I Have an Irregular Income - Can I Use a Payday Loan?

Sure you can!
Payday loan centers don’t generally care if your income is irregular or not, just so long as it is regular enough that you can (and have) depend on it to arrive at a set time in the future. If you are in sales, for example and you receive a commission check only, the payday loan store will want to know how much your checks have averaged recently and limit your loan amount to that average. If you receive base plus commission, that will increase the amount they are willing to loan you, but you should always remember to borrow responsibly.

If You Do Not Regularly Receive a Paycheck…

On the other hand, if your ‘irregular income’ means that you only get paid every so often for whatever reason, landing that payday loan in an emergency can be fairly difficult, as the general means of a payday loan is for you to provide them a check to hold until ‘payday’ which is a specified date in the near future (usually within 2 weeks). If you establish a date like that with a payday lender and do not actually get paid on or before that date to enable them to deposit that check - you could find yourself facing some serious fees.

So while it may be possible to convince a payday lender to give you a loan until your next payday, if you are the slightest bit unsure of whether you will actually get paid on the agreed date, you’re probably much better off arranging to get the money through other means such as borrowing from family or friends.

Also, remember that borrowing responsibly entails making sure you do not overestimate your ability to repay a payday loan. If your income fluctuates significantly from payday to payday, it’s probably a good idea - well, it’s always a good idea, to borrow the minimal amount that you need and you are sure you will have the ability to repay at the appointed date.