Like many things you may spend your money on, debt is a tool. It is used to reach a goal you have: paying off an emergency bill, buying a home, avoiding bad check charges, covering a child's college expenses, or many other things.

However, like many other tools, debt used carelessly can be very dangerous. Too much debt can ruin your sense of security or even your financial well-being. We've put this page together to help you be aware of some of the ways you can make sure you use the tools offered by American Check Advance carefully and effectively.

WHEN TO USE OUR SERVICES

When you need to pry a nail out of a board, you probably wouldn't go to your toolbox for a pair of pliers, would you? You could probably get the nail out, but a hammer would be a lot easier. Check advances are similar - you want to be careful to use the right tool for the job.

A brief financial problem is the right time to consider a check advance. A check advance can be used to save on bad check charges, repair a broken appliance, help make it to the first paycheck at a new job, handle moving expenses, or even to manage major emergencies like purchasing food or keeping the electricity turned on. However, not everyone should consider a check advance just because they face one of these situations:

WHO SHOULD CONSIDER A CHECK ADVANCE

To consider a check advance, someone should be facing a one-time money flow problem. Bigger problems usually require bigger solutions than a check advance office can offer. Remember - a check advance office is the financial version of a convenience store: it's quick and easy, but it is more expensive than traditional lending methods.

The need for money should be pretty small, like $50-$500. Someone needing more money than that should consider a finance company, bank, or other option. Again, you wouldn't buy a whole carload of groceries at the convenience store, would you?

Finally, someone who uses a check advance should already know where the money to pay back the indebtedness is going to come from. Our agreements are generally fourteen days or thirty days - that's not much time to figure out a payment plan after entering the agreement.

If the need is immediate, and other options (banks, finance companies, family, or even credit cards) are not available in time, or are not convenient enough, a check advance may be the right tool.

WHO SHOULD NOT CONSIDER A CHECK ADVANCE

There are times when a check advance is definitely not the answer. If someone already has a great deal of consumer debt that eats up most of his or her paycheck, a check advance may only make a bad problem worse. Using our service might make the long term problems go away for a few days, but they'll be back - and a debt to us will only make the problem worse! If you feel like you are "drowning" in debt, if you already have one or more short-term cash advances, or if you are considering bankruptcy, more debt definitely won't help - there's no way to borrow your way out of debt.

When deciding whether or not to use a check advance, always consider questions like "Am I just putting off this problem for another two weeks/month?" and "How will I have the money to pay this back at the end of the time?"

 

IF YOU ARE IN A FINANCIAL CRISIS

If you are looking to improve your financial situation, we recommend some of these opportunities as possible steps in the right direction:

• Ask us. We always have on file names of financial services that can offer assistance to people or families who are having trouble with financial matters.

• Read up on personal finance. A couple of good authors are Dave Ramsey and Larry Burkett. You should be able to easily find books from these authors at your local bookstore or online. Or, check out www.DaveRamsey.com or www.Crown.org.

• Listen to talk radio. Dave Ramsey has a radio show devoted to helping people get out of debt and build their financial future. It is called "The Dave Ramsey Show." Though Mr. Ramsey doesn't approve of check advances (or any type of personal debt), he talks finances in an easy-to-understand way. He has helped a lot of people find ways to achieve financial security.