Is a Payday Loan Right for me?

Deciding whether a payday loan is right for you can actually be quite a tricky decision. There are a lot of things to consider and it is worth giving up some time to think about it properly before you rush in.

  • Do I need the money? – the first thing to consider is whether you really need the money. This might seem silly but it is good to think about as when we are in a panic we can often miss things. So start by carefully looking at your financial situation. Think about whether you have enough money to cope without the loan. You might have savings that you had forgotten you had or that you were holding onto for something else. If you do, then think about whether they might be best used for this purpose. It is also good to think hard about what you are spending the money on. Think about whether you really need to spend the money. It might be that you can wait until you save up or until you get paid or that you can go without having it at all. It can be hard to step back and think logically about it. However, if you do, then you could find that you get yourself into a better frame of mind and can sort your situation out more easily.
  • Can I afford the repayment? – It is also wise to find out how much you will be expected to repay and think about whether you can afford this. To find out, you will be able to use the calculator on the lender’s website. You can just enter how much you are borrowing and how long for and it will let you know how much you will need to repay in full. You will then be able to take a look back at your bank statements and see whether this is an amount of money that you will be able to afford. If it is not then consider whether you can borrow less to make it more affordable or whether there is anything else that you can do perhaps to earn more money or spend less in the few weeks until you will need to repay the loan.
  • Is it an emergency? – it is good to think about whether you really need the money even whether it is an emergency. Payday loans were specifically set up to help people who needed money in an emergency and many forms of borrowing are also good for using in this sort of situation. If it is an emergency then you need for borrowing will be urgent, but if not, then it may be that you will be able to wait. If you can wait until you are paid before you need the money then it will be better to do this rather than take the loan as it will be cheaper.
  • Do I have other options? – it is always good to look at the alternatives. You will have already looked to see if you have savings that you can use, but it is good to also look at whether you have any other ways that could be helpful. It is always good to look at all possibilities as this will enable you to make a well-balanced decision. Just taking a loan without thinking could be something you regret, but if you look at all of the alternatives and still feel the loan will be the best solution then you will not have any regrets and wonder whether there was an alternative thing that you could have done, which would have suited you better.
  • Am I the Right type of person to get a payday loan? – it might feel like there is a certain type of person that a payday loan is for and you may not feel like you fit in. Perhaps someone that has a poor credit record, isn’t good with money, has lots of loans or whatever. However, there is no typical payday borrower, everyone is different and has a different reason for wanting to borrow money. You just have to forget whether you are the right type of person and just think about whether the loan will be right for your needs.

It is worth noting that a payday loan is only for a few hundred ponds and so will only be suitable to pay for cheaper items. You will have to repay it all in one go and so you need to make sure that you are able to do this considering your financial situation. However, as it can be arranged quickly and easily and no credit check needs to be done it can be useful for a lot of people. It is therefore worth thinking about whether it is something that will be useful for you.

How to Choose the Best Payday Lender

There are many payday lenders and it can be confusing knowing which one will be the best for you to use. If you have not had a payday loan before then it can be even harder knowing where to start looking. There are a number of ways that you can choose and it is good to do research before you take on a loan so that you know what you are getting in to.

Ask friends and family – it is really good to speak to people that you know about their experiences of payday lenders. It can be difficult talking to people about money, particularly borrowing but it can be extremely beneficial. People that you know are far less likely to be biased when they are giving you information about borrowing. They will let you know about their own experiences and this should help you to make up your mind. Find out whether there are any lenders that they would recommend as well as any lenders that they would advise you to avoid. Also find out why they have this opinion as it may be a reason that is not important to you. Their knowledge and experience can be really important and so going to them first can be very valuable.

Read reviews – once you have some information, or even if you were not able to get any, you can get more online. There will be all sorts of information about different lenders, reviews, ratings and things like that and you will be able to gain a lot of knowledge. These do have limitations. They are useful for finding which lenders are available and a bit about them. However, there is likely to be a lot of boas in the reviews that you find. Firstly, people are much more likely to write a review if they have had a bad experience compared to an average or good one and therefore you will see a lot of negativity. You may also find that there are biased reviews, perhaps written by rival lenders which could make some lenders seem a lot worse than they are. You may also find that some websites will be positive about certain lenders because they make money from affiliate links leading to those lenders’ websites. They will be more positive about those which give them the most commission rather than those which are better. This means that you may find it very difficult to know whether the information that you are reading is true or not.

Use comparison sites – a comparison website is also a good way to see which lenders are available. They will also be compared on price which can be useful if you are looking to find the cheapest lender. You do have to be wary here as well though. Comparison websites will tend to only list a limited number of lenders. This means that there may be better ones that you are not aware of. They may also tend to only list the ones that pay them the highest commissions, so again there could be some good ones that you are not seeing. However, if you do not have much time, they can be a quick way to get an idea of what lenders are available and how much they charge.

Look at lender’s websites – looking at the lender’s website such as this one by Emu, will give you a chance to get to know more about them. This can be useful as you can find out things like how old the company is and a bit about their history as well as more detail about their products. You will be able to see how much they charge as well and see the terms and conditions if you want to.

Cost — It can be tempting to look at lenders and just choose the cheapest. Although this might seem like the most sensible things to do as you will not pay so much, you need to think about value for money. Consider whether you feel that the lender will treat you well whether they have fair terms and what might happen if you are unable to pay when necessary. It is good to see how much they do charge if you miss a repayment or cannot afford the whole repayment as these costs could vary between lenders. It is wise to think about a few other things as well as the cost. One main thing that you might want to consider is how well they treat their customers. If you get in touch with their customer services you will get an idea of this. You will be able to email, phone, message or speak to someone and see how quickly they get back to you, how polite and friendly they are as well as how good they are at answering questions.