ESPAÑOL
Stores off Layaway to help shoppers in tough economy
Heather Sullivan | www.wspa.com | Tuesday, Nov 5, 2008
If you’re having trouble paying for gifts this holiday season, some local stores are emphasizing an old program to help you out: layaway. Many stores stopped offering layaway in recent years. But now it’s making a comeback. And it can save you from paying high credit card interest.
Layaway. You pick out what you want, the store lays it away while you make payments.
Said shopper Antonia Lawrence, “I’m called the Layaway Queen because I love layaways.”
Burlington Coat Factory says more customers, like Lawrence, are using layaway.
Said Lawrence, “A small downpayment and then make another payment in two weeks and you’re not stuck with this big bill at the end of your payment time.”
At Burlington Coat Factory, you’ll put down 25% of your total purchase and pay off the rest over 30 days. Explained Deborah Dial, “If you get paid every week, that’s four paychecks or if you get paid every two weeks, that’s two paychecks.”
K-Mart asks for 10% down and gives you eight weeks to pay it off. TJ Maxx and Marshall’s also accept 10% today, with 30 days to pay the rest. All these stores charge a $5 fee, but it’s far less than paying credit card interest.
You can also order gifts through websites, such as http://www.ez-layaway.com and http://www.elayaway.com. That’s how Mark Rockefeller bought his family gifts last year.
Said Rockefeller, “I didn’t have to go out and make that capital expenditure or that big purchase.”
Elayaway says it lists more than 3 million products through companies like Comp USA, Apple, and Diamond Source.
Said Rockefeller, “If you feel comfortable in paying for it over three months, you can do so. If you want to extend it over six months, you can pay a little less over that time.”
Elayaway charges a 1.9% fee, but again, it’s far less than paying credit card interest over a year.
How much money can you save buying gifts on layaway?
The average family puts $835 on credit cards over the holidays at an average of 18.9% interest. If you pay it off over a year, you could pay as much as $158 a year in interest.
If you were to pay 1.9% using Elayaway.com, that’s about $16. A savings of $142 dollars.
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