Find a Payday Loan Near You!

Think Fast! You're CEO of a Fortune 1000 Company;
Where Are Your Top 10 Places to Give a Speech?

According to PR Week Magazine and global communications firm Burson-Marsteller, CEOs at top U.S. companies say the "most-valued podiums" are at conferences staged by leading business publications, prestigious business schools, economic forums and trade shows.

The top-10 rank as follows:

1. World Economic Forum
2. The Wall Street Journal
3. Forbes
4. Fortune
5. World Business Forum
6. Detroit Economic Club
7. Economist Conferences
8. CFO Magazine
9. Consumer Electronics Show
10. Wharton Business School


These conferences, CEOs of Fortune 1000 companies say, draw the most-influential executives and are the place to be when delivering a speech on economic issues.

While CEOs may want to be at these venues, the places most consumers want to avoid today are gas station and grocery lines.

As gasoline prices seek new highs each day and food prices continue to spiral upward, more and more middleclass Americans are finding it harder to make ends meet. Home mortgage foreclosures are also setting new records in many states.

At the same time, payday loans ??" once the private domain of the underbanked consumer ??" are becoming increasing popular with middleclass homemakers.

According to Cypress Research Group, nearly 65 percent of payday loan users are women and most are married. Six out of 10 payday loan customers are homeowners and 65 percent have household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a year.

So why are these people turning to payday loans in a down economy?

Cypress Research says most are taking loans to help with unexpected expenses. And, no surprise, to avoid late charges on bills also ranks high along with avoiding bounced checks.

Not surprising considering that the fee on a typical two-week payday cash advance is $30, according to the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, while a single bounced check usually will cost you $45 ??" and we all know they come in bunches. As the consumer group also points out, credit card late fees can be the equivalent of 5,292 percent in interest.

ATM fees are another matter. ABC News reports that some banks are charging fees as high as $3 for non-customer transactions. Add to that your own bank's fee and on a $30 withdrawal you could be paying around 20 percent just to access your own money. Banks generate about $10 billion a year in these types of charges according to ABC News.

A payday advance is a small short-term loan without collateral usually repaid on the borrower's next payday. Typically, a customer uses a payday loan to cover small, unexpected expenses between paydays to avoid expensive fees on bounced checks, penalties on late bill payments, overdraft charges and other less desirable short-term credit options.

Industry analysts estimate that more than 22,000 payday advance locations across the United States extend about $40 billion in short-term credit to millions of middle-class households that experience cash-flow shortfalls between paydays.

Search sites dedicated to finding payday lenders allow people to find nearby brick-and-mortar locations so they can comparison shop for the best rates.

Faithful repayment of these cash-advance loans can help those with limited credit histories ??" like recent college graduates ??" establish their credit worthiness.

Do you live in one of America's most expensive cities?

Check the list below to find out. According to rankings from the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association, New York is king of the hill, top of the heap. But a few others might surprise you.

Cost of living comparisons are based on an average of $100,000. So if you live in San Diego, you'll need $129,000 to achieve an average lifestyle.

What about New York? At $208,000, you need more than twice the average.

10. Seattle $116,000

9. Ann Arbor $121,000

8. Fairbanks $127,000

7. Los Angeles $127,000

6. Philadelphia $128,000

5. San Diego $129,000

4. Anchorage $129,000

3. Juneau $133,000

2. Boston $142,000

1. New York $208,000

With skyrocketing gasoline and food prices, anywhere you live can feel like the most expensive city in America.

That might explain why payday loans are becoming so popular. According to Cypress Research Group, nearly 65 percent of payday loan users are women and most are married. Six out of 10 payday loan customers are homeowners and 65 percent have household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a year.

So why are people turning to payday loans in a down economy?

Cypress Research says most are taking loans to help with unexpected expenses. And, no surprise, to avoid late charges on bills also ranks high along with avoiding bounced checks.

Not surprising considering that the fee on a typical two-week payday cash advance is $30, according to the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, while a single bounced check usually will cost you $45??"and we all know they come in bunches. As the consumer group also points out, credit card late fees can be the equivalent of 5,292 percent in interest!

A payday advance is a small short-term loan without collateral usually repaid on the borrower's next payday. Typically, a customer uses a payday loan to cover small, unexpected, expenses between paydays to avoid expensive fees on bounced checks, penalties on late bill payments, overdraft charges and other less desirable short-term credit options.

Industry analysts estimate that more than 22,000 payday advance locations across the United States extend about $40 billion in short-term credit to millions of middle-class households that experience cash-flow shortfalls between paydays.

Sites like PayDayFinder.com allow people to find nearby brick-and-mortar locations so they can comparison shop for the best payday loan rates.

Faithful repayment of these cash-advance loans can help those with limited credit histories ??" like recent college graduates ??" establish their credit worthiness.

Las Vegas - May 21, 2008 - Nearly half the people in the United States say buying gasoline for their cars is their chief economic problem - more so than getting a high-paying job or purchasing health care - according to a survey out this week.

Some 44 percent of those surveyed say gas purchases are a "serious problem" as the average price topped $3.50 a gallon this week.

In what is alarming to health-care providers, nearly three in 10 people surveyed said they put off or postponed getting medical care they needed in the past year, while nearly 25 percent skipped a recommended test or treatment or didn't fill a prescription.

No wonder then that payday loans are increasing in popularity across the country. According to Cypress Research Group six out of 10 payday loan customers are homeowners and 65 percent have household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a year.

So why are homeowners turning to payday loans?

Cypress Research says most are taking loans to help with unexpected expenses such as medical bills. And, no surprise, to avoid late charges on bills also ranks high along with avoiding bounced checks.

According to the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, the $30 fee on a typical two-week payday cash advance is 391 percent when expressed as an annual percentage rate. While that's no walk in the park, it?s a far cry from the 585 percent that a $45 charge on a bounced check will cost you.

Convenience is another reason. Sites like PayDayFinder.com allow people to shop for the best rates and find nearby brick-and-mortar locations.

As college graduates walk down the aisles this month carrying new diplomas, they have something else to smile about according to a Careerbuilder.com report.

Average starting salary offers for 2008 graduates are up 4 percent over last year. A study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers also shows hiring, too, is expected to increase by 8 percent, the employment Web site reports.

Salary increases as high as 9 percent are being seen for some jobs.

Computer science majors, for example, are seeing their average offers rise 7.9 percent to $56,921. With average offers of $43,459, marketing graduates are seeing a 5.2 percent increase.

Offers to engineering majors are up 5.7 percent to $56,336, while chemical engineers are seeing gains of 6.2 percent with average offers of $63,749.

Despite healthy salary gains, recent college grads face other real-world challenges such as skyrocketing gasoline and food expenses with additional downward economic pressures often characterized as recessionary.

Establishing credit worthiness for young people new to the full-time workforce is always a challenge. The burgeoning popularity of payday lending is in part being driven by the high cost of bank and credit card fees. Savvy young consumers are doing the math.

According to the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, the $30 fee on a typical two-week payday cash advance is 391 percent when expressed as an annual percentage rate. While that?s not cheap, it?s a far cry from the 585 percent that a $45 charge on a bounced check costs. Nor is it anywhere near the staggering 5,292 percent a $29 late fee on a credit card represents.

A payday advance is a small short-term loan without collateral usually repaid on the borrower?s next payday. Typically, a customer uses a payday loan to cover small, unexpected, expenses between paydays to avoid expensive fees on bounced checks, penalties on late bill payments, overdraft charges and other less desirable short-term credit options.

Industry analysts estimate that more than 22,000 payday advance locations across the United States extend about $40 billion in short-term credit to millions of middle-class households that experience cash-flow shortfalls between paydays.

Faithful repayment of these cash-advance loans can help those with limited credit histories ? like recent college graduates ? establish their credit worthiness.

Silver Springs, Nev. - May 16, 2008 - Which costs less: a payday loan or bounced-check protection? The answer's obvious, right?

Not so fast.

A study released last week says overdraft protection on a bad check can cost you an interest rate of more than 4,000 percent on average or some 20 times more than a payday loan.

Conducted by East Carolina University Assistant Professor of Economics Mark Fusaro, this independent, first-of-a-kind study finds that while payday lending attracts attention for its interest rates, overdraft protection loans are much more expensive.

To make matters worse, in his study called "Hidden Consumer Loans: An Analysis of Implicit Interest Rates on Bounced Checks," Fusaro says: "A person who has a three dollar overdraft that is outstanding for one day pays an implicit interest rate of 260,245 percent." He adds that frequent over drafters can pay fees exceeding $3,000 a year.

No wonder then that payday loans are increasing in popularity across the country. According to Cypress Research Group, six out of 10 payday loan customers are homeowners and 65 percent have household incomes between $25,000 and $75,000 a year.

Cypress Research says most are taking loans to help with unexpected expenses such as medical bills. And, no surprise, to avoid late charges on bills also ranks high along with avoiding bounced checks.

According to the Consumer Credit Research Foundation, the $30 fee on a typical two-week payday cash advance is 391 percent when expressed as an annual percentage rate. While that's no walk in the park, it's a far cry from 4,000 percent.

Convenience is another reason. Sites like PayDayFinder.com allow people to shop for the best rates and find nearby payday loan or cash advance stores in their neighborhoods or when traveling.

HOUSTON ? May 19, 2008 ? A third of Houston residents are Hispanic, so it comes as no surprise that the city will host the Annual Latin GRAMMY? Awards. Broadcast live from the Toyota Center, Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008, the event marks the first time Houston will host the premier international showcase of Latin music.

What may be surprising is a recent survey showing Hispanic-Americans, in Houston and elsewhere, as power users of electronic media, including the Internet.

The report says online Hispanics ? ?independent of their language preferences and acculturation levels? ? are heavily engaged in online technology.

Hispanic-Americans over the age of 11 spent more time online than watching television, according to the Terra Networks-sponsored "Hispanic Syndicated Study," conducted by comScore Media Metrix.

More than half - 56 percent - of Hispanic-Americans surveyed said they spent at least an hour online, which was slightly more than the 50 percent who spent an hour or more watching TV.

Terra reported that Hispanic-American Internet users - 30 percent - spent 13 or more hours online weekly, which is more than the 23 percent who watched TV for the same amount of time.

At the same time, Social Compact, a nonprofit coalition that promotes investment in low-income communities, reports that cities with large underbanked populations have massive cash economies - Houston's $443 million represents 13.1 percent of the city's overall economy.

Internet savvy consumers in Houston and across the U.S. who seek cash advances, payday loans and other online fast cash services can find help fast are finding help through an innovative new Web site called PayDayFinder.com.

Launched this year, PayDayFinder is a comprehensive searchable directory of brick-and-mortar payday loan stores throughout the country offering directions, maps and more - along with informative articles and advice on payday loans.

Recently upgraded for easier navigation and to include more locations and content, PayDayFinder now also features a "popular cities" index showing areas with a great selection of payday loan stores.

A payday advance is a small short-term loan without collateral usually repaid on the borrower's next payday. Typically, a customer uses a payday loan to cover small, unexpected, expenses between paydays.

Industry analysts estimate that more than 22,000 payday advance locations across the United States extend about $40 billion in short-term credit to millions of middle-class households that experience cash-flow shortfalls between paydays.