Saturday, December 06, 2008
By Cindy V. Culp
Tribune-Herald staff writer
Even in a bad economy, there are quite a few ways to get quick cash. Some of the methods, though, are likely to multiply your financial problems in the long run. Here’s a look at some options and experts’ take on them.
Information is from the Better Business Bureau, the Consumer Federation of American, the Center for Responsible Lending and Consumer Reports magazine.
Sound strategies
* Call your creditors. Contact your credit card company and mortgage lender and ask for leniency on your debts. Some have hardship programs that allow you to skip a month or make a smaller minimum payment, both of which would free up cash in the short term.
* Ask your employer for an advance. Some companies will advance you money from your next paycheck in an emergency.
* Inquire with charities. Some nonprofit organizations help people in a financial pinch. If you need money to pay for food, utilities or medications, an agency may be able to help without you having to take out a loan.
* Borrow from a friend or family member. Draw up a contract detailing how and when you’ll repay the money. Then live up to your end of the bargain.
* Get a credit union loan. Many credit unions offer small, short-term loans to members at reasonable interest rates. Membership is usually open to most people who live or work in a community.
* Sell unneeded items. Newspaper classifieds and online sites such as eBay and Craigslist offer avenues for you to swap unwanted items for cash.
* Sell gold jewelry. Gold prices are high, so selling gold jewelry can pull in some cash. To get the most for your money, though, sell your gold locally, not to companies that advertise on TV or the Internet. Aim to get about 85 percent of what gold is selling for at the moment, based on weight and karats.
Emergency tactics
* Visit a pawnshop. Pawnbrokers take one of your possessions, such as a piece of jewelry, as collateral for a loan. The interest rate generally exceeds 20 percent. If you don’t repay the loan by a certain date, the pawnbroker can sell the item.
* Get a cash advance from a credit card. You should not choose this option if you have maxed-out credit cards. For responsible card holders, however, cash advances can offer quick help without some of the downsides of other short-term loans. Be aware, though, that cash advances usually have a higher interest rate than purchases. You’ll want to pay down the balance as soon as possible.
Things to avoid
* Taking out payday loans. People get these loans by giving companies a post-dated check. The idea is to repay the money when you get your next paycheck. If you don’t, the company can cash the check to get the loan amount back.
The catch, consumer advocates say, is that the loans usually come with large fees and triple-digit annual interest rates. The typical payday borrower eventually pays back $793 for an initial $325 loan. People often end up having to take out multiple loans to pay off the first one, spiraling into even greater debt.
* Getting a title loan. These loans are secured by your vehicle serving as collateral. Not only do they have high interest rates and fees, but you also risk losing your vehicle if you default.
cculp@wacotrib.com
757-5744
Comments
By alliedtrustdiamond
Jun 10, 2009 4:52 AM | Link to this
There are literally hundreds of credit repair websites and a lot of them try to guarantee success but the reality is most of them are just a waste of money. They use methods of repairing your credit you can do yourself if you simply google credit repair templates. Their process is very lengthy and requires months and even years to get a lot of things removed and sometimes the bad marks can come back as some companies are very persistent, especially if you still owe them money.
The only guaranteed method to repair your credit is to pay off the old bills and get your derogatory balances to $0. "Well that isn't very helpful" is probably what you are saying. Since none of us just have cash laying around to do that there are other things you can do that are guaranteed to increase your FICO score practically overnight and start rebuilding your credit.
It's actually very simple. Sign up for Millennium Secured Credit Card and send them $300. Buy $90 worth of groceries on it and make the payments. Keep the balance under $90. Then sign up for www.alliedtrustdiamond.com and get a $10,000 unsecured credit card, buy something and make the payments. Do a google search for USA Shopping Club and sign up with them for $12,500 unsecured credit card buy something and make the payments, Eclub USA and get your $3,500 credit card and finally Horizon Gold and get your $500 credit card.
Once all of these companies report to the credit bureaus you are going to see an immediate increase in your FICO score. Guaranteed. Then you can work on getting the bad marks paid off and removed. It's much easier to get them permanently deleted if you don't owe them any more money.
By 704moe
Mar 11, 2009 3:19 PM | Link to this
I borrowed money from a title loan service and had some hardship fall my way. Ended up repo my vehicle and only allow me 10 days to reclaim my vehicle plus charge me 25 dollars a day for storage. but i was reviewing my contract it have nothing in there saying this is legal for them to do this without giving a person time to reclaim there vehicle!
By D
Dec 6, 2008 5:48 PM | Link to this
I have used the payday loan industry to help me out in times of need on more then one occassion. It is all about common sense. If you pay it off when it is due it is not that bad. It is the "refi" that gets you. If you need to "refi" you need to pay more then the minium amount required. This will get you out of their grips quicker. I am glad that they have helped me out in times where I had no where else to go. But you still need to be very careful. Only go to these payday/car title loan places if you have no other option. They can save the day today. However, they can make tomorrow a little tight. BE CAREFUL. Happy Holidays.
D
By dave
Dec 6, 2008 10:53 AM | Link to this
Use your common sense, just because the loans are available doesn't mean a person should take one out. There are loan sharks out there too but I certainly wouldn't borrow money from one. If gifts are the reason you celebrate Christmas, maybe your priorities are out of whack. Speaking of out of whack, Fred.
By Fred
Dec 6, 2008 7:26 AM | Link to this
"Usury" has been around since ancient times. The practice of "usury" is most prevalent in cities of great poverty like Slaughterhouse Waco (among the poor and ignorant). With Waco having the fifth highest per capita Poverty-Level in the entire State of Texas; it is no surprise that these "loan scam" business are all over Slaughterhouse Waco. Now the Pi$$-Poor Wacoans can put-up their car to be "repo-ed" for a lousy three hundred bucks of Christmas money. The misery just got a little WORSE in Slaughterhouse Waco. It's "repo" for the Holidays in Slaughterhouse Waco.
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