Duane shared his loan story with us after getting a title loan on his truck.
When first asked to share his story with us, Duane was quite blunt. “No,” he said. “I have no interest in airing my dirty laundry.”
It is an understandable sentiment and quite frankly, not an overly unique point-of-view. Short term loans like title loans are often used to cover daily expenses. The story attached to these kinds of loans are longer, filled with unfortunate moments, missed opportunities, bad luck, and sometimes bad decisions.
Duane contacted us almost twenty-four hours later telling us he had reconsidered.
Title Loans are a Practical Solution
“I didn’t want to share my story because I didn’t think there was a story to be told. I took out the loan because I was desperate. I needed to pay rent, buy groceries, and put gas in my truck. That isn’t much of a story to contribute,” Duane shared. It’s a truthful statement and one many of our customers could easily have made.
Duane explained his situation even more. “I’d been under-employed for nearly six months. My job was on-again off-again and I was getting by okay and then there was a good two weeks where I had less then 10 hours of work.”
With the sudden loss of income, Duane attempted to adjust his budget but he dealt with too many fixed costs. “Look,” he told us, “I can let the cable get turned off. That’s fine. I can’t let my phone get disconnected because that is how my work lets me know when to come in. I can’t let the electricity get shut off and I can’t get behind on the rent. That’s just foolish.”
Duane’s financial struggle could be anyone’s. “When it came down to it, I needed to borrow money. I really don’t have anything worthwhile to pawn which would get me enough money to do anything and a payday loan was just too … limiting.” Since his truck was completely paid off, Duane wanted to solve his problem with a car title loan.
Was He Worried About Paying Back His Title Loan?
“I wasn’t worried about losing my truck. I understood how much I was borrowing and I had a plan to pay it back,” Duane explained. It’s a rational concern to be worried about losing your vehicle if you are unable to pay back the loan, which is why it is important to know how the loan will be repaid. Duane said he had few options and his work was going to be sporadic for ahwile, but at least he was going to get paid and from that, he’d be able to pay back the loan.
Duane’s loan needs were simple. He knew he needed the money ahead of time so he wasn’t rushed. Speed wasn’t his main concern. He was most interested in getting the lowest interest rate he could which led him to seek out title loans online. Duane said he did not like the idea of going into store after store to get the information he needed. He liked the idea of 1800LoanStore’s service locating the best deals in his area. “If you guys couldn’t offer me anything I liked, I could just walk away. That’s the truth. I liked the fact I didn’t have to talk to anyone if I wasn’t happy with the amount my truck could get me.”
We were happy to be able to help Duane get the loan he needed. The reality of short term financing like title loans is people turn to them when they don’t have any other options. Not all the loan stories are going to be tales of triumph. More often than not, the true stories behind the loans are more like Duane’s and we know people don’t really like to reveal their hardships in this way.
We are grateful to Duane for sharing his experience with his title loan from us.