Be Careful! It's a Trap!

Pay Day Loans suck! They are a trap designed to hold you hostage for as long as possible. I would even say Pay Day Loans and those who run Pay Day Loan places are evil.



They prey on those who need financial assistance and education the most. Offering money with high interest rates attached to it. They offer no financial advice and serve no real purpose, besides preying on the misfortune of others.

Pay Day Loans become a cycle. Once a loan is taken out, the interest makes it very hard to get out from under the loan. Next thing you know you are giving the loan place your whole pay check to pay for the loan, or loans, you have taken out. Then you have to take out more loans just to survive, until the next pay day when you use that check to pay off the loan you took out the pay day before. It's a trap!


All you are doing is handing over YOUR hard earned money!

I know times get tough and we have to do what we have to do to make it to another day, but what good do Pay Day Loans do? They don't teach people about financial management. They don't offer a way out of debt. They do continue the cycle of poverty.

Look around and see where the Pay Day Loan places are. Who is their target? More often than not, you will find Pay Day Loans places in areas where the community is already in financial trouble. You find them in minority neighborhoods. You find them in cities close to rural areas. Why? Because those are the people who need financial education the most due to their low economic standing.

The New York Times had an article on Pay Day Loans awhile back and a few parts really stood out to me:

"While such lending is effectively banned in 11 states, including New York, through usury or other laws, it is flourishing in 39 others. The practice is unusually rampant and unregulated in New Mexico, where it has become a contentious political issue. The Center for Responsible Lending, a private consumer group based in Durham, N.C., calculates that nationally payday loans totaled at least $28 billion in 2005, doubling in five years.

The loans are quick and easy. Customers are usually required to leave a predated personal check that the lender can cash on the next payday, two or four weeks later. They must show a pay stub or proof of regular income, like Social Security, but there is no credit check, which leads to some defaults but, more often, continued extension of the loan, with repeated fees.

In many states, including New Mexico, lenders also make no effort to see if customers have borrowed elsewhere, which is how Mr. Milford could take out so many loans at once. If they repay on time, borrowers pay fees ranging from $15 per $100 borrowed in some states to, in New Mexico, often $20 or more per $100, which translates into an annualized interest rate, for a two-week loan, of 520 percent or more."

I can't place all the blame on Pay Day Loans. I can't place all the blame on the people who use them. I can't place all the blame on schools. I can't place all the blame on society for not properly educating about money. I can't fully blame society for the cycles of poverty; making Pay Day Loans appealing.

A piece of the blame should be shared. People have to do what they must to survive and Pay Day Loan place take advantage of this. The people who use Pay Day Loans need to develop an exit strategy, no matter how bad their current financial situation happens to be. Have a plan for getting out from under the loans and building a strong financial foundation. Find organizations or individuals that educate AND help you build this foundation. Take control of YOUR money!

As the old saying goes, "Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime."

If you find yourself in Pay Day Loan hell or are considering using Pay Day Loans, let us help instead!

The Life and Times of the Resourceful Resourceless

In today's times too many to count are struggling to survive simply because they are elderly or unable to work. The resources they need to survive are being played with like their lives are part of some giant game of monopoly. These tales are of and from one of the many who are forced to find resources where there are none.

Who is holding the Social Security checks, Veterans Adminstration, Medicaid, and Medicare hostage? Not the President of the United States. The Republicans and Democrats.

The way the Social Security works is a person receives a monthly check directly deposited into a bank account. The person cannot have over a certain amount of money in their account or they lose their benefits. So no savings allowed. They are suppose to be poor and needy right? Poor and needy people cannot have a savings for emergencies or anything else, according to the government.

With everything that is happening with the economy my mother, like many others, is facing the chance of losing her Social Security check - her means of survival - because the people in charge want to help those who have instead of the have-nots.

My mother lives on Social Security and knows that most days her medicine, rent, utilities, and groceries are being held hostage by the people she voted for to protect her. She can barely make due; if it wasn't for family and the few programs in our community she couldn't make it from month to month. Sadly, too many others are in the same position.

My mother just turned 75, is blind, has had 4 operations for eye cancer resulting in having her "good" eye removed, and suffers from Alzheimers. She worked until she could work no longer and now that she is in need she has to add worrying about her Social Security check to her health concerns. It doesn't seem fair. It's not fair.

Lack of Social Security for one month is worse to her than having an eye removed. Social Security is her only means of survivial, without it she will lose her home, be without the medicine she needs, and all the hard, back breaking labor she provided for her community - that promised to care for her as long as she pays into the Social Security fund - would be for not.

I hope she doesn't remember this part of her life since today she is a teenager again and none of this exists. But who knows what tomorrow brings or what she will be cognizant enough to understand.

Let my mother (and the countless others) continue to live or survive.

My grandmother - one of the many nameless, faceless, resourceless...

What Was Your Financial “Ah Ha” Moment?

My financial moment of realization that I didn’t have to live in debt was when I realized that I make enough money that I should be able to buy a pair of shoes or take a vacation without worrying about money. This moment came after being in a relationship and sharing expenses for 2 years, it was just me and my money after that. And my money didn’t go as far as I would like. I made a conscious decision to make a change, it’s been hard and there have been a lot of road bumps along the way but I’m slowly making progress.

I got my finances in order by first analyzing my spending using Mint.com and making a budget. It’s taken a couple tries to come up with a budget I can stick to, but the important thing is I have a budget that works for me. Next, I made a list of all my bills, dates they are due, and how much; I put the dates the bills are due on my calendar at work, at home, and on my phone (I’m kinda forgetful). The next step was to figure out who I owe, I made a list of all the people I KNOW I owe and pulled my credit reports. Then I made another list of the debts according to my priorities to pay them off. The only thing left to do is follow my plan.

I give myself a weekly allowance and whatever is left over at the end of the week goes into a jar for my “tattoo fund”, this seems to be working pretty well so far. Like I have mentioned before, I have started selling things on eBay, using coupons whenever possible, and using the Food Share program to buy most of my groceries for the month.

It’s a long road, but at least I’m on the road to financial independence.

The Cost of Living is Killing Me

Not too long ago my car insurance was up for it’s 6 month evaluation and despite the fact that I had no claims filed, or anything that would justify raising my premium, my premium went up a significant amount. Those who have come to know me know that I didn’t just take this without inquiring about the increase. The lady on the other end of the phone could only explain to me that my increase was due to the weak economy. So, because the economy sucks they have to pay more to insure me, thus I have to pay more to insure me. Great! Not long after, I received a letter from my health insurance claiming the same thing, resulting in an $8 increase. Yeah, it’s only $8 but $8 is $8 is $8. You feel me?

The cost of living is killing me, everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store to the public transportation I take daily to and from work. Even though I get reimbursed a certain amount of my transportation costs, a certain amount is deducted from my check – pre taxes, I still have to put money on my SmartTrip card every 3-4 because I can’t afford to put much more than $20 or $40 at a time on it. Not to mention, in these hard times, many people aren't getting raises or even cost of living raises at work.



Don’t think you are the only one struggling out there, because you are not! We all are. Most people just rather complain about it instead of trying to tackle the issue by getting their finances together. Having control over your finances gives you a freedom many of us don’t have. You get to keep more of your money for yourself. That’s what we all dream about but are too embarrassed to admit. Not me! I want my money that I work hard for to stay where I put it, not in someone else’s pockets.
The fact is…WE ARE ALL STRUGGLING. I have friends and family in worse situations than mine and I try to do what I can to help with what I can. It’s not just you.

I know I keep repeating myself, but I want it to stick in your mind. We are all struggling; we are all in debt to someone. Now isn’t a time to be afraid to ask for help, now is the time to take action before the situation gets much worse.

I am just like you in that I struggle to, but I am also here to help get us out of this struggle. If just reading my stories, tips, or what have you helps you gain that financial freedom then great. If me personally guiding you through your journey is what you need, great. I want us all to have the financial freedom and independence we all deserve.

My Story Pt. 3 - The Art of The Hustle

Recently, I had an epiphany. As of the moment I am writing this, I am 29 years and 169 days old. 30 is right around the corner and I am definitely NOT where I thought I would be by now in life. Honestly, I didn’t know where I was going to be at this point but this isn’t it. I live far from home and have no family for hundreds of miles; I’m out here on my own. Aside from one aunt, no member of my family can or would help me in my time of financial need. I am pretty deep in debt, but I do have a stable job, a good education, my own place and car. I’m in a tight spot but not as bad as some people I know. But still, not where I would be. Gauging by people I know, I am behind. I have no wife, or even the prospects of one, and no kids. I don’t own anything. I’m not on par with my peers. I know I know – don’t gauge myself by the lives of others but is hard not, too. At my age, my mother had me and I was around 4 years old. She and my father had a grown up life, I still have a play adult life. But I do have my job, my apartment, and my puppy.

I have a plan though, a WELL thought out plan, for how I want the rest of my life to go. I even have a backup plan and alternate plan to the backup plan. I get a lot of grief for my level of planning, but I’m a Capricorn and I can’t help it.

So you wanna hear my plan? Here it goes:
• I plan on moving and living in a cheaper apartment for around 2-3 years. While living there, pay down my debt significantly and stack as much cash as possible.

• When the debt is paid down and money is stacked, I will buy a condo in an up and coming part of DC. Live here another 2-3 years and pay down as much of the mortgage, while stacking as much as possible.

• When the time is right, rent out the condo and buy a small house. Use the money from the condo rent to pay off the condo, the focus on the house. Then, you guessed it, rent out the house along with the condo, while using the money to pay off the house and stack.

• Once the house is paid off and as much cash as possible is stacked, I plan on building my dream house. Along the way somewhere, I want to start a Non-Profit, have a family and buy my dream car that I have been saving for so I can pay cash for it.

Here’s where the art of the hustle comes in. The longer it takes to pay down my current debt and save money, the longer my goals are postponed. See, the art of the hustle is making as much money as possible, as quickly as possible. This is where all the education I’m still paying for comes in. I have been racking my brain to think of ways to make extra income and still do what I love. I read on the personal finance blogs that one way to do this is to turn my talents, skills, hobbies, and passions into income. Finding how I can turn them into money has taken some time but things are slowly coming together. I thought long and hard about what I’m good at like writing, basketball, money, and using this education I already mentioned. Aside from turning these talents and such into money, I’m selling things I don’t need or haven’t used on eBay. The more money I can make, the faster my goals will become reality.

When I work with my clients, I ask them to think of their skills, talents, hobbies, and passions and how they can turn these into extra income. I tell them as much as the hustle is about earning extra income, it is also learning themselves. This is a whole life make over as far as getting to really know and trust themselves, teaching themselves discipline, and setting and achieving life goals. Hopefully, my clients and I are learning more from the art of the hustle than just making extra money and come out of this having a better sense of self, while being in a better situation financially.



What’s your hustle?