If you have decided it is time to take out a payday loan – a paycheque cash advance, as they are often called – it is because each of the following factors are in play for you:

• You face an emergency or otherwise unplanned expense.
• Your bank account balance is less than that expense.
• You are employed.
• You didn’t want to use a credit card (or do not have one) to cover the expense.
• It would be really useful to get that money today cash advances are transmitted electronically into your bank account in about an hour).

So you then go to a payday loan website to get that cash advance. In the U.K., you are allowed up to £1500 in paycheque advances. But can you and should you get that full £1500? Here are several things to consider in making your loan request:

You may be limited by your pay scale. Most payday loan companies are like banks and car loan firms in that they look at your ability to repay the loan. The paycheque loan size will be some degree lower than your one-period pay, for obvious mathematical reasons. A barrister earning £300,000 per year will naturally be able to borrow more than a barista earning £25,000 per year. But an egalitarian ethos still allows both to borrow something.

Your credit history matters (but not as much as you might expect).  Your credit rating is of lesser impact on your ability to get a paycheque loan than with other types of loans. What matters most is, do you work and will you receive a paycheque sometime soon? Just as important, will this loan allow you to manage your finances without incurring negative marks on your credit? The fact that these loans can enable you to pay bills on time makes them all the more worth considering.

You will need to repay the loan very soon. As you borrow, you must also consider the repayment. Your loan is due with your next paycheque, so how will you manage without that money in that month? Frugal skills required!

How large are your unplanned expenses? This really should be the biggest driver in how large of a loan you request – and remember, the loan is supposed to handle any necessary and unplanned expenses. It’s not for discretionary purchases.