Payday Loans for Women

 

Statistics show that for every dollar a man earns, a woman only earns 77 cents. Faced with an economic and financial emergency, the obstacles grow even greater. Many women fall into the trap of taking out payday loans when they are stuck with bills that are immediately due or an emergency for which they do not have the money right away. Payday loans can be a quick fix to an immediate emergency situation, but are they the best move to make?
What is a Payday Loan?
Payday loans have been advertised relentlessly over the past several years. These are short-term loans that are paid back typically within seven to 30 days from the date of the loan.
The qualification requirements for getting a payday loan are generally pretty simple. You need to have a bank account, checking account preferred, and you need to be able to show proof a steady income. You also need to be able to show identification and be over the age of 18.
Payday loans do not require a credit check, so they are attractive to people who have no credit or who have bad or poor credit. These loans are not reported to credit agencies unless you default on the loan and do not pay it back.
Disadvantages of Payday Loans
The biggest disadvantage of payday loans is the fees and interest rates that are charged as part of the loan. In many cases, fees can total more than the amount of the loan principle and interest rates can run from 300 to 900 APR percent and higher.
Although many reputable payday loan companies have restrictions and limitations on how much a person can borrow – only one quarter of your paycheck, for example – there are many predatory lenders who pressure borrowers into taking out higher loan amounts. This can be detrimental, since it means that payback payments will also be higher.
Payday loans can also be a trap for many women. They make less money than men do and if they begin taking payday loans, then the loan will be due with the next paycheck. This leads to less money at hand from the paycheck. This leads to becoming farther behind on regular bills and the need to take out another payday loan. This becomes a very negative cycle of debt from which it is almost impossible to get out from under.
Alternatives to Payday Loans
Although payday loans can be very tempting if you are stuck in a financial emergency, there are alternatives to a high interest short-term loan. If you are employed, you may be able to ask your employer for an advance on your next paycheck and the amount of the advance will be deducted from your next paycheck without any interest charged.
This kind of creative financing can be a very smart move for women, because you are receiving the same amount of money that you might receive from a payday loan, but you are not being charged additional interest and fees on top of it.
Another alternative is to use a credit card for your emergency. You can pay off the credit card in full when it is due and it will be just like taking out a payday loan. The exception is that credit card companies charge a lot less interest than payday loan companies do.
Payday loans just are not the smart move for most women. There are better alternatives to getting a payday loan and they should be the absolute last resort if you have an emergency and need immediate cash.