Debt is no fun, this much we can all agree on. But it is sometimes necessary, if we want to be able to get the things we need for ourselves and our families. Sometimes the debt, or purchase itself, is unnecessary, and we should do a better job of keeping our savings intact for a rainy day, but today’s blog isn’t about shaming anyone.
Instead, your friendly, neighborhood payday loan company at Your Loan Depot is happy to blog about providing something that we seem to have far too little of in today’s day and age —hope!
You see, over the past six months or so, we’ve written our fair share of blogs which provide tips for better budgeting and money management, among other things. It isn’t a very comfortable topic of conversation, but it’s something that needs to be discussed. Seeing as how money management is intimately connected with what we do as Texas payday lenders, we decided to take the opportunity to help those who might be looking for a bit of financial aid.
Long-Term & Short-Term Aid
In the long-term, we hope that you can take a few of the many tips we’ve provided and put them to good use. But in the short-term, however, we also want our customers to be taken care of in the immediate. And what do our customers immediately need? The answer is almost always fast cash, in some way, shape, or form.
In fact, you yourself might have made your way to this very blog by typing into your smartphone something to the effect of “installment loan,” “get fast cash,” “bad credit loan,” “payday loan,” or even “car title loan near me,” for all we know.
The point is that you are here, which means you are looking for a way to get cash now because you need that cash. It’s that simple. That’s why we will briefly explain our payday lending process below, after which we will dive into the meat and potatoes of today’s blog — providing you with a bit of hope by way of highlighting an inspirational story or two of how ordinary people managed to claw their way out of (figurative) piles of debt!
Texas Lending Services
That said, let’s discuss our lending services at Your Loan Depot. The long and the short of it is that we offer a different level of quality when it comes to our installment loans. Whether you are looking to bridge the gap between paychecks with a payday loan or you have some more significant expenses on the horizon, the common denominator at Your Loan Depot is our commitment to exceptional customer service.
At the risk of bombarding this page with marketing jargon, customer service is not just a slogan or something we talk about — it’s something we do our best to embody at every payday loan location throughout this great state of Texas. More specifically, we set ourselves apart from other payday lenders (we are fully aware of our industry’s reputation, don’t worry) by taking the time to ensure our customers understand their loan agreement front and back. Our goal is to empower our customers with the information they need to make the best decision for themselves and their effected loved ones.
That being said, we also understand that when our customers come to us, they need cash and they need it fast, in most circumstances anyway. That’s why we couple our efforts to inform and empower those who walk through our doors with an efficient, streamlined process which eliminates the lengthy applications and costly rates that other providers enforce when you attempt to get a loan from them. When you work with Your Loan Depot, on the other hand, you can apply at any time you’d like to! We will review your application and get back to you as soon as we possibly can, so that you can get back on your feet with the emergency cash you need.
Long-Term: Getting Out Of Debt
If you were to peruse our website, you’d find the following text toward the bottom of our homepage:
An advance of money obtained through a payday loan or title loan is not intended to meet long-term financial needs. A payday loan should only be used to meet immediate or short-term cash needs. Refinancing the loan rather than paying the debt in full when due will require the payment of additional charges.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — payday loans, bad credit loans, installment loans, and car title loans are not a sustainable way to manage money. Instead, they are a short-term fix for emergency situations.
Think of it like this. If you were a chef of a restaurant, and you found yourself needing to bust out the fire extinguisher at least once a week for a matter of months, you might want to take a step back and think about what is causing you to nearly burn down your building on a regular basis. Whatever you are doing is not sustainable, so change needs to happen. In the same way, if you find yourself in need of payday lending services on a regular basis, it’s a sign that something is wrong, and that something needs to be fixed.
Leo Babauta
We’ve almost run out of time, so we’ll have to limit ourselves to just one or two hopeful stories. However, the good news is that we’ll do something we’ve grown fond of doing lately: turn this blog into a two-part series!
Now, Leo Babauta is currently doing well as the writer of one of the most popular blogs on the planet, zenhabits.net. But it wasn’t always that way. In fact, back in 2005, Leo was up to his neck in debt. Living paycheck to paycheck, borrowing money from those close to him just to make ends meet, things were far from ideal in Leo’s life. The thing was, Leo had a mortgage, but that’s not all. He was the provider of a family of eight.
So what did Leo do? He buckled down and cut back on non-essential purchases, of course! Just like we’ve been preaching for months and months, Leo cut up his credit cards, canceled his cable TV subscription, and made a clear-cut budget he would stick to. Since that time, Leo has been debt free. He’s started the aforementioned self-help blog in addition to writing several books! Thanks for the inspiration, Leo! Change is possible!
Over $20,000 In Credit Card Debt
According to WGRZ.com, at the time J.R. and his wife were married, between them they had over $22,000 in credit card debt. J.R. and his wife did their best to throw everything they had at surmounting that credit card debt, but they did more than just hope and pray. Rather than letting the problem become overwhelming, they focused on the controllables. They made a handwritten list of each credit card and its respective balance, monthly payment, and interest rate. “Doing so gave us tangible evidence of what we were facing, and gave us the motivation and courage to try and tackle it,” J.R. said. Then they made a detailed budget to figure out how much money they were going to have left over at the end of each month. “Knowing what you’re earning and what you’re spending is key to paying down debt,” J.R. said, “whether it’s $22K or $220.” J.R.’s point is that the method of saving remains the same, no matter how big your debt might be at the moment!
But, even if your method is solid, things can get bumpy. They paid $1,000 each month for a year and a half. But, as you may have experienced yourself, the interest rates kept them from being able to make any significant ground up. So, they got creative. They were able to transfer the entire balance to a 0 percent card (yes, they exist!), used the sign-up bonus to pay off the transfer fee, and then gave themselves nine months to attack the debt with everything they had.
In the end, it took them over 2 years to get out of that credit card debt. J.R.’s big takeaway was that deadlines are crucial to making progress. “Deadlines are key because they give you a finish line for the race,” J.R. said. “Something to shoot for and a tangible end to the fight.“
Look Out For Part Two!
Believe it or not, we are just getting started! We love getting the opportunity to highlight some awesome stories of people who have buckled down and crawled out of seemingly hopeless situations.
If you find yourself in a circumstance that is similar, we hope that you’ve found this blog helpful in one way or another. Whether it’s through the short-term financial solution of an installment loan or via implementing a solid budgeting plan with clear deadlines, we’ll go for either!
If it’s the former, give us a call or visit us at one of our 10 Texas payday loan locations. If it’s the latter, then keep an eye out for part two of this blog series! In our next blog, we will highlight several more inspirational stories to help motivate you to make any changes that are necessary. Thanks for reading, and contact us at Your Loan Depot if you have any questions!
