If you need money, you may be tempted by ads for businesses that promise fast and easy money. Check-cashing and payday loan stores, pawnshops, and rent-to-own stores, which may be located close to your campus, offer quick financial fixes from cash to electronics gear or furniture. However, their short-term fixes will cost you big bucks—and often for longer than you think.

The same thing holds true for employment schemes such as stuffing envelopes or being a mystery shopper. In most cases, you pay them and get nothing in return.

For better ways to get cash, review the tips for

stretching your money and building savings

The best advice is to avoid financial fixes that sound too good to be true. Get the scoop on some of the most common financial predators: