When you look around the TV stations and the newspapers, there's one story everywhere. It's this long-running story of the credit crunch, except now we're seeing Wall Street take a hit. Some of the biggest names are in deep trouble. The Fed is pumping money into the banking system. Well, never mind what's happening up there, what's happening to you? You've been working. It's not a glamorous job like these high fliers but, up to now, it's paid the bills.

But there's a problem. Perhaps you've been caught with a medical emergency and a bill from the hospital, or your old car finally quit on you. Whatever the reason, you don't have the savings to cover it. You don't have a credit card or it's maxed out. The only way of saving yourself is to get a fast cash advance from somewhere. The ideal was your employer giving you an advance but, when you asked, you found there's a policy against it. No advances to anyone. That means you're looking at a payday loan online- your credit score isn't good enough to go to your bank for an overdraft.

But what about the credit crunch? Does that affect you on Main Street? The answer is a definite "no"! The fact that Wall Street is in trouble has absolutely no effect on the market for loans to you. They are completely different markets. Strangely enough, the people most affected by all this are the better off. Those guys with the higher credit scores who used to be able to get a loan just by breathing will now find the going a lot tougher. Shame! Why is this? Well, the loans to you are very short term.

Under normal circumstances, this is from one to three weeks with everything repaid when your next pay check come in. There's no need for a full credit check - in fact, the loan companies never worry about credit scores. Their security is in the authority you sign to deduct the sum due from your checking account on your next pay day. So all the lenders are interested in is that you have a steady job and it pays you enough to repay the whole sum owing at the end of the month. In fact, cash advance payday loans have been growing rapidly as a really strong performing market. Believe it or not, the more you borrow from the banks and finance companies, the more you are propping up Wall Street. Bet that makes you feel a whole lot better.