So many of us find ourselves in a situation where we need emergency cash. We just broke down on the freeway and the car needs repairs. The tuition is due at college, or we need an extra book or two. Maybe the kid just fell out of the tree and had to go to the emergency. It really does not matter what the situation is, all you know is that you do not have the money, and it is going to be a few days until your paycheck hits the bank. These situations may call for short term loans. These loans are short term, two weeks or so, for a small amount of money.
Also called pay day loans, these short term loans are designed to help you cover those unexpected costs with cash loans to tide you over until your next pay check. True, a lot of people are hesitant to get short term loans, mostly because they do not know that they are highly regulated. Many jurisdictions and states prevent the usury or the charging of unreasonable high interest rates and fees. In fact, many places limit the annual percentage rate that can be charged by pay day lenders providing short term loans. For instance, the maximum amount that can be loaned through short term loans in Illinois is $1,000 or 25 percent of your monthly gross income. So you can rest assured that there are regulations that are there for your protection when using short term loans. It is also illegal for a payday lender to threaten borrowers with criminal prosecution in many places.
If you find yourself in a situation where you cannot immediately pay off these short term loans, you have options. You can extend or roll it over. This does not mean that you do not have to repay it. You do and the fees and interest will keep accumulating.
Getting short term loans is not a hard process. There are even online payday loans that will allow you to apply for them at your convenience. Companies offering short term loans can be found throughout the country.
The lenders at short term loan companies are there to help you and to answer your questions and concerns. Make sure that you completely understand the process, especially the interest rates and fees that come with short term loans. Also, do not consider these types of loans to be a long term financial solution; they should be considered emergency funds.
I always wondered if there were regulations on these loans. Thanks.