Keys to Escaping a Payday Loan Cycle

You’ve taken out a payday loan. Not a lot, just enough to cover that small emergency you had or boost of cash required due to a short check you got at work for some reason. You reasoned when you got it that it wouldn’t be a problem to deal without that amount of money in your next check and could easily let the check you wrote to the payday lender be deposited. You would pay the one time fee for the initial loan and repay the loan at the first opportunity, no big deal, right?

But Then it Happened…

The time came for you to allow the payday lender to deposit the check you gave them or automatically withdraw the amount from your bank account and you can’t…you just can’t find it within your budget to live on what would be left from your paycheck with that loan taken out. How would you get through until you got paid again? You have bills, you need to put gas in your car and you have to eat, right? Far easier to just pay the loan fee one more time than deal with the whole amount missing from your income, right?

The Solution Could Lie in Your Budget

True, the electric company won’t wait for their money so you can handle a payday loan, and neither will your mortgage or rent (though you might be better off paying whatever late fee they impose than paying the fees imposed by your lender for not paying back the payday loan). What can wait, though, is your stomach. When looking at your budget for the next several weeks and contemplating what you’d have to live without if you paid back your loan, have you considered a change in diet?

Easy Black Beans and Rice Recipe

Ingredients

• * 1 cup uncooked white rice
• * 1 Tbsp olive oil
• * 1 small onion, chopped
• * 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
• * 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced (for added flavor you can substitute roasted red bell peppers or some chopped pimentos)
• * 3 cloves minced garlic
• * 2 16-ounce cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
• * 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• * A few dashes of Tabasco or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
• * 1 teaspoon dried oregano or 1 heaping Tbsp chopped fresh oregano
• * Salt and pepper to taste
• * Optional Lime wedges and cilantro for garnish

Cut Your Food Budget

Just for awhile - it’s not a permanent change, and it could save you a good deal of money. Buying a week’s worth of “beans and rice” meals or other very inexpensive foods can save a single person dozens of dollars per week, or even more if you are used to feeding a family with your salary. In considering whether or not you can afford to repay your loan, you are most likely considering your food budget as part of the reason why. Try looking at ultra-inexpensive food alternatives for awhile. Beans and rice may sound interesting for a day or two, but you’re probably going to get sick of it and foods like it after a week. Your wallet will thank you even if your taste buds do not.