Dear Dave,
I know you hate payday loan companies. Do you feel the same way about check-cashing companies?
Brian

Dear Brian,
Check-cashing companies are not a good deal, but they’re nowhere near as bad as payday lenders. All check-cashing businesses do is charge a fee to cash a check.

Honestly, it’s kind of silly to me that places like this can make money when all you have to do is walk into a bank and open an account. But there’s a percentage of our population that people in financial circles call “unbanked.” This means they avoid banks for whatever reason, but in the process they leave themselves susceptible to bad deals like this.

So I don’t feel the same way about check-cashing companies as I do about payday lenders. It’s still not a financially smart move to pay a storefront operation a fee just to cash a check, but these businesses aren’t nearly as abusive as payday lenders.
—Dave

Dave Ramsey is America’s trusted voice on money and business. He’s authored four New York Times best-selling books: Financial Peace, More Than Enough, The Total Money Makeover and EntreLeadership. His newest book, written with his daughter Rachel Cruze, is titled Smart Money Smart Kids. It will be released April 22nd. The Dave Ramsey Show is heard by more than 6 million listeners each week on more than 500 radio stations. Follow Dave on Twitter at @DaveRamsey and on the web at daveramsey.com.