Most people usually associate cash loans with an outrageous APR.  APR actually stands for Annual Percentage Rate. This is used to calculate the interest fee that’s added onto almost all financial loan products. And, its especially important to understand how APR is calculated and applied to short-term, cash loans.

APR is broken into two categories: the nominal APR, which is the simple interest rate for a year and the effective APR (also called EAR) which is the fee plus compound interest rate, calculated for a year. The EAR typically depicts a more realistic picture of what the APR is. The EAR is calculated a number of ways- depending on the fees or start-up costs. If they are rolled into the loan the balance will obviously accrue more interest. For example, car loan lenders will add in extra costs, like title, tax and registration in to your total loan amount. Consumers would save a substantial amount of money if they paid these costs upfront as opposed to including them in the loan.

Under The CARD Act :

Individuals under the age of 21 are required to have a co-signer or provide proof of income, to obtain any credit card. (Note: You must be at least 18 to apply for any credit card.)

Individuals under the age of 21 cannot receive prescreened credit card offers unless they’ve given their permission.

Card issuers cannot raise a credit limit on an account for individuals under 21 with a co-signer without written permission from the co-signer.

Credit card companies are prohibited from target marketing with free gifts in exchange for credit card applications, to college students on or near campus.

Therefore, yes, it is possible to build your credit history between the ages of 18 and 21. However, establishing credit with credit cards is not a good idea. It’s been shown that individuals between 18 and 21 fall into debt before building a positive credit history If you’re under 21, it’s better to focus on monthly bills and repaying cash loans than establishing credit.

More information on bad credit loans

Emergencies pop up when we least expect them to. Whether it’s a car repair, visit to the hospital, dental work, or home repair- these things tend to be expensive. And, if you’re like me, you don’t have an emergency fund setup. Let’s face it; just meeting the monthly bills is a task in itself- let alone a separate savings account.  So, what are the options?

Cash loans may be the best bet. To apply for a cash loan, it’s probably easiest work with an online lender like MoneyNowUSA. A multiple lender service works with literally hundreds of different lenders to match you with the best loan for you.

Order your Free Credit Report

There are nine community property states, including:
- Arizona
-California
- Idaho
-Louisiana
-Nevada
-New Mexico
-Texas
-Washington
-Wisconsin
-Puerto Rico
-As well as several Indian reservations also allow property to be owned as community property.

Legally, one spouse is responsible for individual or authorized user accounts of the other spouse if they live in a community property state. If this is the case, unfortunately, the surviving spouse will likely suffer the consequences of a bad credit report. Otherwise, if they do not live in a community property state the surviving spouse is not held accountable for the other spouse’s debts (and their personal credit with likely be unaffected).

Because your credit score is used to determine your financing options on just about any major purchase, it’s important the value reflects an accurate number. Errors on your credit report could hurt your chances of qualifying for a loan or force you to pay a higher interest rate than you actually qualify for!

Your credit report contains detailed records of your credit and loan accounts, public records, collection records, employment history, and even your current address. Even the slightest error can have an effect on your personal credit for years to come.

To order a free credit report, visit: AnnualCreditReport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.

The maximum amount of money you’re allowed to borrow is $500.

The maximum interest rate is 15%.

The minimum term is 7 days and the maximum term of the loan is 30 days.

Example 1: If the total amount loaned is $100, the most that could be charged is $15.

Example 2: If the total amount loaned is $400, the most that could be charged is $60.

The lender must provide the contract outlining the terms and conditions in both English and Spanish.

A payday lender cannot make you a new loan to repay, refinance, renew, or consolidate an existing loan.

Online payday advance lenders that lend to Kansas residents must be licensed and adhere to Kansas’ loan limits and terms. You can verify the license of a payday lender in Kansas by calling 785-296-2266 or online.

Just about any financial advisor will tell you: save, save, save. But, just how much money should you be putting away with each paycheck?

Suze Orman, a financial expert and author, recommends having a savings account with at least six months of living expenses. For example, if your monthly bills (rent, insurance, car payment, credit cards payments, food, cash advance payments, etc) total $2,000 per month, you should have a savings account with at least $12,000.

Obviously, you may not have $12,000 just lying around. For most, saving this kind of money will take several months, maybe even years. If you can, experts advise paying off any outstanding payday advance and putting a minimum of 15% of each paycheck into a savings account and DO NOT TOUCH IT.

Example: Let’s assume you get paid twice a month and your paycheck is $1200 (take home).

Total take-home pay per month: $2,400
Total monthly bills: $2,000
If you put away 15% ($300 per month), you’ll have $12,000 in savings in 3 years, 4 months.
If you put away 20% ($400 per month), you’ll have $12,000 in savings in 2 years, 6 months.

We’ve all experienced a rough patch in our life: a bad breakup, a fight with family members, a bad performance review at work- it’s hard to believe- but it happens to everyone. In times like these, we find ourselves moping around desperate feel like our normal, happy selves. Often, we feel the need to treat ourselves to a special something, rationalizing the expenditure as “retail therapy”. We tell ourselves that we ‘deserve’ this material item as some sort of reward for surviving the situation at hand.

This idea is all fine and dandy if you can afford to do so. But, if you’re like most Americans, you cannot afford to buy lavish luxuries. And, you may even be tempted to use a cash advance to purchase that item. As tempting as it is, a cash advance is not a good idea and you’ll probably regret it later when you’re paying out huge interest fees. Instead, call up your girlfriends or buddies and ask them to take you out to dinner. Much cheaper- and you’ll save yourself any unnecessary stress.

Study on Retail Therapy Spending

If you’re like me, you probably have some bad money habits. It’s not something I typically like to brag about at dinner parties, but I’ll be the first to admit I need to make some changes- and quick!

The first thing I’m guilty of is not paying close attention. I rarely, if ever, actually read my bills. I look at the payment amount and when it’s due. Then, I toss it into a drawer in my kitchen.

Here’s why that’s bad: I could be getting over charged for things and not even know it! There’s not more aggravating then giving away your hard earned money.

The second bad habit I have is not planning ahead. Although I have a small amount of money set aside, I have no plan for retirement or emergency fund.

Here’s why that’s bad: Not having sufficient savings can land you in a cycle of debt- even forcing you to turn to costly personal loans or a cash advance. The interest on those types of loans is extremely high and costing you hundreds or even thousands of dollars in fees.

Learn from my mistakes, pay closer attention to your bills and start saving today. Because, when the time comes, you’ll really be grateful you did.



The FICO score, developed by the Fair Isaac Company, is a combination of different things, including: payment history, debt level, length of credit history, number of credit applications, as well as having a variety in types of credit (your FICO score will reflect any default on personal loans, mortgage payments, auto loans, payday advances, etc).

The FICO score is the most common formula used to score your credit. The score is expressed as a three digit number ranging from 300-850.

Under federal law, consumers are able to request and obtain a free credit report once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide consumer credit reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion). The reports can be ordered all at once or spread throughout the year. Ordering all three at the same time will allow you to compare and contrast the information whereas spreading them out would show you any changes that take place.