It’s only Monday and already you’re wondering how you’re going to make the week. Or maybe it’s Wednesday but you’re going to have to buy a new tire for the car. There are always things to arise unexpectedly to wreak havoc with a budget and for many people, the temptation is to borrow against next week’s paycheck. It’s easier than ever before with the number of payday advance companies in operation. They go by a myriad of names but the services are basically the same. You write a personal check for the amount you want to borrow plus the fee for the loan, and the company holds the check until a specific day. You’ve been “loaned” money against money you’ll deposit into your account. In some cases, you return to the store and redeem the check for cash.

It might seem important to have the money today, but you should stop to consider the cost of borrowing that money. Sometimes, the payday advance comes with the assurance that there’s no interest. But there will undoubtedly be a fee and you might be surprised at the interest rate that equals, especially considering that you’ll typically only have the money borrowed for a few days.

If you do choose to take out a payday advance, remember that you’re entitled by law to know the full amount you’ll be paying back, including interest and fees. If you weigh the cost, you might find that simply budgeting ahead is much more cost effective than being forced to react to the financial problems each week.