Cash-poor Americans paid $8 billion more for loans last year. Here’s how to avoid hidden costs

Borrowers are paying a steep price to manage their lives—often out of desperation rather than choice. This environment doesn’t just perpetuate financial instability; it actively widens the affordability gap.

For millions of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, borrowing has become a necessary survival tool. In other words, they are “cash poor,” which refers to consumers with limited savings who find themselves strapped for cash when faced with an emergency expense.