Introduction

While there are many excellent financial products available that can help you achieve your goals, there are a few loans, lines of credit, and services to avoid because of their expensive fees and problematic terms. To help you make wise borrowing and financial service choices, this module covers:

• Prime credit, subprime credit, and predatory lending
• Types of subprime credit products: payday loans, finance company loans, expensive credit cards, car-title loans, and pawn shop loans
• Types of fringe financial services: check-cashing services and rent-to own retailers
• Recovery methods
• Financial alternatives