I’ve always considered myself a fairly savvy shopper, hunting out bargains and discounts like a virtual expert. If I can get it cheaper somewhere else, I will – that’s not to say I don’t sometimes spend too much of course! But that’s a whole different blog post, frankly.
Yes, I love a bargain. But one thing I’m not so good at, financially speaking, is saving for a rainy day. Just as Nature abhors a vacuum, money seems to burn a hole in my pocket and find a way to escape – so I often find myself half way through the month floating dangerously close to my overdraft limit.
We have some savings of course – thanks to my sensible wife, we’re not completely hopeless. But like most people, we try not to dip into those too often – so there are inevitably times when you need a short-term cash boost – especially as you’re getting closer to pay day!
Here’s a few money vacuum’s we’ve faced over the past few years, as an example:
- Unexpected school trip – as the kids get older, the school trips they get invited to seem to get more convoluted and more expensive. I’ve got friends who have shelled out several hundred pounds for a secondary school ski trip, or some other sporting tour. Sure – they don’t have to go, and subsidies can sometimes help. But when your child comes home from school with a permission letter and their heart set on said trip, you might find yourself reaching for your wallet.
- A much needed holiday – perhaps you’ve been planning a well-earned holiday for a while, but you’ve forgotten that they need a deposit by a certain date – and you hadn’t budgeted for it when planning your month. What do you do now?
- A broken down household appliance – most of us have experienced the abject horror of a washing machine breaking down at just the wrong moment, or the boiler needed a crucial service just as the weather turns cold. It might only be a couple of hundred pounds, but you’d been planning to get a new washer dryer in the January sales so there’s nothing put aside for it. Argh!
In situations like this, there are plenty of options open to you:
Raiding the old toy drawers to start an eBay selling spree – we recently sold some of the kids ‘Cars’ toys and made more from some of them than than we originally paid for them!
Getting a second job, perhaps some bar work or helping out a friend with a small business.
Asking a friend for a short term loan – always sounds easy, but invariably leads to problems if you have problems paying the back!
None of those options are very immediate though, so how do you get a short term financial boost without having to wait weeks for the money to turn up?
One alternative option could be a one-payment loan from a lender like Vivus. Designed for savvy borrowers who don’t want to enter into a long and convoluted agreement with a loan company, Vivus offers loans which you pay back within a couple of weeks (or less), in one simple payment. So no complicated payment plans, just a short term cash boost which you pay back within the same month.
If you’re reading this and considering giving Vivus a try, you’ll be pleased to know they also offer a nice first-time borrower bonus: your first short-term loan is half price, meaning it’s an even more affordable option to try.
Needless to say I’m certainly not advocating using loans as a regular way of tiding you over, and I’m sure any lender would say the same. It’s much better to plan ahead, budget carefully and save where you can. But as I illustrated above, there can be times in parenting when a bill or cost comes out of the blue. So next time that happens, think about giving Vivus a try and see how you get on.