54% seems really high
This article just screams clickbait, from how they play fast & loose with their numbers, yet never seem to define their terms, etc.
Approximately 60% of the consumers PYMNTS Intelligence recently surveyed for a new report said pay later plans help them facilitate better budgeting.
It’s a survey result. From PYMNTS Intelligence. Not “general Western-world customers” as the title would lead us to believe.
Take with a massive grain of salt. I understand less after reading it than I did before clicking:-(.
That’s kind of what I thought after I saw the website, just because I have never heard of them.
What is this photo? She doesn’t look like she’s kneeling but the top of the cart is above her shoulders.
She’s kinda squatting in place and steadying herself with the cart.
Either that or it’s AI and physics doesn’t apply.
AI generated image? It has that feel to me.
Maybe if they hired a genz model for the shot they could afford groceries.
That’s not good because generally plans like this have interest. If a person pays 3% monthly in 4 payments it might not seem like much, but if 100 Million people do it then we’ve got a big fucking problem.
Although, in theory, stores could use a 0% plan to compete with other stores.
It’s not just the interest in this case.
Everytime you do it, it opens a new line of credit.
There are people who use this shit everywhere it’s offered, but opening a bunch of small lines of credit, hurts your score more even when you pay them off on time.
The positive for paying it doesn’t get you back up to the negative of opening the new line. So the longer this goes on, the lower your credit score. If you’re needing to use it routinely for groceries you’re going to eventually need credit for a big thing.
Which is often the first people hear that they’ve destroyed their credit.
Like, there’s “smart” ways to use credit, but people think because it’s paid off in full on time, they’re helping it or at least breaking even.
That logic is for an existing line of credit you keep charging against and paying, not opening 20+ lines a year
That’s good information, thank you for sharing it.
Personally, while I’m fully aware of how credit scores can be used in a form of class warfare that restricts where people can live and what they can get loans to purchase, I’ve never really relied on them for anything and managed to get by just fine. I recommend people stay away from large banks and learn how to create their own financial statements, assets and liabilities statements, and plans before going in to ask for a loan. I’m not a big spender or investor but the largest loan I’ve received so far was on a $240,000 property for a 15 year duration.
Fuck the system, freeze your reports!
You get credit checked when applying as a tenant for rented accommodation and even for some jobs. It’s not just about loans. A $240,000 property loan is inconceivable for me, and I have a pretty high paying job, because my credit report is all kinds of fucked up.
Layaway coming back en vogue is a sign of a bad economy
This makes no sense to me, this effectively seems like a loan to me which is useful if you have a single large payment that you want to kind of spread the load on your account by turning it into a recurring payment over some amount of time, but groceries are a recurring payment already so what does this do other than make you pay interest on top? By the time you’ve paid off the first one you’ve probably bought groceries three more times.
My credit card offers 0% interest on terms 3-12 months with any purchase over $75. You also often get offers like this at checkout for most online purchases these days. I would hope that’s where most of this is coming from.
They’re a “good deal.”
The catch is budgeting for this. It’s very easy to have these little purchases snowball on you if you do it for literally everything like is being pushed by creditors. If you don’t take the full amount of the purchases out of your budget, and then spend that extra cash, then all of a sudden next month when you’ve got a $200 payment due on groceries and your Amazon purchase, you’re short. Then you can’t pay your credit card in full, and have to roll over the balance and start paying interest. That’s the game they’re playing here.
Do this over several months and the payments can really add up quickly. If you don’t have an actual budget process, you can get yourself in a bind really quickly.
I have so many questions. Why is that cart so tall? Why is that bread just sitting in there. That’s a bit gross. Do they clean the carts? Bloody bag the peppers.
Please, for the love of God, stop. The infinite consumerism beast will eventually swallow itself whole - don’t feed the beast with personal debt. If you can secure a line of credit from a bank for necessities it’s far less likely to death spiral your finances.
Obviously, this isn’t your fault - the economy is currently fucking over everyone but the wealthy… it’s just hitting you the hardest because you don’t have savings to cushion your landing.
