Pay day loan ads show everyone smiling and walking away happy with their quick cash. But those who get caught up in the exorbitant interest rates aren’t laughing.  Some desperate folks have been stuck paying interest rates upwards of 800 percent.  Howard Dayton with Crown Financial Ministries calls them the worst kind of predatory loans out there.

“It’s just an awful way for people to prey upon folks that need money quickly that can’t get it through traditional ways of borrowing such as credit card.”

Talk show host Dave Ramsey blasts predatory lenders for targeting the poor and vulnerable and says do whatever you can to avoid them. 

“Sell stuff, put the cat on Craigslist, name the dog E-bay, have a garage sale, take an extra job, do whatever it takes, but don’t set your foot in one of those places they totally will rip you off.”

Rob West with Kingdom Advisors says unfortunately payday loans are fueled by the culture.

“Which is built upon immediacy. Not to mention our lack of financial discipline and I think, especially as believers we need to be operating under the premise that God owns everything and that every spending decision is a spiritual decision ultimately.”

Several states have outlawed payday loans and others are putting caps on how much predatory lenders can charge.