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Tina Ford relied on payday loans to make ends meet almost every month for four years.

“I had to go (to payday lenders) to pay bills, buy extra food or pay a bill that I could not with the income I have now,” she said.

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Ford was first introduced by her sister to the concept of fast cash with exorbitantly high interest rates. But what was supposed to be a one-off solution to her financial shortcomings turned into a monthly ritual.

“Using these loans made me poorer at the end of the day,” she said, adding that a $200 loan would, in two weeks, accrue $120 in interest.

Ford shared her cautionary tale at a conference organized by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) on Monday. Ford’s position, along with ACORN, is that payday lenders prey on the poor and vulnerable, particularly those who lie on the margins of financial security.

“I have no credit, therefore I cannot go to a bank. I have nowhere else to go so they are the only ones to help me unfortunately,” she said. Furthermore, too many payday lenders operate in her Sandy Hill community, said Ford.