Sunday, September 18, 2011

Wanted--Good People with Bad or No Credit??

On several vacations recently, in different states, I have come across car title loan shops, check cashers, pawn shops and this sign at a car dealership. "Wanted, Good People with Bad or No Credit". Clearly the economy is suffering still. This advertisement is meant to entice those of us who have a bad credit score to apply for a loan at this dealership--presumably because they like us (bad people need not apply) and want to help us out. As opposed to the true motive--that they'll charge us exorbitant interest rates and make a ton of money off of us--and then when we miss a payment since we probably shouldn't have gotten into this loan in the first place, they'll repossess the car and start over with someone else. I'm not feeling the love. Using these types of financial services/products is a costly consumer decision. A better strategy would be to get ahold of our finances--create a Spending Plan, spend less than we earn, accumulate some savings--clean up our credit by using some tips from the FTC, get a checking/savings account from a financial institution and wait for a loan until we can get one with an interest rate that favors us. For more info:
FTC "Knee Deep in Debt"
www.mymoney.gov