Hat tip to Beth Tallman for the idea for this question of the day. 

Answer: Payday lenders

Questions:

• Based on this information alone, do you think that payday lending is a good business for the lenders? Explain.
• Payday loans carry interest rates as high as 600%. Why do you think that people continue to borrow from payday lenders despite these interest rates?
• What financial advice would you give to someone who finds themselves taking out payday loans on a frequent basis?

Here's the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (from NPR):

MANN: The number of payday loan stores is about the same as the number of McDonald's.

VANEK SMITH: Actually, there are more payday loan stores than McDonald's or Starbucks. There are nearly 18,000 payday loan stores in this country right now.

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Want to see what payday loans look like from the vantage point of the lender? Try NGPF's latest game, Shady Sam and find out!

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

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