that?

According to some articles I have read on the Web, there is a possibility for this happening.  How so?  Apparently, there are some payday loan providers who are always on the lookout for new customers.  They are always finding new ways to attract new borrowers to avail of their service.  As such, they come out with promotions from time to time in order to entice these potential borrowers to deal with them.

It makes sense so far – with all the payday loan providers operating online today, each one of them has to be very competitive in order to stay afloat, much more, earn a profit.  So, what kinds of promos do they offer new customers?

One such promo is to offer free payday loans for first time borrowers.  What happens is that they do not charge the regular fees for those individuals who borrow money from them for the first.  Hard to believe, no?  I honestly have not come across such a payday loan provider as of yet but as they say, these promos do not run all the time.  Maybe it has been a matter of timing for me.  In any case, if you look hard enough, you just might find a payday loan provider that is running some sort of promo like this one.  Just make sure that you read the fine print over and over again to make sure that you are not missing out on any stipulation that may be detrimental to you in the end.

A more common promo that I have seen is reduced fees.  Many payday loan providers do this in order to entice customers – both first time and returning.  Different strokes for different folks, as the saying goes.  Some payday loan lenders offer reduced fees to first time borrowers while other payday loan lenders do the opposite and offer reduced fees to returning customers.  The logic for the first tactic is to attract new clients who will hopefully like their service and stay with them.  The logic for the second tactic is to keep current customers happy and retain them as returning borrowers.

Personally, I don’t care what their logic is behind the reduced fees. As long as I can get the promo and I do not get caught in whatever catch that might exist, then I am happy.  The trick is in looking around for such promos first before committing to a payday loan lender.

Most – if not all – financial products exist to assist customers in one way or another.  It is but rational that they do – otherwise, why else would an individual avail of a particular financial product?  Think about it, an insurance policy for example.  This product is something that will benefit the individual in case something happens.  A personal loan works much the same way.  Same thing with all other kinds of loans.  Of course, while the individual availing of the financial product gains some benefit from it, the entity selling the product also stands to gain.  They do this by charging fees and interest.  It is much like a symbiotic relationship.

Payday loans are no different.  They exist in order to provide for specific needs of certain individuals.  If, for example, a person finds himself short of cash before his next payday, he can avail of a payday loan to see him through.  Or perhaps, a person has a very urgent need to take care of and his money – from whatever source – is not due till the next week or so.  A payday loan is perfect to meet this kind of need.

Most anyone in the UK can avail of a payday loan.  The requirements are very basic and not hard to meet.  First of all, a potential borrower must be a resident or a citizen of the UK.  Furthermore, he has to be of legal age – at least 18 years old.  These two requirements are non-negotiable and must be met for all payday loan lenders.  Another important requirement is that the potential borrower must have a regular source of income.  Most of the time, this is in the form of a stable job.  That is actually where the term payday loan comes from – the borrower uses the money from his next payday as the guarantee that he will have money to pay back the payday loan.  In other cases, if the borrower has his own business or is self-employed, he can also use papers proving that he has an income.  Some payday loan lenders add on the requirement that the borrower should have been with his current job for at least 3 months or so.  On the part of the payday loan lender, this adds assurance that the borrower will still have the job long enough to pay back the payday loan.

A borrower must also have a current bank account in order to facilitate the transaction.  These days, payday loan providers operate online.  They have done so in order to make the whole process faster, easier, and more affordable.  As such, transactions are made electronically.  The funds are transferred to the bank account that the borrower has specified.  Payment of the loan can also be done electronically, using the bank of choice.

As you can see, a payday loan is a very efficient way of looking for financial assistance when one needs it the most.  With the way the process has been streamlined, the assistance comes quickly and without too many glitches.

Perhaps if you asked various people from different sectors, you would get varying answers as well.  The answer would really depend on the person’s perspective and his take on many things in life.  If you were to ask me this question, though, I would answer “It depends.”

It depends on what, you may ask. Well, it depends on many different factors.  In many cases, payday loans can offer the best solution available.  In others, they may not be the most appropriate choice.  Here are some questions to ask yourself in order to determine if taking out a payday loan is the best option for you.

How urgent is your need?
Do you absolutely have to have that money within the next few days or can your need wait till the next payday at least?  Be totally honest with yourself.  Sometimes, when we want something so badly, it is very easy to fool ourselves into thinking that whatever it is we want simply cannot wait.  I have the perfect illustration to this.  My friend was going on a business trip and he wanted an iPod nano to bring along.  He didn’t have one.  He wanted it so badly that he ended up actually believing that he needed it in order to have a pleasant trip.  I can listen to music on the plane.  I wouldn’t be bored out of my wits.  I could be more productive if I had something to listen to – and so on.  Obviously, he could have lived without the nano.  He didn’t need to borrow money just for that.

How much money do you need?
Let’s take a look at that illustration again.  The iPod nano could cost anywhere from £100 to £200, depending on where you buy one and whether it is used or new.  That’s not too much, if you think about it.  A payday loan could indeed cover this expense.  Yet what about if your need ranges from £2000 to £3000?  Will a payday loan be able to cover this expense? Probably not.  Payday loans are meant for short term temporary cash shortages.  They are not meant to take care of really major expenses.  If you need a huge sum of money, then a payday loan may not be your best bet.

Are you expecting money to come in soon?
More so, will the money that you are expecting be enough to cover your daily expenses PLUS the payment needed for the payday loan?  I think this is one of the biggest mistakes of borrowers.  They think that since they have money coming in anyway, there will be no problem at all.  However, sometimes, they overlook that fact that they have other regular expenses to deal with first.  Money for food, for transportation, for the bills – these things are part and parcel of most anyone’s budget.  They usually cannot be done away with.  Now, if you are quite certain that your next pay cheque or that the money you are expecting (whatever the source may be) will be enough to take care of your day to day expenses AND pay off the payday loan, then you have nothing to be concerned about.  The important thing is for you to be able to project your expenses and then see if you can afford the payday loan.

I have always seen myself as a person who plans things.  I could be quite disorganised at home – even at work (you should see my desk!) – but I generally know where things are and what I have to do for the day.  This is especially true when it comes to vacations.  I like planning vacations.  I want to know how much I have to set aside for the plane tickets, for the hotel, and for miscellaneous expenses.  This week, though, I was met with a big surprise – something that I could not really say no to.

You see, the company that I work for has its main office in a foreign country.  What I didn’t know was that one of our colleagues from the main office was visiting this week.  More so, I didn’t really expect that he would request for us to go with him to the beach this weekend!

This, of course, is a very good thing for me.  I love the beach.  I love vacations – even if only for the weekend.  Then again, I realised early on that I wouldn’t have enough money to go on the trip.  I had two options – say no to my colleague or find some way of getting the money.  It’s not that I wouldn’t have the money sooner or later.  After all, payday is coming up soon.  It wouldn’t be here in time for the weekend break, though.  More so, I really couldn’t say no.  After all, the guy is from the main office and he doesn’t have anyone else to go with him to show him around.

Then payday loans came to mind.  I know that I am a firm believer of taking out loans only for important matters.  Then again, I suppose I could consider this as an important one.  After all, it’s not like I wouldn’t have the money to pay it off when my payday arrives.

I couldn’t have made a better decision!  I only had to go online and find the web site of my favorite payday loan provider.  I filled out the online application form – this took my around 2 minutes.  It was especially easy because I had used their services before.  They didn’t ask me for the usual requirements for first time borrowers.  They already have my information – demographics, proof of stable income, bank account, and the like.

After an hour or so, I got my application approved.  I expected this as I have already been approved before.  The next day, I got the money in the bank!  Now I can go on the weekend trip without any problems at all!

You, too, could do the same thing!  If you are faced with a sudden need like mine – it doesn’t have to be a vacation, mind you – then you could look for payday loan provider and get the cash you need within a matter of hours or days.  Convenient and easy – that’s what I can say.

Who would not want to have cheap cash to last him through the days till his next payday comes along?  I sure would want some of that!  In this day and age, however, it is not that easy to find cash lying around – much less cheap cash.  Have you ever found yourself in a situation wherein you needed cash really fast and you didn’t have many options available to you?

You probably thought about a family member – maybe he or she could help you out.  Then you realized that this person probably didn’t have the money either.  This is not improbable, especially with the economic situation today.  Then you probably thought of your colleague.  Maybe he or she could spot you for a while till you got your next pay cheque.  Then again, the more you thought about it, the more you realise that you don’t really feel comfortable approaching a colleague for this kind of favor.  Another option that you might have had was to approach your bank or local financial institution.  This would have been great except that you needed the money as soon as possible – maybe a day, two at the most.

If, at that time, you didn’t have a clue as to what payday loans were, then you probably had a very difficult time dealing with your situation.  Now think about what you could have done if you had known about payday loans and how one could have provided with you with cash to deal with your problem.

You could have gone online and found a suitable payday loan provider.  Then you could have filled out the application form, which would have taken you a few minutes at the most.  After filling it out, you would have sent in the application form and then merely waited for the approval of the payday loan provider.  Once you got your approval, you would have gotten the cash in your bank account within the day or the next day at the latest.

Now that you have this information, perhaps the next time that you face an emergency financial situation, you would consider taking out a payday loan.  Before I convince you, though, you probably need to know more about the cost of payday loans.  How cheap – or expensive – are they?

The title of this post mentions “cheap cash” till payday.  Are payday loans really a source of cheap cash?  Truth be told, they will cost you money.  After all, payday loan providers are here as businesses themselves – they are not giving away their money for free!  Yet if you think about it and the convenience and the speed by which you can get your much needed cash, the price that you have to pay is small by comparison.  Indeed, if you think about the interest that you have to pay for the more conventional loans, it may seem that they are cheaper.  But if you think about the time and effort involved, payday loans would still be the cheaper alternative.

Now who wouldn’t want to have the cash he needed in a flash?  I sure do!  Yet is there really a way that we could get the money we need when we need it?  There are countless financial institutions – both online and offline – in the UK (and all over the world for that matter) today.  How many of them can actually give us the money we need within the amount of time that we need it?  This is easy if we apply for the loan at least a month before we really need the money.  But what if the need jumps up with almost no notice at all? Where do we run to for quick cash?

Lucky for us there are payday loans!  Payday loans are simply short term loans that are offered to the public who are in need of quick cash.  They are not that different from any other loan except that they are available to more people and they can be acquired within a very short period of time – which is perfect for those unexpected needs that crop up every now and then.

Almost anyone can avail of a payday loan.  Of course, there are certain requirements before a person can be approved but compared to other conventional loans, it is easy as pie.  Different payday loan lenders naturally have different requirements, but they do have some common basic requirements.  One of these is that the borrower must be at least 18 years old – that’s normal, most any other transaction would require such.  Another thing is that the borrower must be a resident or a citizen of the UK.  If you are in the UK and reading this, then I think that this requirement would not pose any problems, would it?

Another easy requirement is for the borrower to be able to prove that he has some sort of income coming in.  This usually means having a stable job – one that you have had for at least 3 months.  This period of time may also vary depending on the payday loan lender.  Alternatively, if you own your own business, you only have to prove that as well.  Proof can be pay stubs or certificate of employment or financial statements from your business.

Last, you need to have a current bank account.  This is very important because this is where you will be getting your money from the payday loan.  The payday loan lender will deposit the money straight into your account once the payday loan application has been approved.  It can also be used as the means of repayment for the loan, doing away with the hassle of having to go pay it yourself.

As you can clearly see, payday loans can provide cash in a flash.  In practical terms, this “flash” could be as short as several hours or it can extend to 24 hours.  Still, that means that you will have the money in the shortest possible time!  Where else can you get that kind of service?

Payday loans are really getting the heat these days, aren’t they?  I ran across a news article online which talked about a debate in an Arizona church about payday loans.  On one side, there was Rudy Mares, the South Arizona coordinator for Arizona for Financial Reform.  On the other side, there was Rep. Marian McClure.  The former was lobbying for changes in the payday loan industry while the latter was seeking to classify payday loan lending as a felony.  Talk about two ends of the spectrum!

I won’t even bother dwelling much on McClure’s statements as I think that they are just way too extreme.  Her position on the payday loan issue does not really solve any problem or need, in my point of view.  On the other hand, Mares presented some interesting points.  These are:

? Cut the fee by 15 percent per two-week loan from 17.65 percent to 15 percent.
? Eliminate rolling over principal balances to extend loans.
? Create a free repayment plan for those who can’t pay their loans when they’re due.
? Implement a statewide database of people on repayment plans to prevent them from taking out other payday loans to cover the first loan.

Let’s look at each point one by one.  The figures in the first point may differ here in the UK as Mares’s situation is quite different in the US.  The idea seems to be a good one, though.  Lowering the allowed fee could be of more help to those in need of urgent cash.  Of course, this has to be looked into in more detail as the feasibility of the fee cut could jeopardise the payday loan industry.  But if a fee cut can be done and keep payday loan lenders in business, then I am all for it.  It is definitely better than denouncing payday loans completely!

The second point is another matter that should be considered in more detail.  If the principal balances are not rolled over, would this be feasible for payday loan lenders?  If so, then I am all for it – it would certainly make for easier borrowing and repayment.  This also means that more people will be able to avail of more payday loans.

I think that to some extent, the third point is already being practiced by some payday loan lenders.  Perhaps better repayment plans could be considered instead.  Another option would be to have standards as to the structure of repayment plans.

For the last point, I am sure that this will get mixed reactions.  For one, many people like the idea of being able to take out multiple payday loans.  Then again, this is one of the biggest reasons that people end up being in huge debt because of payday loans.  If multiple borrowing can be regulated – not totally eliminated – then I suppose it would be a good thing in the end.

What are your thoughts on this?

Getting a credit line is not always an easy thing. This is especially true these days when loan providers are becoming a bit more stringent when it comes to issuing loan approvals. It is but understandable, I suppose, what with the economic problems that most everyone is facing. After all, financial institutions are here to make money and they can’t very well just give their money away for nothing. However, from an individual’s point of view, these stringent conditions can be such a hassle. What if one does not have a very good credit rating? That does not automatically mean that a person will not pay back his loan. Then again, in the eyes of many conventional lender, these two things go hand in hand. So how is a person supposed to avail of credit if his credit record is not pristine?

Fortunately for us, there are payday loans. Payday loans fall under the short term loan category and they make borrowing money quite easy for those even with bad credit! How so? It is simply due to the fact payday loan providers do not require a credit check before approving a payday loan application. In fact, they never run a credit check. So, if a borrower has a not-so-perfect credit history or even a bad credit history, he still has very high chances of getting approved for a payday loan!

A corollary of the no credit check policy is the fact that applying for a payday loan is much much faster than the process for a conventional loan. A single credit check can take days or even weeks to be completed. Without a credit check, a payday loan application can be processed within a day or so! More than this, payday loan providers have always operated on the premise that their target clientele would need the money from the loan as fast as they can give it. As such, the service that they provide is aimed at releasing money from the payday loan in as short a time as possible.

This is even further facilitated by the fact that majority of payday loan providers today operate online. This means that all the transactions are done electronically, cutting down the processing time to almost nothing. This allows for a person to apply for a payday loan in the morning and possibly get his money in the afternoon or the next day.

The convenience that payday loans offer is not limited to the speed of the loan processing and the doing away with the credit check. Since payday loan providers operate online, an individual can apply for a loan from any place as long as he has a computer and a connection to the Internet. This means no long lines and long waiting times.

Indeed, with these considerations in mind, you can see clearly why payday loans have become the loan of choice for many people. Payday loans truly make credit as easy as it can be.