How do you get away or break the cycle of payday loans? Help! asked by Anonymous, Toronto, ON

The good news is you can break the cycle. The bad news is you’ve got to be willing to be financially uncomfortable for at least 30 days to do it. Here’s how…

• Stop! The first step is to stop taking the loans. Granted, this may be easier said than done if you’ve been doing it for sometime and you owe a substantial amount of interest (forcing you to take another loan each time you get paid). Figure out how much of your next paycheque you’d keep if you didn’t get another payday loan. If you just can’t manage, then reduce the amount of the loan each time. When your next paycheque comes, take 50% of what you normally would, then 30%, and finally 15% on the third round. Then NO more EVER again.

• Figure out your spending! For your fixed or more predictable spending, do a budget; include things like utilities, rent, childcare and other things that have costs that are difficult to control or adjust. Then add 10% of your take-home income to that budget amount; open a savings account, putting that money away automatically. The challenging part comes next: you have to figure out how to live on what’s left over. I’d recommend using a defined amount of cash, taken out weekly (no debit card) to make sure you don’t overextend yourself. Use cash for things you can control like food, entertainment, coffee, books, clothing etc. If your income doesn’t even cover the first part of this task, you must take drastic action to reduce expenses, or increase income.

It could take you anywhere from 30 to 45 days to get yourself back on track and saving money every month. Keep in mind that nothing (no spending, no wants, no needs) is sacred; everything is up for debate when your finances aren’t working. You can find more information about pay day loans here.