Unstable Paydays and Payday Loans | What To Avoid In A Shaky Economy

Coping With A Bad Economy

We all tend to take for granted that weekly or bimonthly payday that we receive via our employers. It’s kinda of like our vehicles before they break down on us. You simply come to a point after awhile where you just expect or assume that they will always be present, like payday loans if they aren’t regulated off the face of the earth.

Precautions For A Failing Economy?

What if you found out tomorrow that you were laid off? What would you do? What course of action would you take? How would you pay your rent or mortgage payment? These are all difficult questions to answer simply because we never thought we would have to answer them.

Lay Offs and Payday Loans Are A Growing Reality Today

Unfortunately in today’s economy, people like you and me are finding themselves having to answer the above questions every day. Over 533,000 people in November alone woke up one day to find that they would not have a job come the next.

It’s difficult to prepare for news like that but if you have financial responsibilities to manage each month, confronting these issues now while you still have a job will help you brave the storm if you were to lose your job or suffer from a decrease in salary.

Stop buying on credit

What you should be concerned about now is eliminating debt, not creating it. Avoid making purchases on credit and consume yourself with making payments on your outstanding balances starting with the higher interest rate cards first.

If you own a home, it may be advantageous for you to consider refinancing your debts into your home mortgage and therefore consolidating your debt into one monthly payment. With the recent interest rate cuts by the feds, this will help you to save some extra cash.

Put Out Some Feelers

Finding a job can be tough, especially in today’s economy. The rule of thumb to remember here is that it takes one month of job search per $10,000 of the salary you are trying to replace. For example, if you lost a job that was paying you $50,000 dollars a year, expect to spend five months looking to replace it, so no payday loans for awhile.

It’s wise to put out feelers to friends and colleagues to see where you might stand to find gainful employment if you happened to lose your job. Having a reference on your resume can increase your chances substantially.

Avoid Touching Your Retirement Savings

As things get tighter in the economy, people are more tempted to withdraw funds from their retirement savings to obtain some financial relief. The problem with this scenario is that those funds are there to save your financial future, not deliver you from your current calamity.

Also, taking an early withdrawal from your retirement savings or 401k may impose extra fees and or tax penalties for doing so. Try your best to find alternative measures to deal with your crisis.

Take The Fun Out.

Try cutting out some of the other luxuries you have come to depend on such as television, internet or your cell phone amenities. This can quickly add up to a considerable sum which, when cut, may help you to cope with any deficit in funds you are experiencing.

New Is Not Always Better

Another thing to consider is trading your car in for a cheaper model or to get out of a car payment all together.

Apart from a house payment, a car payment is likely the biggest payment you have. Eliminating this payment by trading in your current automobile for an older and cheaper model will give you some additional extra cash to set aside as emergency funds each month.

Be Monetary Minded

Financial stress is never pleasant but we can make it less of an unpleasant experience by taking steps now that will help any pending or unforeseen tribulation that may be coming upon us.

Following the above tips will help you to stretch each payday out a little further as well as help you to avoid any long spans of costly unemployment.

Good Luck to you all!