eLayaway

What the heck is a "layaway"?

I'm old enough to remember layaway, but until I started researching it, I had no idea it was still being offered. It's a good program for the saints and working poor who live without credit cards. But it's also good for the rest of us who abuse credit cards and want to stick it to the man at Visa, Mastercard, Discover and American Express because he already stuck it to us.

So consider a credit-card free Christmas by using cash and layaway. What is layaway, youngsters? It's a program that allows you to set aside items and pay for them over them, sometimes for a small service charge. You put 10 or 20 percent down and make payments at regular intervals, usually for 90 days or less.

Read the layaway contract carefully at each store for "gotchas." For example, there is often a service fee ($5 at Kmart/Sears) and a cancellation fee ($10 at Kmart/Sears).

Kmart, Sears, T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and Burlington Coat Factory offer layaway. Wal-Mart offers it on jewelry only.

A few tips: Try to put the item on layaway when it's on sale. Kmart/Sears allows one price adjustment within 14 days of the original layaway date. Kmart/Sears does not allow clearance merch on layaway.

This year Sears and Kmart are offering a variation on layaway--the Christmas Club card. Banks and credit unions have been offering Christmas clubs dating since the first fruitcake. This is a slightly different variation. Activate a card in the store or go to www.sears.com/christmasclub. Activate before October 31 and get a three percent reward credit added to the value of the card.

Want a different group of stores to practice your layaway skills? Try eLayaway, which claims that a thousand retailers are participating.