Payday Loans – What is the True Cost?

When you need quick cash, what could be more convenient than taking out a same-day payday loan that is deposited directly into your bank account? On your next payday – a week or two later – the loan is automatically repaid because the creditor has your bank information. Sure, there is a fee, but there’s no credit check, no collateral, and no lengthy application process like there is for a personal loan. You just walk into the payday loan office or go online, fill out a few forms proving that you have a steady job and a checking account, and you get up to $2,000 the same day.It sounds easy, but it may not be such a good deal. Payday loans are defined as short-term loans with an interest rate above 36%. That sounds like a high rate, doesn’t it? After all, you see new car loans advertised for zero percent, and home mortgages for 6%. Personal loans from banks are generally between 10% and 15%. Even credit card cash advances can be cheaper. A $300 cash advance on the average credit card, repaid in one month, would incur a finance charge of $13.99 at an APR of 57%.To make it sound less expensive, payday loan providers don’t advertise their annual percentage rate (APR) the same way credit card and personal loan providers do. They state the interest in terms of a fee per $100 loaned. Here’s a typical example.How the Fee Translates to APR You walk into the payday loan office or apply online. You need to borrow $500 until your next payday, which is in seven days. The fee for your loan is $15 per $100 borrowed. You think, “That’s not so bad, it’s 15%, isn’t it”? You agree to the loan terms and you give the lender a check in the amount of $575, dated in seven days.When your loan is due to be repaid in seven days the creditor will cash the check or debit your checking account. If you have $575 in your account, then you are finished and the transaction is completed.You will have paid $75 for your loan. That translates into an annual percentage rate (APR) of 780%. It’s very high, but that’s because calculating the APR is complex and involves not only the loan amount and the fee, but the period of the loan-how long until you pay it back.The big danger is that many customers can’t pay back the loan on time. Think about it – a customer who does not have $500 in his or her bank account this week is unlikely to have $575 in their account next week. Many customers “roll over” their loans. They cannot pay on the due date, so the creditor charges the $75 fee and agrees to collect on the next payday.Are You the Average Payday Loan Customer?According to the Consumer Federation of America, from a single lender each year the average payday loan customer takes eight to thirteen payday loans or loan renewals. So if you are the average customer, let’s say you roll over or renew your $500 loan 10 times in one year. To borrow $500 for 10 weeks, you will pay a total of $750 in finance charges plus repay the amount borrowed. Your $500 payday loan will end up costing you $1,250.There are additional risks and fees. To get a payday loan you are required to give the creditor a personal check as repayment. If your check bounces, your bank will charge you a fee – often as high as $40. You can lose your bank account or have difficulty opening a new bank account if you develop a record of bouncing checks used to get payday loans.Before you take out a payday loan, carefully consider the real cost – and ask yourself if it’s worth it.

Organic Gardening Benefits You Should Be Aware Of

You can enjoy the benefits of gardening without having a green thumb or being an expert. Even beginners can quickly appreciate the satisfaction of watching something that you planted grow into a healthy plant. This article will look at some of the well-known benefits of gardening as well as some that aren’t quite as well known.If you do not yet have a garden you might think about starting one because the exercise you will get is highly beneficial in many ways. You can, for example, lower your risk of osteoporosis. A condition prevalent among the older female population, osteoporosis is when bones become brittle and weak. Despite the fact that there are lots of exercises useful for improving your chances of prevention, gardening seems to be among the best because of the various types of exercise involved covering everything from flexibility, strength and aerobics due to the physical tasks you have to undertake. Symptom alleviation in the case of diabetes is another issue gardening is useful for. Eating a healthy diet, just like regular exercise, is vital to managing and preventing diabetes, which is much easier to do when you grow your own vegetables.You can use your imagination and garden in any way you would like. Certain gardens represent an image of ingenuity. When you go on the internet or check out a book on gardens; you will see some spectacular gardens.While you may not be able to match the appearance of a garden featured in a book or magazine, you can still plan it out and make it your pet project. How you arrange your garden could be what will make your experience successful or fail, along with the design you choose. As you gain experience, you’ll find that your ability to plan and design your garden becomes more sophisticated.Rebuilding your relationship with nature is a vital advantage of gardening. This is something that wasn’t an issue a hundred or more years ago, but it certainly is today. Many of us spend most of our time either at an office, or in front of some electronic device. Fresh air and plenty of sunshine are what you will enjoy when you take up the simple and natural hobby of gardening. Once you start gardening you will begin to discover the advantages to these two things, even if you never knew you missed them. As little as a few hours per week spent in your garden will help you become more grounded and improve your connection to nature, thanks to quality time spent outside.Gardening in a group setting, especially when it involves your entire community, is very worthwhile and beneficial. Whether you are dealing with a cooperative project that everyone works on or if you start a community garden, this can contribute to many people. This provides a sociable atmosphere that everyone can enjoy. Gardening is so much more fun when you do this with people with the same frame of mind and have goals similar to yours. You may have questions about gardening that more experienced gardeners can answer. The community can trade what they grow with one another. There’s something inherently social about gardening that brings people with the same interest together. You’ve probably come to see that there is much more to the benefits of gardening than you previously thought. The advantages themselves will be impacted by the sort of garden you have. For example, a vegetable or herb garden will give you benefits you can taste, whereas flowers are more for appearance. Yet no matter what kind of garden you have, there are some undeniable benefits that make this one of the most worthwhile activities you can practice.

Traveling and Touring Through Bude, Cornwall

Another great part of experiencing classic English country towns is going out and traveling and touring through Bude, Cornwall. Sitting on the very topside at the mouth of the Cornwall peninsula, the seaside resort of Bude is a small, quaint town of approximately 9,000 people. It started its life as a harbor town, naturally enough, only later changing to the role it now plays today in Cornwall’s tourist industry.Bude has an interesting history, which included its popular use as a source of sea sand that was collected and then used to stabilize and improve various English moors. In the Victorian Era, it became a well-known stopover, and then a seaside holiday destination for most of the 20th century.The coastal scenery in the Bude area is impressive, indeed. In the 1800s, it was well-known to mariners, who were advised to steer well-clear of it treacherous reefs, which were responsible for causing the foundering of many ships. Geologically, there are cliffs in the region that are estimated to be at least 300 million years old.Bude today, is an attractive town which boasts two wide, sandy beaches that lie close to the town itself. Because of the direction in which the beaches lay (to the west) Atlantic ocean wave action is vigorous enough to attract surfers, which is a site one wouldn’t normally see in an English coastal town.Examples of early English architecture exist in and around the town, with a prime example being that of Saint Olaf’s parish church. Tourism is the main industry nowadays, with Bude Canal and its wharf being an attractive picture-taking opportunity.Cornwall itself is a notable peninsula and county of England in the United Kingdom. It has a population of around 530,000 people, and is one of the six original Celtic nations, which reach back into antiquity. Bude and the surrounding area are sure to please the desire of any tourist for picturesque seaside villages in the English countryside.