I was watching a segment about how Kmart is trying to promote the concept of layaways again. Growing up I remember seeing signs with information regarding layaways at various retailers but I’ve never understood why a person would choose that route.
Lawaway isn’t as common these days thanks to credit cards and whatnot but I’ve never fully understood why a person would buy items on layaway. For those that don’t know what it means to put an item on layaway it means you purchase an item without paying the entire cost at once (or rather over a defined period). However you don’t recieve the item until it’s completely paid for.
So the question begs to differ? Why not just save up the money you need to purchase the item instead of doing a layaway? You’d also get the advantage of having the money liquid in case you need it for an emergency or unexpected expense. Sometimes there are fees associated with layaways too.
It really seems a layaway is designed for people who really don’t have the discipline to just put away x amount of dollars towards a purchase. They’d rather recieve a complete debt schedule and perhaps even pay fees to have a retailer tell them how much they need to sock away over period of time to afford something. I can understand a layaway being useful in circumstances where the item is unique (i.e. piece of art) but in most cases it’s commonly available items.
With all the problems with credit these days I would think that a writer on finance topics would at least be a little more positive on the subject of layaway. People using the service are bound to be deleveraging and certainly won’t be overindulging anymore… at least I wouldn’t think so. …and if they can’t make the payment then nobody gets hurt. Seems like a good trend to revive if you ask me.
Layaway is also good for buying clothes and other items that go in and out of stock rather quickly. With layaway, you can “lock in” that dress you really want, even if it takes you a few months to pay for it. And by the time you’ve finished paying for it, the store has stopped selling it (maybe it was a limited edition, new collection came in, etc). So layaway gives you the chance to get your hands on it, whereas by the time you finish saving up for it, it might no longer be available.
I have the discipline to not pay someone else a fee to tell me how much I need to put away to buy something.
Laway is there for people who don’t have the math skills to figure out how much they need to put away.
Stupid poor people