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Like many things
you may spend your money on, debt is a tool. It
is used to reach a goal you have: paying off an
emergency bill, buying a home, avoiding bad check
charges, covering a child’s college expenses, or
many other things.
However, like many
other tools, debt used carelessly can be very
dangerous. Too much debt can ruin your sense of
security or even your financial well-being. We’ve
put this page together to help you be aware of
some of the ways you can make sure you use the
tools offered by FAST CASH
carefully and effectively.
WHEN TO USE OUR
SERVICES
When you need to pry a nail out of
a board, you probably wouldn’t go to your toolbox for a pair of
pliers, would you? You could probably get the nail out,
but a hammer would be a lot easier. Check advances are similar—you
want to be careful to use the right tool for the job.
A brief financial problem is the right
time to consider a check advance. A check advance can be
used to save on bad check charges, repair a broken appliance,
help make it to the first paycheck at a new job, handle moving
expenses, or even to manage major emergencies like purchasing
food or keeping the electricity turned on. However, not
everyone should consider a check advance just because they face
one of these situations:
WHO SHOULD
CONSIDER A CHECK ADVANCE
To consider a check advance, someone
should be facing a one-time money flow problem. Bigger problems
usually require bigger solutions than a check advance office can
offer. Remember—a check advance office is the financial
version of a convenience store: it’s quick and easy, but it is
more expensive than traditional lending methods.
The
need for money should be pretty small, like $50-$200. Someone
needing more money than that should consider a finance company,
bank, or other option. Again, you wouldn’t buy a whole carload
of groceries at the convenience store, would you?
Finally, someone who uses a check
advance should already know where the money to pay back the indebtedness
is going to come from. Our agreements are always fourteen
days—that’s not much time to figure out a payment plan after
entering the agreement.
If the need is immediate, and other
options (banks, finance companies, family, or even credit cards)
are not available in time, or are not convenient enough, a check
advance may be the right tool.
WHO SHOULD
NOT CONSIDER A CHECK ADVANCE
There are times when a check advance
is definitely not the answer. If someone already has a great
deal of consumer debt that eats up most of his or her paycheck,
a check advance may only make a bad problem worse. Using
our service might make the long term problems go away for a few
days, but they’ll be back—and a debt to us will only make the
problem worse! If you feel like you are “drowning” in debt,
or if you are considering bankruptcy, more debt definitely won’t
help—there’s no way to borrow your way out of debt.
When deciding whether or not to use
a check advance, always consider questions like “Am I just
putting off this problem for another two weeks?” and “How
will I have the money to pay this back at the end of the time?”
IF YOU ARE IN A FINANCIAL CRISIS
If you are looking to improve your financial situation, we recommend some of these opportunities as possible steps in the right direction.
Ask us. We always have on file names of financial services that can offer assistance to people or families who are having trouble with financial matters.
Read up on personal finance. A couple of good authors are Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett. You should be able to easily find books from these authors at your local bookstore or online. Or, check out www.DaveRamsey.com or www.Crown.org.
Listen to talk radio. Dave Ramsey has a radio show devoted to helping people get out of debt and build their financial future. It is called “The Dave Ramsey Show.” Though Mr. Ramsey doesn’t approve of check advances or title pledges (or any type of personal debt), he talks finances in an easy-to-understand way. He has helped a lot of people find ways to achieve financial security.
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