Why Pay Day Loans are Slowly Killing Us Financially

It was 2007 and I found myself in a predicament. $10/hr., an apartment, and a puppy were not going to cut it. I couldn’t make my rent. I remember going to work and a co-worker telling me to take out a pay day loan. SIGH. I always heard about them and I did it anyway.

I always ONLY saw them in the hood growing up and I STILL only see them in the hood. “THEY” Lowdown….

Am I the only one who notices this? They target low-income neighborhoods. It’s always one on every corner.

Back to the story…

I found myself getting a pay day loan of around $300, relaxing for about 2 weeks, and having to take another one a month later. It seemed like I couldn’t catch up.

It’s a never ending cycle, I thought. “THEY” (in my DJ Khaled Voice) want us to stay in the mindset of BORROWING. They don’t want us to have good credit.

I understand getting one for an emergency, but it’s so much easier to negotiate bills/save than be caught up in the never ending cycle of pay day loans, title loans, and pawn shops.

The craziest thing I’ve saw is someone take a title loan out on a PAID OFF CAR and lose the car. If you know you can’t pay them back, DON’t DO IT!

I didn’t have kids at the time and I wasn’t taking care of a sick parent.

So why was my ignorant butt behind on bills?

Chef Dee…Let’s See…
Weave
Nails
Clothes…I could go on and on

Side note: Random trips around town to see what my boyfriend is doing and wasting gas… (see how dumb that sounds when you read it out loud, but I was young and dumb and chasing a no good…)

BUT…
Thank God for a faithful Marriage life now with someone better.

I quickly learned that the issue was my spending habits and my mindset. I changed immediately. I pulled my credit report and paid old debts. No, I didn’t settle them. I paid them off in full. Settling debts will still mess up your credit. I was young so I went back to stay with my mom and I found a better job that would pay for college.

9 years later. Here I am. A salaried position (almost 6-figures), no payday loans, never pawned anything, and I own my own home because I cleaned up my credit.
I’m convinced Pay Day loans/Pawn Shops are the devil.

If it’s a DIRE EMERGENCY, I completely understand when a loan is needed.

However, I’ve also worked in collections and saw individuals receive multiple pay day loans and when the money is due, they run. They allow their bank account to go into the negative and they never pay them back. Don’t be that person.

Look at your spending habits.

If you had money for the club, McDonalds, or shoes this month, trust me, you had the money for the bills.

Once I changed my spending habits and mindset, I changed my life.

And a side note AGAIN, I ASK…
WHY ARE THE TITLE/PAYDAY LOAN PLACES ONLY IN LOW-INCOME AREAS?

– Tiffani Crenshaw