Are payday loans a lifestyle choice?

As much as online lenders attempt to market payday loans as an emergency cash tool, the nature of this unsecured cash advance creates the impression that it is just a safer 'alternative' to credit cards. Or in other words, a lifestyle choice with a certain degree of spending control. Credit cards have often been trashed for their temptation-creating abilities. People, more often than not, go overboard with their spending and end up with dues that take ages to repay. Since a payday loan is easy to acquire, most people believe a sudden urge to go shopping can be met with an instant cash advance. And when the next payday arrives, they can repay their loan. However, a majority of the borrowing population still views payday loans as a solution to unexpected expenses and not an alternative to credit cards when a shopping spree is on the cards. And this seems to have worked in favor of this loan product. Positioning a payday loan as a lifestyle choice can have its own implications. The lure of an easy, unsecured loan and the temptation of an expensive bracelet can sometimes lead to people throwing caution to the winds. Although they have reasonable control over the repayment, the fact that they fail to evaluate their options indicates an inherent tendency to mismanage funds. Payday loans are a sensible option as long as the reason for borrowing is a cash crunch. People need to remember that a debt scenario requires just a small trigger. And temptation often overpowers sensibility. Like credit cards, a payday loan can be detrimental to one's financial condition if used impulsively.