Student Money

HollyRihan

Hi, I'm a 3rd year uni student. I'm considering a payday loan to keep me going until the student loan comes in. I'd like to know which is the best. I've tried uping my overdraft and the bank won't let me, I can't borrow from anyone and I'm unemployed at the moment. Help!

Caladan

Holly,
There's a very simple and very serious answer to this - Don't even think about it.

It might seem like a solution, but trust me, it will end very, very badly. If you can't live off your student loans/grants as it is, how are you going to repay the loan? It's just going to put you in an even worse position.

If you're really struggling, get in touch with a local Citizens Advice Bureau. http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Somewhat incidentally, one of the articles on the home page of the CAB site is about PayDay loans. Take heed of the warnings of those who have suffered so you don't have to!

I promise you, if you take out a PayDay loan, you will regret it for a long time and it'll cause you far more stress than you're feeling now.

iolanthe07

If you're unemployed you won't be able to get a payday loan because you don't have a payday. Your university may be able to help with a short term loan, or even a grant.

Skippycat

Have you spoken to your university and checked whether they offer any hardship / bridging loans?

DCFC79

A pdl isn't what you really want/need. What if theres a delay in getting your student loan ?

CH27

Talk to your Uni welfare people & get help from them.
They do have funds available to help people.

somethingcorporate

Have you tried another bank? as a student I had 2-3 student accounts each with interest free ODs.

BillJones

Please, OP, look at the above answers, all telling you exactly the same thing, and understand that this is because it is unequivocally the right advice. Go hungry, go cold, be bored, but do not take out a payday loan.

You are perhaps at one of the points in your life where a decision can change everything. Make the right one.

NHS_worker_bee

Holly,

Please don't take out a payday loan, I've learnt this the hard way. I got into a horrible spiral of always making the payday loan repayments but always having to take out another loan for the next month because I'd just used all my money paying the last months loan.

I thought I was being independent and managing my own finances but I wasn't in control. I appreciate it's difficult when you feel you have no-one to ask but think of it this way: it's better to ask a friend to borrow some money until the student loan comes in, than to have to ask a friend to borrow money to help pay off a payday loan with ridiculously high interest rates. The former is a much easier and reasonable conversation/request. Especially if you feel you don't have anyone to ask, contact your Uni or apply for another bank account with a student overdraft facility first as has already been suggested.

I'd never take one again and please, don't think I'm overly paranoid, it's so easy to take a loan but then when you pay it back it takes a big chunk out of your incoming money, so then you run out of money again and need another loan. I just want to be able to share my horrible experience with you so that you can avoid the same pickle I got into. I'm completely free of payday loans now but it's still going to take time to clear my graduate loan and credit card. If I hasn't got involved with payday loans I'd be in a much better place financially by now.

I've lived and learnt. Good luck, I hope your Uni hardship fund can help you - contact your students union for help and speak to friends - even if they can't help financially it's good to have support from people who understand the situation. Hope you get something sorted out

Apples2

Get a part time job.

Student Loans are reliably unreliable for being paid on time.
A little short term fix now will be a payday loan spiral into misery, it will consume huge amounts of money by the time you are able to repay it.

This is notwithstanding the fact you don't even have a payday to even take out a payday loan.

DON'T DO IT....

icklejulez

My uni finance team were fantastic when I was struggling. It took a few hours but they really worked with me to find a solution.