What are some good alternatives to payday loans?

Do not get them to begin with! Seriously. The best way to avoid them is to budget your monthly bills well, save your money where you can, cut back on extra's if you need to & borrow money from a 401k loan or a family member if you must borrow money. At least that way you have a better interest for your money's future. If you discipline yourself well enough to not eat out alot, to not waste money on junk & to pay your bills each month, you'll notice that your savings will go up and your debts will go down as time goes by.

This may sound at first like an unattractive solution to some people; however, there are some good things about it besides the obtaining of extra money: I don't know how many other cities have them, but here in Las Vegas there are blood/plasma centers where you can go and sell your plasma (they call it "donate" but you are paid for it). Typically, you go there and are first given a medical checkup by an actual doctor to determine you are healthy; they also do bloodwork and test for various things. Once cleared to "donate," you are able to visit the center a maximum of twice a week (more is not healthy) to "donate," and are paid various amounts: the last time I went they were paying $40, and if you returned within the same week it was $25. So if you went every week, that's an extra $65 a week/$260 a month. It requires nothing from you at all except for you to show up with proper ID, weigh at least 100 pounds, and not have AIDS or Hep C, and they've streamlined the whole process to where from start to finish you're out of there in a couple of hours. It's extra money, not too uncomfortable, and so many people are doing it now that if you go regularly you'll start seeing people you saw there before and actually have some fun chatting with people while you're there. So it's not as bad as it sounds to go to a plasma center, and...times are hard, it helps with the money.

besides not getting involved in the first place here are some other options, look into what items in your house you maybe able to sell, jewelry, furniture, baby items even older clother that may still have value. what about your job try to borrow from a 401 k or stocks that may have been purchased, they all have lower interest rates. Even a part time job for a short time period will be able to help in the long run.

First your are going to have to become very accountable and strong. Hold to your plan and do not deviate from it. A good alternative is to ask your loan holder if, for a period of time, could you pay just interest payments or if they will allow you to skip one or two payments and add them in on the end of the loan. You can bank those two payments and have a coushion and make your payments on time. Most loan companies including banks will allow you to do this but they do hold it to a limit during the period of your loan to once, maybe twice. When you pay just interest payments you still bring down you balance because your payment consist mostly of interest anyway. Also, when you get a loan, sometimes they will allow you to make quarterly or even yearly payments depending on the amount of your loan and your ability to repay. Research the interest that several loan companies have and go with the lowest. Figure your amount and interest and see what your payments will be, then wait a month or two and save up so you will have that coushion to fall back on. If you could borrow small amounts from family or friends and pay them back after you complete the priority loan. If you attend church, most of the time, if you tell your pastor you are getting into financial trouble, he will ask the congregation to give a love offering to help you get out of this situation. There are several books that address these types of questions and it would pay to read them. I would suggest the books "Free Money" and "The Secret Language of Money". They have a lot of good ideas and information that address this and suggestions on how to obtain money with just a little work on your part.

You can donate plasma to earn extra money. You can get up to $50 in just one donation that takes only an hour and a half! You can donate twice in 7 days, so you can earn an extra $100 in just 3 hours a week!
You can also sell things on craigs list that you find around the house, and are no longer using. I've sold a televisions, a mini fridge, a gently used bed frame, a graping calculator, even a puppy!

Have a yard sale, or take a second job. We have more time than money! Don't sit around trying to figure out how to get fast money. Fast money is expensive! Just like you pay more at a convenience store, you pay more with payday loans by far. You will be forced to work extra hard to get out of payday loans, why not work extra hard in advance and feel good about using your money wisely!

I myself am in the mist of getting my self out of the whole loan mess.. When I think back, I am sure I could have come up with another better plan. Talk to people, don't be afraid to tell people that you are in trouble. Call your creditors see what you can work out.. If I had not found this forum this time and figured out that I didn't have to be afraid, I may have considered taking out another one to pay off the others, but not now. I know that it is really as simple as picking up the phone and telling people that yes you owe on legal loans and here is what I can do on illegal, well really no need to explain.

So to sum it up instead of a loan, see what can be worked out with what is already there modifications can happen. Cut back everywhere else you can - you will see what is really important in your life.

Don't get them! Find a creditable credit consolidation company to help you. Take financial adviser courses and pay your bills on time.
If can't afford it save the money you need to get it. A good alternative to payday loans is a major credit card such as American Express or Discovery, Combine your debt on that card.

Quite frankly, payday loans should be outlawed. There is absolutely no need for them and they target the low income. Electricity going to be turned off?? Make arrangements with the power company or contact a local social service agency for help. Need groceries?? Food banks and churches are always willing to help. Any other type of bill...medical, car payment, credit card, mortgage company...they will wait if you just communicate your need and tell them when the payment will be made. People need to learn to ask for help...it is out there if you just ask.

Credit card cash advances, which are offered at about 30% APR, are much cheaper than getting a payday loan. Some credit card companies specialize in consumers with financial problems or poor credit histories. Consumers should shop around and not assume they do not qualify for a credit card. Secured credit cards are another option. A secured credit card is tied to a savings account. The funds on the account 'secure' the amounts charged on the card. Once a consumer has successfully used the secured card for a period of time, they can then qualify for a regular unsecured credit card.

You can borrow money from a friend -- you can save money and try to accumulate some cash that way. Or you could just not take anything out --

Usually you can negotiate just about anything -- so try to make a phone call -- maybe it can be worked out and you won't have to borrow --

Payday loans are never any good -- always very high interest

The following are some of the major alternatives:

* Loan from Pawnbroker: This is the alternative where you need to entrust your assets (in any form like car, jewels, or any costly household item) to the pawnbroker in concurrence of certain terms and conditions. No doubt, here you will get the instant cash and the charged interest rates will also be lesser than a payday loan. This loan type is led by certain government policies.

* Loans from employers: At times when finding yourself running out of sufficient funds, looking for financial aid from your existing employer is not a bad idea. Those employees sustaining a good record are largely considered to be offered instant cash loan by their employers or the corporations. In case you are unsure whether your organization or company runs such advantage, do not hesitate to contact your Human Resource Department to clear this thing.

* Loans from family and buddies: In general, borrowing money from your buddies or family members is not in high prevalence for a great degree of embarrassment is felt by most borrowers. You feel quite nervous getting to these immediate confidant people and asking them to lend some loan to you. Your voice trembles while uttering you do not have sufficient funds and therefore you need financial help from them.

Well, if you are in indispensable need of funds, then give up your ego and seek the help from them. The advantageous crux of this option is that you don't need to pay any interest rates in case of your family members. On the other hand, if your friends charge interest rates, that will be negligible enough to be afforded by you.

* Loan from Credit Unions: Dubbed as cooperative financial institutions, these Credit Union organizations offer financial loan and credit to their customers. Therefore, if you are a customer of their organization, you can avail of the profits of your savings in your cooperative. Very possibly, you know the ruling authorities and the policies of your credit union so don't worry as you will not be charged exorbitant interest rates.

I wish I had taken this advice. If you have a existing auto loan simply refinancing the loan through a credit union that offers Auto Equity loans may be a better solution . The credit union may allow you to take additional funds above what is owed on the original auto loan , similar to a home equity loan.

Getting out of debt to become victim to payday loans is the wrong way to do things. We have been all living out of our means. I, too, have fallen into whirlwind of payday loan payments only to find myself further in debt than ever before.

Stay away from payday loans. Start to save by putting away money each week, if not at a savings account at a bank, put it in a droor at home or under the mattress. I put away only $10.00 one week and needed $7.00, there was the $10.00 and I did not have to take any money out of the bank account.

I know that if things are really tight that this is nearly impossible, but we have to start saving and start to stop spending out of our means. I think that Rep. Romney is right when he said in the first debate that this is a moral issue. I really truly believe it is.

Eventually, we can become worse off than we first started by taking out payday loans that we can't pay back. Everything gets out of hand and out of control to the point of no return. Ask family to lend you money. This is often embarrassing and humiliating, but it doesn't hurt. If they say no, they say no.

I really think that people need to start saving even if we only save $10.00 a week. This is better than nothing at all and at the end of the year we all are $480 much richer for it.

Work with a payday loan consolidation company who can consolidate those loans and work with you to pay back a fair amount on a monthly basis. One of the best ways to do this is with a company named Payday Loan Support. I talked with a particular representative there who was very helpful, understood my situation(with having numerous loans), and came up with a solution for me to pay those loans off.