If you are looking for ways to obtain extra holiday cash, steer away from payday loans, pawn shops and rent-to-own options. Although desperate times often call for desperate measures, these tactics can leave you worse off than where you began.

Payday Loans – To obtain a payday loan, you write a post-dated check for the amount of the loan plus any fees the lender tacks on.  You then receive the amount of money you initially needed to borrow, promising to pay back that amount plus the fees.  The term of the typical payday loan is one to two weeks, at which point the lender cashes your post-dated check. Most payday lenders will charge a certain dollar amount per $100 borrowed. Many consumers cannot repay the loan at term, and end up rolling it over, thus adding on more fees and interest.

Pawn Shops – People can do several things at pawn shops.  They can borrow money by putting up something of value as collateral, they can sell their merchandise outright, or they can buy the merchandise that is for sale at the shop.  There are bargains at pawn shops, but only for those buying the merchandise, not for the sellers.  The problem lies in the interest and fees, with APRs typically in the triple-digit range once everything is added in.  Further, some studies show that only 60 percent of pawners end up reclaiming their merchandise, thus they have essentially sold an item for cents on the dollar, something they wouldn’t otherwise do.

Rent-to-Own –  A quick trip to the furniture or electronics store could confirm that a new living room set or flat panel TV is out of your price range.  Then you notice an ad for similar items with affordable monthly payments.  It seems too good to be true, and it is.  The problem once again lies in the interest and fees.  For instance, if you bought a $200 item and agreed to make weekly payments of $15 for 78 weeks (basically one and one-half years), you’d end up paying $1,170 for that $200 item at an APR of 388 percent.  Adding insult to injury, it is likely that you could have purchased the same item at a traditional store for a fraction of the overall cost.

For help finding money for holiday expenses, contact CCCS.  To find the office closest to you, dial 800-989-2227 or go online to www.cccsdv.org.

As shoppers evaluate the impact of tight budgets this holiday season, Walmart is proving that they are committed to helping families afford the holidays in these tough economic times.

A turkey dinner for eight as low as $20

According to a survey by the American Farm Bureau Federation, last year’s average cost of a turkey was roughly $1.19 per pound. Beginning today, select Grade A turkeys are available for 40 cents per pound at Walmart.* These gobblers are part of Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving menu guaranteeing family favorites will be on the dinner table this holiday season. Walmart’s $20 Thanksgiving feast includes:

•  One 12-pound Grade A turkey
•  Three 11 to 15.5-ounce cans Green Giant vegetables
•  Two 14-ounce cans Ocean Spray cranberry sauce
•  Three 6-ounce boxes of Stove Top stuffing
•  One 5-pound bag of red potatoes
• One 12-count package of Sara Lee dinner rolls
• One 22-ounce pumpkin roll cake

Electronic Savings Events

Every week Wal-Mart will put certain electronics on sale, starting at 8 am on Saturdays.  This past Saturday they started this week of savings and now Wal-Mart is offering the following products as these low prices until Friday evening. Customers can find more information about recent Walmart price reductions and holiday savings for electronics and toys at www.walmart.com/ChristmasShop.

•  $298 HP Notebook Computer – 3GB memory, 250 GB hard drive, Windows 7 Premium
• Sharp 1080p HDTVs – 42” for $498, 46” for $698 (120 Hz), 52” for $898 (120 Hz)
•  Panasonic 46” 1080p plasma HDTV for $788
•  Xbox 360 Arcade Console $199 with $100 Walmart Gift Card (for use on future purchases; minimum store quantities are at least 10 per store)
• $148 Sony Blu-ray player (model #BDP-S360)
• $29 Magnavox Upconvert DVD player (model #DP170MGXF, 1080p)

http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/NewsRoom/9497.aspx