Other options

The easiest way to avoid having to rely on a payday loan is to make sure money is saved up for a “rainy day”. Set aside an amount from each paycheck in a savings account that you leave off limits to yourself until an emergency strikes, and you may find that a payday loan is entirely unnecessary. If you are having a particularly good month financially, take a chunk of the money that you might normally withdraw for a payday loan and set it into your savings account.
However these practices, though they may sound ideal, don’t always work out, and sometimes you might have a need for fast cash. Is a payday loan the best solution? Borrowing money from family might be an available option, though if you do this, get it in writing. A loan is a silly thing to tear a family relationship apart over, and if there is a risk that you may not be able to pay that relative back and you know that it will cause a problem, this of course may not work. You can also pawn personal property for some immediate cash. There is also asking for a cash advance on your paycheck from work, which may not work, but if you can get it, it may be a better solution with less accrued interest.
Find out if you can obtain or already have overdraft protection on your checking account. Making a regular habit of overspending can be costly, and bank overdraft fees can be as bad or worse than the cost of a payday loan. Banks usually charge flat fees for every check bounced or overdraft that is processed through, which would be about an annual interest rate of over 1,000 percent, depending on the bank and the account. This is usually limited to 100-300 dollars, however, and doesn’t account for very large debts. The overdraft protection can help protect you from deeper credit problems. Speak to your banker about this option as an additional safeguard, but it would be good not to rely on it.

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