If you’re in a pinch and need cash, you may be considering payday loans. Payday loans are one of the quickest and easiest ways to get cash when you’re in a bind.
When you’re feeling the squeeze, you might think payday loans are the only options but in fact — there are payday loan alternatives that can help you avoid going this route.
While payday loans are great for short-term money problems, they aren’t always the best for long-term problems. Continue reading this article to learn more about payday loans other options you have when you need cash.
The 411 on Payday Loan Alternatives
While payday loans are quick and easy, there are other ways to get money when you’re in a bind. Check out these alternatives to see if they might suit your needs.
Take on Overtime Hours
Instead of taking out a loan, you could speak to your boss and see if there are any overtime hours available. Over-time pays more than regular pay so you can rack up some cash that way.
If you really want to get overtime hours, you should ask your boss to cross-train you for different tasks. When you know how to do multiple things, you will have opportunities to work doing various tasks depending on where the company is behind.
Take on Side Gigs
If you can’t get overtime from your regular job, you can take on side gigs. You can find a lot of side gigs that you can work around your schedule.
Whether you’re delivering groceries or maybe you’re an uber driver, you can make some good money doing these things on top of your regular job.
Have a Yard Sale
How much stuff do you have that you’re not using? How many things are in your garage collecting dust and you haven’t given them a second thought?
Instead of allowing these things to set and collect dust, you can cash them in for real money. People flock to yard sales and love getting the goodies and it’s an easy way to raise the money you need instead of getting a payday loan.
Decrease Your Luxuries
If you go out to eat once a week or if you have cable, you can decrease your luxuries to get the money you need. You don’t have to stop eating out forever and you don’t have to turn your cable off long-term but this is a good way to get some of the money you need to reach your goal.
Request Longer Payment Plans from Lenders
Your lenders don’t want you to fall behind. Many times you can work with your lenders to restructure payments when things get hard.
If you don’t ask them how they can work with you, you’ll never know. If you go to them in good faith and have concrete numbers you can work with, they often will see how they can work around those numbers so you don’t default on the loan.
Borrow from a Friend or Family Member
Borrowing money from a friend or family member might make you feel a little awkward but they usually charge a lot less interest than getting a loan. If the rest of your family is in a bind, this might not be an option.
Request a Pay Advance
Some workplaces will allow you to get a pay advance if you fall on hard times. If you work at a small place of business, they often know what’s going on in your life and will be more than happy to help you by giving you a pay advance.
Explore Community Emergency Assistance Money
Some areas have community emergency assistance funds that can help you if something bad happens. If you have an unexpected doctor bill and can’t pay your rent because of it, the money from these funds may be able to help you.
Borrow from Retirement Accounts
You can borrow from your retirement account but keep in mind there are major drawbacks to doing this. Retirement accounts usually have penalties for withdrawing your cash sooner than you’d planned.
Check to see how much money you’ll lose if you withdraw it too soon.
Open a New Credit Card
You likely get credit card offers in the mail and throw them away without thinking about it. Instead of throwing the next credit card offer out, you could look to see what they’re offering.
Many cards offer a 0% introductory rate for a certain period of time. If you need a quick loan and can pay it off before the 0% APR is gone, it might be a good option for you to get the money you need.
There are a lot of cards to choose from so make sure you get the card that is going to work best for you and your lifestyle.
Apply for a Personal Loan
If you have considerably good credit, you may be able to go to your bank and ask for a personal loan. Personal loans are unsecured loans that you can use for anything that you want.
Unlike a car loan, you don’t have to use a personal loan to buy anything in particular. You can buy food, pay rent, get a new pair of shoes or whatever you want to do with a personal loan.
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Founder Dinis Guarda
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