He got a few payday loans totaling around $1,300 to make ends meet.
Hes had to roll it over several times and now the balance is over $2,500.
He can only afford the monthly charge each month to roll it over again.
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Weve always kept our money separate and split bills 50/50.
My partner hasnt been irresponsible with money in the past.
It was just a string of bad luck that got him here.
I have $4,700 in savings for emergencies.
Should I use that to bail him out of this nightmare?
Would I be making a big mistake?
-Trapped
Dear Trapped,
What your partner is experiencing is absolutely an emergency.
Even though you havent merged finances, you have merged your lives.
So sooner or later, this is going to become your emergency, too.
Payday loans often advertise fees that seem reasonable, like $15 for every $100 you borrow.
But for a two-week payday loan, that translates toan APR of nearly 400%.
By comparison, even the highest credit card APRs are around 30%.
The exorbitant costs are designed to suck people in, just as they have your partner.
If your partner is rolling over his payday loans, the balance and the fees will continue to skyrocket.
Then its only a matter of time before he cant afford his half of expenses.
Our team has compiled alist of creative waysyou can fatten your bank account this week.
This is a long list, so dont get overwhelmed.
Well keep it updated as offers changes or expire.
Normally, Im a proponent ofnot trying to save otherswhen you cant afford to save yourself.
Im not in love with the idea of you slashing your emergency savings by more than half.
But I also get that when youre dealing with payday loans, you dont have any great options.
Youre trying to choose the least terrible one.
The mine-is-mine, yours-is-yours approach just doesnt work.
As soon as youve paid off this debt, your top priority is to replenish that emergency fund.
He needs to contribute whatever hes been putting toward the loan into your savings each payday.
Treat saving for an emergency as a shared goal.
Keep building that savings account until you have at least three months worth of living expenses.
That sounds daunting, I know.
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But this is a long-term goal.
Your goal is to get to 90 days worth of bills.
Maybe you’ve got the option to aim to save one days worth of expenses every week.
Doing that, youd get to this goal in less than two years.
Using your emergency fund will stop the bleeding for now.
But only preventative medicine in the form of steadily saving will help you stay away from payday loans forever.
Robin Hartill is a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder and the voice behind Dear Penny.
Send your tricky money questions to[email protected].
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