Underrated in America: Layaway
Filed under: Budgets
Layaway, the practice of paying for products or services in installments before you get them, is getting a lot of attention these days. The Wall Street Journal, NPR, the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, Consumer Reports, to name a few, have done stories on layaway recently. I wrote a post about it earlier this month, for what it's worth. It's a hot topic.It's easy to see the merits of a layaway program. I can think of several right off the top of my head.
There's no interest. Sometimes these programs will have fees attached, but generally, you save far more money by paying for something on layaway that paying for it over months or years on credit.
No impulse buying. Layaway programs aren't for people who want to buy something right away. I suppose you could impulsively agree to purchase something on layaway, but given that most purchases take several weeks or months to pay off, you can back out or usually put the money toward something else. So you're not likely to wind up with buyer's remorse after going through a layaway program or end up thinking, "Why did I spend so much...?"
It forces you to plan. While layaway was popularized during the Great Depression (although it was practiced long before that), and it endured as a popular way to pay for products and services into the 1970s, an entire generation or two has been weaned on the idea of being able to instantly buy everything from a bag of potato chips to a TV and worry about how to pay for it later. You just can't do that with layaway. You have to figure out how much money you'll put aside every week or month and when you'll be able to have what you're buying. You could make an argument that before getting a credit card, everyone should first have to pay for a product -- or numerous products -- on layaway first.
Don't miss the rest of our series on Underrated In America!
Clearly, the last couple decades, as getting credit has been easy, layaway programs have been underrated -- even mocked as something that only the desperate would do. have to wonder what will happen if the economy goes on the upswing sometime next year. Will layaway still be seen as something prudent or even fashionable? If credit becomes easy to get, will layaway still be popular and no longer underrated?I kind of doubt it.
Geoff Williams is a freelance journalist and the author of C.C. Pyle's Amazing Foot Race: The True Story of the 1928 Coast-to-Coast Run Across America (Rodale).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
10-30-2008 @ 6:24AM
Vicky said...
I really miss layaway. I think stores should bring it back I think you would have alot more shoppers out there! Where is there layaway left???
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 6:29AM
Marty B said...
around here western upstate NY only Kmart offers layaway
10-30-2008 @ 6:50AM
Billy said...
KMART!!!!!!! I love Kmart, they are the most underrated stores out there. They actually have better prices than Walmart, Target, and Meijer. The company just has a bad rap. They care about their customers, that's why they still have Layaway.
10-30-2008 @ 6:54AM
Donna said...
I very much agaree with you I want layaway back.
10-30-2008 @ 7:23AM
Lynn said...
I agree! When I was growing up I would have had no Christmas gifts if my mom did not have Lay away available to her. And she taught me that it was a good way to buy for my own kids. Now my children are young adults and will be having children of their own and I hope this comes back so it will be available to them. It is a MUCH better way to buy than credit cards!!!
10-30-2008 @ 8:39AM
SansJRS said...
The Marhshall's and K-Mart stores in Southern California offer lay-a-way...and with the closing of Mervyn's, I'll be at the lay-a-way counter with clothes for the grandkids :o)
10-30-2008 @ 8:42AM
Martha said...
Kmart has always had lay-a-way. I just laid a-way my son's Chrismas. The fee is only $10.00 plus whatever you buy, and you get 60 to 90 days to get it out, depending on the Holiday schedule.
Martha
Jacksonville, NC
10-30-2008 @ 8:48AM
Laura said...
Kmart has layaway and I love it! My mom always did that to buy our christmas and our school clothes!!
10-30-2008 @ 8:56AM
Amy said...
K-Mart has layaway.
10-30-2008 @ 12:02PM
sabrina said...
I love Layaway, too! Only Kmart in Delaware has for the christmas season only. I just don't get why folks think layaway is bad. It's a good thing because there's no interest and it makes you plan! Kmart has better prices anyway! Kudos to the prudent folks . . and Kmart!
10-30-2008 @ 12:57PM
Pamela said...
Since I for one am one that wants walmart to bring layaway back ( as you can see in previous posts) I started an online petition that I will email to walmart corporate. Even though it might not help this year it might help in the future. We as consumers need to step up and demand what we want (we are after all the ones with the money) So please sign it, and copy and forward to all your friends http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/layaway?e
If you happen to think this is a virus and your concerns are rightfully so, just go to ipetitions.com and search layaway and you will find my petition. Please help me get our point across to walmart.
thanks,
pam
10-30-2008 @ 6:28AM
sarah said...
KMart
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 6:51AM
Wiley said...
I used to buy quite regularly using layaway. It was great for larger purchases, and especially handy going into the Holidays. You didn't have to worry about where to hide the presents while they were there! It was also nice if there was an item on sale and you didn't have the ready cash to slap down for the total amount. I personally don't think it should have ever been done away with!
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 6:55AM
Tammy said...
Kmart still does layaway, if you can find one in your area
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 6:56AM
Dawn said...
I agree I love layaway. It is the best way to shop for Christmas. K-Mart still has layaway. They will get my busy this season not Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart doesn't get my business since heard the sold to China.
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 6:56AM
c. hill said...
I think they should offer layaway more now especially since the
economy is the way it is.When my child was little & growing up
being a single parent,layaway was the ONLY was she got the
things she needed and sometimes wanted. She is 27 now and
dosen't have a clue about layaway.
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 6:59AM
RQ said...
I thought Wal-Mart made a big mistake getting rid of their layaway. I used it for big-ticket items that I wanted to get while they were available and didn't want to use credit for. I used to use KMart and Meijer's layaway to do Christmas shopping when my kids were little. It really was a great alternative to credit cards--for consumers. Not so much for retailers, though. Layaway takes up a lot of space that you can otherwise use for stock that's going in and out. But now with credit hard to get, people maxed out on their cards, and stores keeping less back stock, it will be profitable for retailers, too. That's when we'll see it come back. Being "fashionable" isn't relevant.
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 7:02AM
Uditka said...
My local "Marshalls" ( part of TJX companies) also has
layaway and has for years!!!
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 7:10AM
Stacey said...
We are definately going to need layaway for this upcoming Christmas season. I can't see financing children's toys into August of next year! It just doesn;t make sense in this iffy economy!
Reply
10-30-2008 @ 7:15AM
Robin said...
I couldn't believe it when Walmart decided to cut out their layaway on the direction of a woman who had come from Kmart. Kmart closed down in our area because they couldn't compete with Walmart anymore. They had closed their layaway long before Walmart. I'm not a planner, so Layaway was a tool that helped me to set forseeable goals and provided me an avenue to get the items I wanted and could afford over the time period it took to get them out.
Reply