Life on Florida’s West Coast

Why Max Your Credit Card When You Can Layaway?

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Back when I lived up north, my friend Jo did all of her Christmas shopping by using Layaway at a couple of different stores. My own family had never used Layaway, so I had little knowledge at the time about how it worked. I did not see the point. Why not just wait until you had the money saved up at home and buy the items later?

Well, the year that Tickle Me Elmo was so hot that people were fighting over them in the stores, Jo happened to be able to pick one up right before the craze and put it on Layaway. She did not have to fight anyone for a doll or worry if they would be in stock by the time she had the money for all of her shopping. She put everything on Layaway and that was that.

I know that in the past several years, many stores have done away with Layaway programs, mostly due to lack of interest. However, our American economy has forces more and more people to look at their spending habits in a whole new way and Layaway has once again become a popular option for many folks, especially as more people are looking for a way to avoid using their credit cards.

The Kmart Lay-Away program is simple to use. You just choose the items you want to buy in the store, bring them to the Layaway counter, make a down payment and then come back and make payments every two weeks. The service fee for a Layaway is only $5. As long as you keep your schedule and make all of your payments, your merchandise will be there waiting for you to take home with you in the end.

It makes sense to me. I only use my credit card for emergencies, but that often puts me in a tight spot when I don’t have all the money on had that I need for a big ticket item, like the Philips 42 inch Widescreen HDTV I’ve been longing for this year.

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