Guides: everything about payday loans, explained honestly
Start with whichever matches what you are actually deciding right now.
What Is the Real APR on a Payday Loan? The Honest Math
The actual arithmetic behind a payday loan's flat fee, worked step by step, showing what it annualizes to and how a rollover changes the number.
Read the guide →How the Payday Loan Rollover Trap Works
A worked example showing exactly how a payday loan that isn't repaid on the first payday can turn into months of compounding fees through rollovers.
Read the guide →Paycheck Advance Apps vs Payday Loans: What's the Real Difference?
An honest comparison of earned-wage-access apps and traditional payday loans, including the fees and tips that add up even when an app is marketed as free.
Read the guide →Credit Union Payday Alternative Loans (PALs), Explained
How federally regulated Payday Alternative Loans (PALs I and PALs II) work, their rate caps, loan amounts and terms, and how to qualify.
Read the guide →Ask Your Creditor for More Time Before Borrowing to Pay Them
Why calling a biller before the due date, not after, often gets a payment plan or short extension that costs nothing — and why borrowing to pay on time can cost more than being briefly late.
Read the guide →Employer Early Wage Access and Emergency Assistance Programs
What early wage access benefits and employer emergency assistance funds are, how they typically work, and how to find out if your employer already offers one.
Read the guide →How to Get Out of a Payday Loan Rollover Cycle
A practical, non-judgmental walkthrough of concrete steps to break a payday loan rollover cycle, from listing what's owed to consolidating with a lower-cost loan.
Read the guide →State Payday Loan Laws and Red Flags of Predatory Lenders
How payday loan legality, rate caps and rollover rules vary dramatically by state, plus the specific warning signs of an unlicensed or predatory lender.
Read the guide →The Payday Loan Decision Worksheet
List the loan terms you're being offered, compare the real annualized cost against a PAL, a wage-access app and a biller extension, and walk into any decision already prepared.