Payday Loans took Over my life, can anyone help?

I am so lost. I keep taking the same loans over and over again. This has been a problem since 2005 (caused me to declare bankruptcy!) and it has been a problem again since Oct. 2007. I pay them off but than need money for bills and take the same loans out. I feel like such a failure and am scared I won't be able to may rent. My car was almost taken from me because I didn't have money to pay my payment on time for several months!
I live in NJ and owe $551 to Magnum Cash Advance. I am scheduled to make four payments of aprox. $226. I owe VIP $100 and their payments are $25 a pay (in order to pay it off, they only take payments of $50) and I took another $500 loan from Loan Point USA (to pay off a former loan I have) and they want $150 a pay. Magnum is the best because after the four payments of $226, they're done but it's still expensive. I was looking at Langhorne Debt and don't know what to do. I am looking for a second job but still don't think I could make ends meet with it. I feel so lost and hopeless. I have not made any of these payments yet because I took this out to pay back former ones. I know it's so dumb. And whats crazy is that I can pay my bills once these are all gone. Does anyone have any suggestions? I know once these are done I can finally move on. I am willing to make changes and to fix anything in my life.

frog, i think there are three tgreads running for this.

Hang around this site and someone will give you advise. I am in the same boat...worrying about if I can pay the amounts they are requesting. I can already tell you that you must take care of your essentials first and give them what you can.

your post is in debt consolidation

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...bout43861.html

I will delete that post and copy my reply to this one!
Kash could you copy your reply also?

Thanks - I did not mean any confusion. I would prefer this post to stay active. Can you please delete the others?

Langhorne from what I gather is one f the few that will work with payday loans, however being that those loans are not legal in NJ you might consider dealing with them yourself! You must consider closing your account and dealing with them in your terms! It sounds like these are all new loans, correct? There are none that you have been paying a long time on?

No, I have paid on these same companies for months at a time but than when I paid them off, I had no money for bills and took the same ones over again. I would never do that again and it crushed me to do so but my car was almost taken away due to lack of payments. On April 3, I will pay $226 on Magnum, than $25 on VIP. On April 16, $452 (out of the $551 I borrowed) will be paid to Magnum, $50 (out of $100) will be paid to VIP and $150 (out of $500) will be paid to Loan Point USA. Should I wait until than? Or even longer? I don't know what to do.. I am willing to pay what I legally owe, of course but these payments are going to put me right back where I was.

From Kashzan on your other post!
Frog is correct. You can do this on your own. If you can list the principle amount borrowed and what you have repaid to each lender we can help get you out of this mess. being that these loans are illegal in NJ, all you are morally obligated to repay is the principle amount borrowed.

Thanks for the help, here are my answers to the questions:

List the companies you have the loans with and whether it is a store front operation or an internet operation.

all online - Loan Point USA, Magnum Cash Advance, VIP Cash


List the original amount of the loan for each account

Loan Point USA - $500
Magnum Cash Advance - $551
VIP Cash - $100


List what you have paid so far for each loan.

I have not paid anything yet (but have been in this same cycle.. I took these loans to repay the same loans - yes, I'm that stupid) On April 3, $226 will be paid to Magnum and $25 to VIP. On April 17, $226 will be paid to Magnum, $25 to VIP and $150 to Loan Point USA.

List what state you currently reside in.

NJ

i thank everyone who has helped so far. I read over my state laws but don't understand them. I am willing to close my account and stop my direct deposit but am scared. i am scared of my bank not really closing (which happened at PNC last year before I declared bankruptcy) and I am scared nobody would want to settle with me. I have no idea how to do this and wish I handled this earlier when I was paying literally a thousand on a $300 loan. Do I have to wait to pay them some money first? Than close my account? I am scared to death and have no idea what to do. Homelessness has hit close to me before it scares me so bad. I sit at my desk at work crying and cannot sleep at night. These stupid loans have taken over my life.

Is there anyone here who knows how to help me? I am so lost and I have so many questions! I seriously feel so ashamed and helpless. Should I close my account? Would putting it on limited status help? I only have until tommorow to stop my direct deposit for my neck check. Can somone please help me? I know everyone here has problems and I am sorry for taking up someone else's time. I just really want to do this.

Do not feel ashamed and helpless - You are not!

These loans are not legal. If you have paid more then you borrowed, you are done paying.

Read this thread about the bank stuff:

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com...e-account.html

With the info in the link above you will be able to protect your bank account from these places . . .

Next step once the bank account is taken care of is letters and complaints.

I can tell you now the NJ state won't give you much help. But that is okay, you don't need them.

The key thing to remember during all of this is:

These places can do NOTHING to you. They can't have you arrested. If they were stupid enough to sue you they would lose as long as you responded. They have no means of collecting unless you want to give them more money. They know this. They will try to scare you and intimidate and harrass the hell out of you. It's the only way they can get a cent. If you know this ahead of time, you can prepare yourself. Remember, they can't do anything to you. They are not legal loans. They cannot legally collect. Period.

This problem is absolutly fixable. Many have been in your shoes. It will take some time and some effort, but it will be well worth it.

that's the problem - i haven't paid anything yet =( (i'm bea2ls, i just cannot sign in for some reason). i have paid thousands on payday loans in the past but when i finally caught up i took more to cover the bills i haven't been paying. now stupid me is in the same boat again. should i make a few payments than close my account? I haven't paid anything just yet.. not this time around anyway. when should i close this bank account? I really don't know how to deal with this...

bea. . . please listen to these people on this forum and things will be okay. Trust me. I live in New York and PDL's are also prohibited here. I thought about going to Langhorne but when I figured out what it would cost me, I was determined to do it myself. That was just about 8 short weeks ago. I closed my account and took back control of my money and my sanity. As of right now, March 27, 2008, I have closed 3 of my 5 pay day loans, and all at the original amount that was deposited into my bank account. I still owe $30 to one (according to my accounting anyway) and the other is an offshore and currently among the missing. Once I signed on with this forum I felt like I was a new person. I wasn't scared any longer, I started sleeping again and I had a smile on my face for the first time in months. Please know that everyone here has been in your shoes. I am still not totally out of the PDL woods, but I am getting there. With each one I close I know that I made the right choice in coming here and handling this myself. With the "illegal" status in your corner, you have an edge. Please keep us posted. Have faith my friend, you can do this.