Note B - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details Textual) - USD ($)				6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			18 Months Ended	24 Months Ended
	Oct. 25, 2017	May 31, 2016	May 30, 2016	Oct. 24, 2017	Apr. 30, 2019	Apr. 30, 2018	Apr. 30, 2017	Apr. 30, 2019	Apr. 30, 2019	May 01, 2019	Oct. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2016
Number of Reportable Segments					1
Average Finance Receivable Interest Rate					16.40%
Interest Receivable					$ 2,348,000	$ 2,189,000		$ 2,348,000	$ 2,348,000
Finance Receivables, Customer Payments Due Either Weekly or Bi-Weekly, Percentage					76.00%
Financing Receivable, Greater Than or Equal to 30 Days Past Due, Percent of Portfolio					2.90%	3.50%		2.90%	2.90%
Percent of Chargeoffs in the First 10 to 11 Months of a Contract					50.00%			50.00%	50.00%
Average Age of Account at Charge-Off Date					1 year
Finance Receivables, Allowance, Percent of Principle Balance					25.00%			25.00%	25.00%		25.00%
Financing Receivable, Allowance for Credit Loss, Ending Balance					$ 127,842,000	$ 117,821,000	$ 109,693,000	$ 127,842,000	$ 127,842,000		$ 4,800,000	$ 102,485,000
Payment Protection Plan Liability, Anticipated Losses in Excess of Deferred Revenues					0	0		0	0
Goodwill, Impairment Loss					$ 0	$ 0
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent					21.00%	30.40%
Tax Adjustments, Settlements, and Unusual Provisions					$ (8,100,000)
Income Tax Examination, Penalties and Interest Accrued, Total					0	$ 0		0	0
Financing Receivable, Recorded Investment Greater Than 90 Days Past Due					1,187,000	1,604,000		1,187,000	1,187,000
Late Fee Income Generated by Servicing Financial Assets, Amount					1,900,000	1,900,000	2,000,000
Contract with Customer, Liability, Revenue Recognized					9,100,000
Advertising Expense					$ 3,100,000	3,800,000	4,000,000
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Match					50.00%
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Employees' Gross Pay					4.00%
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Contribution Amount					$ 523,000	465,000	437,000
Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Total					$ 12,226,000	$ 2,397,000	$ 12,037,000
Stock Repurchased During Period, Shares					378,627	979,040	666,202
Stock Repurchased During Period, Value					$ 26,600,000	$ 42,300,000	$ 20,500,000
Treasury Stock Shares to Establish Reserve Account to Secure Service Contracts					10,000
Assets, Total					$ 492,542,000	455,584,000		492,542,000	492,542,000
Liabilities, Total					$ 231,632,000	224,649,000		$ 231,632,000	$ 231,632,000
ACM Insurance Company [Member]
Treasury Stock, Shares to Establish Reserve Account to Meet Regulatory Requirements for Insurance Company					14,000
Accounting Standards Update 2016-09 [Member]
Income Tax Expense (Benefit), Total						$ 1,700,000
2006 Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Common Stock Discount on Shares Percentage					15.00%			15.00%	15.00%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Authorized					200,000			200,000	200,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant					142,523			142,523	142,523
Maximum [Member]
Financing Receivable Interest Rate		16.50%	15.00%		16.50%
Allowance for Credit Losses, Primary Factor Units Repossessed or Charged Off Evaluation Period					5 years
Maximum [Member] | Accounting Standards Update 2016-02 [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Assets, Total										$ 40,000,000
Liabilities, Total										40,000,000
Minimum [Member]
Financing Receivable Interest Rate					15.00%
Allowance for Credit Losses, Primary Factor Units Repossessed or Charged Off Evaluation Period					1 year
Minimum [Member] | Accounting Standards Update 2016-02 [Member] | Subsequent Event [Member]
Assets, Total										35,000,000
Liabilities, Total										$ 35,000,000
Revolving Credit Facility [Member]
Line of Credit Facility, Distribution Limitations, Maximum Aggregate Amount of Stock Repurchases				$ 40,000,000				$ 50,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Distribution Limitations Percentage of Sum of Borrowing Bases	20.00%			25.00%	20.00%				20.00%
Line of Credit Facility, Distribution Limitations Percentage of Consolidated Net Income					75.00%				75.00%
Line of Credit Facility Distribution Limitations Minimum Percentage of Aggregate Funds Available					12.50%				12.50%
Customer Concentration Risk [Member] | Revenue Benchmark [Member] | Arkansas, USA [Member]
Concentration Risk, Percentage					28.00%