Yes, layaway -- the seemingly antiquated business of reserving a product by paying it off in installments -- is apparently making a comeback. Along with "boychick" and "décontracté," it even made T Magazine's Men's Spring Fashion issue as a "word of the season."Here's another word: Bollocks -- of Anglo-Saxon origin, meaning "testicles," but often used figuratively as a noun to mean "nonsense." That's what we call leaving your hard-earned cash -- appreciating at exactly ZERO percent -- with some retailer (which might not even exist two months from now) -- in the hopes that you'll some day walk away with some thing that you most likely didn't need in the first place.
Totally agreed! Who can even abide the wait of layaway? Put it on a credit card, get it now, and pay it off when the economy rebounds.
ReplyDeleteAMEN!
ReplyDeletei second that. why work for your debt when you can make your debt work for you. rich dad, poor dad has great advice on this topic. i have taken great advantage of this economy's downturn to buy some amazing clothing as super discounted prices (ty choosy beggar for helping in that pursuit), put it on plastic and will pay it off when the market turns around. no way i am not going to seize on the many discounts to be had.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to build up credit card debt, good economy or bad. Credit card interest rates are typically north of 20%--virtually impossible to get that kind of return on money you are saving or investing. Clothes are pure discretionary spending--they become almost worthless as soon as you take the tags off (this is not to knock shopping for clothes--merely to note it is a different sort of purchase than a house, which may increase in value over time). Buy what you can afford and pay off your credit card debt promptly!
ReplyDeleteI remember the return of layaway being a popular discussion among businesses this past holiday shopping season. It was K-Mart's main upper hand over other big house retailers. They were really pushing it and with the area I live in, Layaway was something every family did for many Christmas'. My grandmother did not stop layaway for the holiday's until about a few years ago. The kids (me included) just got to old for all those toys and plastic swords for Christmas.
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