Archive for the ‘Payday Loans’ Category

Susan Turns 70 and Throws A Party

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February 22nd, 2012

A recession is as good a time to celebrate as any

We spent the evening at Susan’s 70th birthday party on Tuesday evening. It was a modest affair in the local church hall with many guests, there must have been 60 or 70, and lots of good finger-food. Had we known about the food part we wouldn’t have eaten dinner; I can snack on smoked salmon for hours… Susan looked well and spent the evening chatting to her guests. She also gave a very emotional speech of thanks to everyone.

The economics of a Recession Party

Susan doesn’t have a bean to her name so I guess that she may have taken a small loan to pay for the food. The hall was probably free and there were no other expenses. The drinks were Coke, Sprite and other sodas and the single bottle of scotch on the table remained unopened throughout the evening. Plates were plastic in colors selected to match the paper table-cloths and napkins and the flatware was chromed plastic. Despite the obvious strict budget arrangements, the tables looked great. They were decorated with little vases of wild flowers and grasses probably picked from a nearby field and sprinkled with little silver plastic sea shells. To my delight they were also sprinkled with candies and chocolates.

It must have been a challenge

When Susan decided to celebrate she must have thought everything out very carefully and built herself a tight but realistic budget. In circumstances like hers, a budget is probably a major part of her life.What’s more, she understands the strict discipline that’s necessary to stick to every cent of her budget. No extras and no deviations!

Susan

Susan is a widow – twice. Her first husband collapsed and died in his forties and left her with two teenage children. The second husband, an older man, died when Susan was in her mid-fifties. Neither left her much and she has worked all her life. A few years ago she was laid off her job as a secretary at the university and she ran around frantically seeking work. These days she works part-time at the university who hire her as a temp without any social welfare benefits. She also has some other part-time job in town.

The birthday gifts

One of Susan’s friends asked her if there was anything particular she preferred for a birthday present and Susan said she would prefer money as she had some expenses that she has to pay. The word was passed around, I was asked to do a small painting for a communal birthday card and the guests were asked to sign the card and drop their gifts in an envelope which was handed to Susan. I was pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the act of handing over a cash gift was handled – there was no embarrassment on either side and the guests seemed delighted to be able to help Susan. Susan thanked everyone for coming to help her celebrate this important milestone in her life and we went back to the food.

Good party

My wife and I rated this as a good party, truly modest and enjoyed by all. Happy birthday, Susan!

Tags: 70th Birthday party, Birthday party, Budget for a party, Cash gifts
Posted in Employment, Finance, Money, Payday Loans, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

You Were Probably a Stamp Collector As Well

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February 7th, 2012

Remember what stamp collecting was like back in the 60’s?

Back in the sixties collecting stamps was all the rage. There were articles in the newspapers and every city had stamp dealers. Most of the collectors did it for the hobby while others thought about future values. 50 years later I’m sitting with a cupboard full of stamp albums. Stamp collecting went out of fashion when countries began issuing huge numbers of stamps. The hobby also faded against the competition of electronic games and computers.

I never thought twice

I too moved into the computer age, and my stamp collection occupied valuable space in my study. I knew it was there within easy reach any time I got the urge to pull out the magnifying glass and check the little pieces of paper for a misprint that would make it worth millions. The years passed and every time I saw my wife eyeing the stamp cupboard while in search of extra storage space, I would quickly explain that inside the cupboard was not a stamp collection, but our retirement fund.

I take a Payday Loan to make sure

Last summer when the humidity went through the roof I thought of all those mint stamps and how the humidity might be affecting them. I decided to hermetically seal the stamp cupboard and I called in a carpenter for a quotation. The price was horrendous. My wife yelled about the new shoes that I had nixed the week before. Our retirement fund, I explained and settled with the carpenter.

Back to the future

With possible humidity damage to my valuable stamp collection safely behind me, I went back to writing the great American novel. I was on page 323 and all was going according to plan. There were a few anxious moments like when the sub-prime mortgage scandal surfaced. I read the papers, shuddered, cast a glance at my hermetically sealed retirement fund and started a new chapter, always a milestone event. I reckoned I was halfway through the story and that the second half would be a breeze.

More money problems

One day there was a twitch on the stock exchange where the other half of my retirement fund was living in secure comfort. I groaned, sent a few choice four-letter words in the direction of Wall Street and lovingly stroked the stamp cupboard. We don’t need that old stock exchange, do we? I whispered. Cupboard remained silent but I took it that he agreed. I continued with chapter 59.

Out for dinner

At the Simpsons the other evening I was introduced to Phil, a well-known philatelist. I settled back to let him bring me up to date on the stamp market and my collection. It didn’t take long. “It’s all gone down the drain. Very few stamps have any value. The whole market collapsed,” he explained angrily. I guess he had a retirement fund as well.

Now what?

I grabbed my wife and we raced home. Between us we typed the final chapter of the novel, leaving out the last 200 pages. I need an editor urgently. I want this book, aka my retirement fund, in the bookstores by Easter.

Tags: Philately, Retirement fund, Stamp collecting
Posted in Business, Economy, Employment, Finance, Money, Payday Loans, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

New Watchdog Agency Reviewing Payday Lending

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January 20th, 2012

Payday lending, an industry that brings in some $7 billion a year in fees nationwide

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said testimony from the session in Birmingham would help guide the development of future regulations. Recently appointed Director Richard Cordray said the bureau recognizes the need for short-term loans, but the lending needs to help consumers, not harm them. "Before this month, the federal government did not examine payday lenders," Cordray said. "Some state regulators have been examining payday lenders for compliance with their state laws. We hope to use our combined resources as effectively as possible."

Huge number of lenders

Officials said that about 19 million American households now have payday loans. With interest rates often in the teens and easy application procedures, lenders said they generate business through radio and television advertising, plus word-of-mouth and by locating offices in areas where other small-loan lenders are located. Many in the standing-room crowd of more than 400 were lending company customers or employees who wore "I Choose Payday Advance" stickers provided by the industry. Tanzy Bonner told a panel she got a payday loan to cover the cost of her 6-year-old’s birthday party; LaDonna Banks said she got one because she couldn’t work after donating a kidney to her brother.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

The Bureau has been in the spotlight because of Republican opposition to its formation and President Barack Obama’s use of a recess appointment earlier this month to tap Cordray, a former Ohio attorney general, as its director. With GOP legislators blocking the nomination because they said the agency lacks sufficient congressional oversight, Obama installed Cordray.

Payday loans

Often criticized by advocates for the poor, payday loans are short-term, high-interest loans that work like cash advances. Storefront payday loan operations are prevalent in middle- to lower-income areas around Alabama, sometimes taking over closed convenience stores or fast-food restaurants. Loan amounts in Alabama are capped at $500 by state law, which limits the maximum interest rate to 17.5 percent. An industry website said the annualized interest rate for a 14-day loan of $100 tops 456 percent.

Typical loan

In a typical transaction, a borrower writes a check for $117.50 and gets $100 from the payday lender, who holds the check for a short period before depositing it. If the customer needs the check held another two weeks, he pays another $17.50 fee.

Officials said more than 20 percent of Alabama households have taken out loans from payday storefronts or similar businesses at more than 1,000 locations statewide. Opponents said the businesses prey on people who lack access to traditional loans when they get in a pinch for cash.

Gouging for loans

"People get churned through the system six, eight, 10 times a year," said Stephen Stetson, a policy analyst at Alabama Arise, a Montgomery-based anti-poverty organization. "If we have laws against gouging for gas and water, we ought to have laws against gouging for loans. Listening to what you heard here today, you’d think my thousands of employees go to work every day to hurt their neighbors," he said. Rather than enacting sweeping federal rules, he said, states should concentrate on getting rid of "bad actors" in the business.

Tags: Payday Loans, The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Watchdog agency
Posted in Advance Cash Loan, Business, Cash Advance Loans, Economy, Employment, Finance, Loans, Money, Payday Loans, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

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