This Festive Season, Go Payday
–By Priya Jestin, Staff Writer
It’s the holiday season, a time to celebrate and forget our woes for a while. So, what better way to celebrate than buy a few gifts for your loved ones? And if you are strapped for cash, just go online and click onto the sites of one of the many online payday loan companies.
Yes, we’ve all heard the blah on payday loans and yes we know they are bad. And so is alcohol and cigarettes and… the list goes on. Well, anything that’s taken in limits cannot hurt — not even payday loans. Getting back to payday loans, I recently noticed the surge in their numbers. Cyberspace seems to have provided very fertile ground for payday lenders. It is much easier for consumers to now buy the gifts in time. While they do have their benefits, do be careful and ensure that you are aware of the risks when you take a payday loan.
Payday loan companies help you tide over immediate crises by giving you cash. But a payday loan is not a gift from Santa. It’s a business deal that favors the lender and you must be careful to repay the amount in full on the due date to avoid falling into a debt trap. It is important for you to follow a few simple tips if you want to have a good payday loan experience.
First of all, you must verify the authenticity and reputation of the online vendor. If they don’t provide proper information on the interest rates charged, then you better find yourself another lender. Also try to shop around before you settle for a loan. You may spend more time, but could end up with a better option.
Don’t forget to read the fine print. Read and reread the terms and conditions before you accept them. And finally, don’t forget to repay the loan within the specified period. This will save you a lot of heartache because some payday loan companies have been known to charge as high as 700% as interest!
November 27th, 2006 at 9:51 pm
Thanks for the tips…especially the one about requiring upfront information about the interest rate charged.