A payday loan is a quick short-term loan sometimes called a cash advance loan, a check advance loan, or a deferred deposit loan. These payday loans are usually available to anyone over the age of 18 who has a job or regular income. They usually only need proof of a bank account, a debit card, maybe a phone bill, and a pay stub. There will be no credit check and you can get a payday loan even if you have bad credit.

When you apply for a payday loan and are accepted, you will write a post-dated check for the amount you are borrowing plus the fee. The lender or payday loan store will give you the cash and then hold onto your check.

If you have chosen a reputable payday loan store, they will then deposit your check at the end of your loan period which is usually about two weeks to 18 days. You should know exactly what date they will cash your check and a reputable payday loan company will not cash it before that date. If you can’t pay the loan, you can contact the payday loan store and pay them an extra fee to rollover the amount for another two weeks. You should, before you apply for the payday loan, consider how much you can afford to pay out of your next paycheck and still have enough left over to carry you through to the next paycheck. You should never borrow more than you can afford to pay back.

Payday loans are intended to get you through a financial emergency. Payday loans are not intended for your normal daily or monthly purchases. Women apply for more payday loans than men and they use them mostly to buy groceries. It would be better to find some other means to buy groceries than to get a payday loan that could over time cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in interest and take years to pay off.

Some states have banned payday loan stores while others allow borrowers to carry up to two payday loans at a time. The Consumer Federation of America believes that a borrower should not carry more than one payday loan at any given time. In order to protect consumers from being trapped by the extremely high fees associated with a payday loan, the Truth in Lending Act requires that the cost of payday loans be disclosed. The disclosure is to be in writing and must state the Annual Percentage Rate (APR) and finance charges.

If you have a financial emergency that cannot be met by any other means, a payday loan might be your only option. However, to keep from getting trapped by the high fees and interest, it is imperative that you pay it off immediately. You should also take a look at your overall financial situation and see if you can give it an overhaul and begin to build a savings that you can fall back on in a future emergency. A payday loan should be your last resort and should be avoided if at all possible.