Call it what you may, we all find ourselves in need of a few quickquid from time to time. Whether it’s a shock bill, an urgent wedding gift or a flooded kitchen, there’s sometimes too much month left at the end of your money.

It’s always best if you can tighten your belt and grit your teeth, but some things just can’t be put off and call for some quick quid.

Quick quid can be slow to repay

There are many ways to get your hands on a few quick quid, including a bank overdraft, credit card or a good friend, but these routes to quick cash can be a little embarrassing, more expensive than expected or mean extending an ever growing line of credit that’s hard to repay.

If your cash flow problem is short term, you should consider a short term solution - like a fast cash advance from Wonga. If you’re approved, you’ll receive the money within an hour and then you repay the loan on a date that suits, always within 30 days. That way you’re not left making repayments months after forgetting what it was you spent the money on.

TYPICAL 2698% APR

The popularity of payday loans online has increased dramatically over the past couple of years as more companies offer payday services and UK consumers experience more frequent cash flow problems. As the Times highlighted this week, Brits have collectively seen an alarming fall in wealth over the past year or so:

The wealth of households in Britain fell by 17% last year, the biggest drop for at least 40 years, as house prices slumped and the stock market plunged.

The fall of more than a sixth in household wealth - measured by the value of housing and the investments people have in pensions, Isas (individual savings accounts) and other assets - is the biggest in cash terms on record.

It means that each household is poorer, on average, by tens of thousands of pounds. The drop in wealth last year is equivalent to £20,000 for each individual in Britain and £45,000 for each household.

But although payday loans provide some people with a welcome lifeline when there’s a sudden hole in their finances, they should be approached with extreme caution. Many lenders make claims about same day cash deposits that simply don’t stack up in reality and most charge fixed fees per £100, regardless of the length of loan.

The payday loans trap

Most worryingly, some less scrupulous payday lenders base their service around keeping you in debt and will automatically roll your balance from month to month unless you actively take steps to repay it. And that’s where the cost of a payday loan can really add up. They can offer a valid, last resort solution if treated with respect, but fail to repay one on time at your peril!

Flexible cash advance from Wonga

A Wonga cash advance online isn’t tied to your payday and can be taken for anything between five and 30 days. Rather than rigid payday fees, we charge interest by the day so you can control the the cost by selecting the exact amount of cash you need and the specific number of days you want it for.

We also carry out a sophisticated credit check as part of our application process, whereas many payday loans are advertised on the basis there isn’t one. This may sound like a plus if you’ve got a poor credit record, but using Wonga responsibly can actually help improve your credit rating over time, as we report all timely repayments back to the credit bureaus.

So if you need some emergency cash and are considering looking for payday loans online, check out Wonga first and see for yourself how flexible we are. If you like what you see, it’s also worth knowing we’re the fastest lender in the UK, providing cash deposits within minutes around the clock.

TYPICAL 2698% APR

Wonga’s loan calculator makes the most of our unique flexibility, allowing you to choose the exact amount of cash you require, and the number of days you need it for, while clearly showing the changing cost of repayment.

There are lots of loan calculators on the web and many are designed to allow users to compare different lenders, or see the cost of different loans from one lender. Some can be very useful although they’re frequently intended to give the impression of flexibility and choice, when the reality is that each product still comes with very rigid terms.

Whether it’s a repayment period of at least three years or a minimum amount of a grand, most personal loans mean a long term commitment and you may need to borrow more than you actually need. This might seem like a bonus at the time, but you probably won’t be feeling that way when you’re still lumbered with the monthly repayments several years later.

Design your own cash advance with our loan calculator

A Wonga loan is different because, rather than offering lots of fixed products which suit us, we let you use our loan calculator to design your own bite size loan before applying for it.

Whether you need £58 or £198, or want some cash for a week or 21 days, use our loan calculator to see exactly how much it will cost to receive the funds within an hour. If you’re happy with the repayment amount, go ahead and make an online application. Simple! We’ll even give you an instant decision and, if you’re approved, deposit the cash in your account in minutes.

You will find the loan calculator on the Wonga home page. Just move the sliders around until you’re happy with everything. You won’t find this kind of flexible loan anywhere else and you can see what our existing customers think of the service on our customer comments page.

An unsecured loan isn’t always as simple as it might appear. Financial advice site Myfinances.co.uk recently highlighted the risk of an unsecured loan without a fixed interest rate. Despite the UK base rate being at a record low, the cost of many unsecured personal loans has been rising according to another consumer money site, Moneyfacts.co.uk.

Some unsecured loans come with a variable interest rate and they have been climbing while the base rate falls in some cases. It leaves the borrower with higher monthly payments, much like a mortgage when the base rate raises, and you’re still tied in for the long term. Unlike an unsecured Wonga loan, the amount to repay could change over time.

Another factor affecting the cost of an unsecured loan is the higher number of people not paying the banks back during these difficult times. It unfortunately means a higher price to pay for other customers. Here’s a brief extract from the article:

While lenders have faced strong pressure from the government to lower their mortgage rates in line with Bank of England interest cuts, many customers taking out personal loans have been shocked to find their variable rates have been increasing – while some existing borrowers have also seen rates hiked.

With an unsecured loan from Wonga you’ll always know exactly how much it will cost up-front and we never change the interest rate. Use the sliders on our home page to determine how much cash you need and for how many days. We’ll show you the cost as you go and deposit money in your bank account within an hour if you’re accepted.

OK, so size isn’t everything, but everyone at Wonga is buzzing because we’re now the second biggest business lending team on Kiva - one place above the mighty Microsoft.

Having loaned thousands of pounds, interest-free, to entrepreneurs in the developing world, the Wonga lending team has also helped more people than other business giants like Intel, IBM and Accenture. It’s largely down to Wonga’s commitment to lend £1 interest-free for each new cash advance we process, but we have also been joined by people who are keen to help with a little bit of their own cash, or some simply taking an interest in what we’re doing.

Please join our Wonga team and help us go from strength to strength - there’s no need to lend yourself but you’ll be able to see the amazing things that Kiva and our money is enabling people to do. It only takes seconds to join up.

You can also watch this brief video about Wonga’s partnership with Kiva.

When you need fast cash there’s usually a good reason. Maybe a tyre’s blown when you really need to get somewhere, the boiler’s blown in the middle of a cold snap or a big bill’s landed out of nowhere. Whatever the crisis, traditional credit providers aren’t usually up to speed, or they will sting you with hefty penalty fees if you dip into the red without notice. So that’s where a fast cash advance from Wonga can help out.

Modern life seems to be all about speed - fast food, fast delivery, speed dating and quickie divorces. Not all these things are good for you, but fast cash can come in very handy if you’ve got a short term problem and need a short term solution there and then.

Fast cash from Wonga really is fast - application is completely online and takes only minutes, you’ll get an instant decision and, if you’re approved, we can transfer a cash advance into your bank account within minutes (no matter what time of day it is). You can even choose how long you need the money for and we’ll tell you exactly how much it will cost.

Unlike a bank loan, overdraft or credit card application there’s no hanging around, because we understand that speed is everything in a cash emergency! We’re the fastest cash slingers in the West, so next time you’re in a sticky situation and an urgent expense just can’t wait… Don’t worry, Wonga it!

January is often the hardest month financially, with many of us living large over Christmas and waking up with a nasty cash flow hangover. Short term loans can provide welcome relief if an urgent expense crops up a few days or weeks before your first payday of the New Year.

Short term loans are a good solution because you can access fast cash now and then settle the debt within weeks. With a Wonga cash advance you can even take a short term loan for a few days. You can also choose to repay a Wonga loan early without any penalty.

So if you have a cash emergency and urgently need some wonga to see you through, short term loans mean you can fix the problem and then repay the money quickly, rather than being tied to long term debt for the rest of the year.

While bank loans and credit cards might appear like cheaper options, they usually come with very rigid terms and only offer good value if used sensibly. Bank and card fees can soon add up and you won’t find a bank loan with a repayment term of less than a year. A short term loan from Wonga allows you to pick exactly how much cash you want to borrow and for how many days you need it - you aren’t encouraged or forced to borrow more than you need, or for longer than you need. There are no hidden catches and the cost is shown very clearly up front.

Make reducing your long term debt a priority in 2009. If you really need some cash and just can’t wait until payday, stick to short term loans. Always think carefully about whether you can afford the credit and always settle any loans on time. That way you can look forward to better financial health come next December.

An article in the Times this week about personal loans highlights how banks and other lenders seem to be fighting to offer the worst loan deals at the moment - in a potential bid to curb demand. Despite gargantuan cuts in the base rate recently, a cheap loan is becoming harder to find than a new Christmas number one for Cliff. Here’s an extract:

The cheapest loan available is now 8.2 per cent – that is more than four times the base rate at 2 per cent. Experts say that providers may actually be trying to price themselves out of the market as the availability of credit continues to be squeezed.

Several providers have increased personal loan rates in the past four weeks – including Barclaycard by 2 per cent, Sainsbury’s Finance by 1 per cent, and Britannia building society and Lombard Direct by 0.5 per cent.

At the same time cheap bank loans are vanishing, the number of lenders who are willing to help out is also shrinking:

Lending on personal loans dropped by 26 per cent in October in comparison to the same month last year, according to uSwitch.com. Whilst six months ago borrowers could get rates of 7 per cent or less, all of these deals have now disappeared. Moneyback Bank, which consistently offered loans as low as 5.5 per cent over the past two years, has closed for new business completely.

Last year almost 1.3 million people took out an unsecured personal loan to consolidate debts – but with interest rates rising and credit being harder to obtain, less borrowers will have that option.

If you’re having trouble finding a cheap loan, or any loan at all, now might be the perfect time to try a short-term Wonga cash advance. You will need to pass our online credit check but, unlike the banks, we lend cash to tide you over for up to 30 days, so we’re not looking to predict your reliability over several years. You also won’t be left making repayments for years either of course!

Only a Wonga cash advance is a truly fast loan. ‘Well you would say that’ we hear you cry! But it pays to understand the difference between Wonga and other pretenders to the fast loan throne.

Wonga is not the only website claiming to offer people fast loans at the moment, but sometimes claims can be deceptive. We like to keep abreast of what’s going on outside of Wonga Towers and we like to know what kind of competition we’re up against. So we regularly try out some of the other websites for ourselves and it’s amazing how often boasts about ’same day loans’, ‘loans within an hour’ and ‘instant loans’ turn out to be pie in the sky!

Indeed, there have been occasions when our testers have been waiting for several days for a loan they applied for online - about as much use as a chocolate tea pot if they had genuinely been in need of emergency cash for an unforeseen expense.

So next time you want to tackle an urgent cash flow problem with a fast, short-term loan, trust Wonga to deliver. We’ve talked about some of the other reasons we’re different on this blog before, but speed is undoubtably our main strength if you need urgent funds. We’re the Usain Bolt of the consumer credit world and we’re here to help you in a flash for those ‘Wonga moments‘ when time is everything. If your application is approved we’ll deposit the cash within an hour (usually minutes), no matter who you bank with, what time it is, or what day it is. Now that’s a fast loan! As for the others, don’t always believe the hype!

There are many reasons why a Wonga loan is different to a traditional loan, but perhaps the most fundamental point is that we make money when customers repay their cash advance. ‘So what?’ you might think, ‘Surely that’s normal.’ But in the world of unsecured personal loans and credit cards there’s a cast iron rule that usually goes unspoken… They generally make money by keeping customers in debt for as long as possible!

In an industry where new customers are won on low headline interest rates, cash is often made by other means. These tactics include long repayment periods, fixed terms and penalty charges.

Even in these uncertain times of soaring inflation, nationalised banks and restricted lending, many rules of traditional credit still apply. Indeed, while there has been unimaginable turmoil in banking, true innovation in the way services are offered to consumers remains a rare thing. The credit industry is such an ancient one that in times of trouble it’s common for lenders to become even more cautious and rigid.

The best advice is to make sure you fully understand the terms of any form of credit agreement before taking the plunge. Always read the small print and, in the case of personal loans, check for early repayment clauses. Otherwise you could find yourself handcuffed to your debt for longer than necessary.

Or you could visit Wonga.com instead! At Wonga we have no desire to keep you in debt and the entire service is geared towards helping you manage your cash flow with short-term credit - on the odd occasion when unexpected expenses strike. You can choose exactly how much cash you need and exactly how long you want it for. That means you’re in control and you settle the debt quickly.

Our commitment to responsible lending also means you won’t find any hidden charges even if you decide to repay your loan early. We will actually welcome it!