When you're really struggling for money, pay day can seem a long way off so you might be tempted to get a Payday loan. These loans are usually fairly small amounts which you borrow until your next pay is due. You get cash and the lender asks you for a check - dated for your pay day - and a fee.

The fees differ with each lender but the average is around $20 for every $100 that you borrow. It's expensive but it gets worse; if when the check is due to be cashed, you find you don't have enough money and want to ‘roll over' the loan, you'll be accumulating a huge amount of interest on it. The APR on Payday loans is often around 400%!

As is usually the case when you're really desperate for money, it'll cost you so much more than it would if you had access to credit from other sources. The only time when it is possibly feasible to use a Payday loan is if, for example, you needed to do emergency repairs to your car and didn't have the cash, but without it, you couldn't get to work. To get Payday loans simply because you don't have enough money every month is going to land you in a worse position than you're already in. Chances are, you'll never catch up.

If possible, look into every alternative first before you get a Payday loan. Ask friends or relatives for a small loan, or approach your credit union for a signature loan. Ask your bank for an overdraft or if you have something of value that you don't mind parting with, sell it.

Once you begin getting Payday loans, your already stretched finances will be worsened next pay day by the lender cashing your check and taking the fee. It's a slippery slope for many people so before you get into the vicious cycle of borrowing from lenders who'll charge you a huge amount, consult a debt advisor and try to get your finances back under control. You can find lots of websites that have good advice about debt management on the internet (like this one) but if possible, make an appointment with an advisor at your bank.

If you're struggling to keep up repayments, always inform your creditors and ask them to reduce your payments for a while. Most lenders will do what they can to help out but only if you keep them informed.