One of the most important aspects of becoming a successful wealth-builder is learning to recognize and avoid what I call poverty traps: behaviors and ways of thinking that sabotage our ability to increase our net worth and build wealth. The poverty trap I'm going to talk about today happens to be a costly way that many people address their cash flow problems or unexpected, unplanned expenses—usually because they are desperate or don't know any better: Payday loans.

We've all seen or heard ads promoting payday loans on billboards, on the radio and television, on the internet, and even in the mail: "Get Cash Until Payday—Fast!" The problem is that this is an unreasonably expensive source of credit, which is why people who habitually use these loans (also known as cash advance loans, check advance loans, post-dated check loans or deferred-deposit check loans) are usually perpetually short of cash, have weak credit scores, earn relatively low incomes and/or have adopted a lifestyle that requires them to spend more than they make.

• letters from the BMM listeners/visitors- Do you have a question that you have been burning to ask?  Are you wanting to get advice on subjects such as debt, credit, and budgeting your money?  Send a question to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
• Testimonials in the feature called, "Lemme Tell You..."- This is where you get to share your successes with the rest of the BMM family.  Have you recently gotten out of debt?  Did you just land a great job that will be the key to your achieving financial freedom?  Then, please share it with us.   You could be on the podcast with Gil and tell the world your story.
  
• interviews with distinguished guests, where the topic of conversation will of course be money as it pertains to the Black community. In our first interview we speak with James Elam, Entertainment Lawyer to celebrities such as John Legend and Jill Scott.