Yes it is a sarcastic answer and I am one of the culprits, but it does have a serious message. Often people with poor credit ratings ask where they can get a loan, they cannot generally get one from mainstream sources and are usually so desparate they'll pay arrangement fees and huge interest for years just so they can have a small amount now. For example Mr X wants �500, and he claims he can afford �50 per month so if he just save �50 per month at say 4% he would have enough in 10 months (ignoring savings interest for the moment) now if he borrow said amount off Provident he'll be paying �50 month for 2 years! So the "reverse loan is just really saying: Save up because no one with any sense is going to lend you money! The overall message is if you can afford to save �n per month/week now then do it anyway and then you won't have to borrow but of course they can't afford it they just think they can because they need the money now!