Ever heard the old phrase that “timing is everything”? When it comes to finances, this is even more true than it normally is.

It's not easy to balance your money on a monthly basis, and we all know what it's like to be a little bit short. Of course, it can sound easy to try to stay within your means, but that doesn't take into account what happens when things go wrong. All it takes is for a car to break down, a washing machine to need replacing or even needing to pay for something up front that you weren't expecting.

This can cause problems for just about anybody, unless you're prepared (or lucky) enough to have the disposable income to be able to cover it. For the rest of us, though, even the best laid plans can be torn apart by one small emergency. At times like this, it can be tough if the high street banks won't lend you cash when you need it - especially if you don't need much.

Cash-in-1-hour is designed to help with exactly this kind of situation. You can apply for a small amount of money to use for whatever it is you need it for. Once you've been paid, you can repay the one hour loan. This all happens automatically, and is easy for you to set up and apply for. Roughly speaking, you can expect to pay about twenty five percent of what you've borrowed on top of the original amount.

Because this is designed to help with smaller emergencies, one hour loans are for generally small amounts compared to most financial products. There's no need to take out a long term credit agreement, or to end up paying far more than the original loan in fees. By applying for a small amount, you can repay it when you get paid a lot easier than with larger financial products.

An amount in the hundreds also means that it's more likely you'll be approved by lenders. This is part of the reason a lot of high profile sites like Wonga tend to limit first-time lenders to an amount like £400, because it's less of a high risk for the lender. It provides protection for both sides, which is always important.

Annual percentage rates (APRs) can be a bit off putting at first glance. Even on Cash-in-1-hour, where we have a comparatively low APR for this kind of product (at 1737% variable, compared to some sites which go over 4000%), it's still four figures. This happens because it's the rate if you were to take a loan that is designed to be repaid within about 30 days, and avoid repaying it for a full year. Bizarrely, the difference between 1737% and 4428% is just over a fiver per hundred pounds in real terms within 30 days.

One hour loans aren't the cheapest way to get credit, but there are very few ways available to a lot of people to get cheap credit, and it may be that you don't feel comfortable using a credit card. At times like these, it may be worth thinking about the short term needs, and whether or not it's suitable for you. Thousands of people use us every week. It could be right for you as well.