Layaway – Your Thoughts?

by Briana Carter on October 22, 2009

I remember as a kid, putting things in layaway seemed to be the thing to do. This was before store credit cards and you could easily put things you wanted aside and make weekly payments. Plus, in my mom’s case, it seemed to be a good way to hide gifts until it was closer to the holiday or birthday.

I’ve been hearing about stores bringing layaway back. I don’t hear of as many people using it as previously. Stores, like Kmart are even offering a online layaway program. Layaway does offer an advantage over store credit cards for people with unfavorable credit or those who don’t want to risk racking up high credit card bills.

Depending on the store’s policies, here’s some thoughts to consider:

Do they offer price adjustments?
What happens if you miss a payment?
Can you cancel your layaway without any penalty?
Are there any costs to initiate layaway?
Any other fees/costs to consider?

So, what are your thoughts? Do you use it? Do you find it beneficial?

Tagged as: layaway

comments { 9 Comments }

Mary G - October 22, 2009 @ 1:07 pm 1

I think layaway is a great option for those who want/need help controlling their shopping budgets, especially around the holidays. I’m interested to hear what others think!
Jenn - October 22, 2009 @ 2:47 pm 2

Layaway can be a good option for people who don’t have the means to store their gifts, or who don’t plan ahead by budgeting their shopping through out the year. I personally won’t be using layaway. We have plenty of room to store gifts, and because of the great toy clearance Kmart have a few months ago, my shopping is basically done. We also put money up every week into a Christmas fund, so having the cash when the time comes is not a problem. You have to be disciplined to keep out of those christmas funds, but it’s worth it to know where the money will come from.
Brandy - October 22, 2009 @ 2:54 pm 3

I use to work in layaway at meijer and my customers loved it and miss it . I actually don’t miss it because if i don’t have the money for stuff i won’t spend it on the things i don’t really need.Which i was doing. We did offer price adjustments.We didn’t worry when people missed a payment.We did penalize them when they would return a layaway though that was i think $6 .It was 10% down of your total.
Mary A. - October 22, 2009 @ 4:12 pm 4

I remember when I was a kid and my mom used to use Layaway at Walmart to hide the big things that she was getting us. I also remember them being so disorganized that they lost the last Layaway that she ever put in. I won’t be using Layaway because I budgeted and started early. I think that if the store has a good track record of not misplacing Layaways it is a good thing for families to use to help budget themselves buying Christmas.
Christina @ Northern Cheapskate - October 22, 2009 @ 6:02 pm 5

I think that if you can find the discipline to make layaway payments, then you can learn to budget for the holidays in advance. Many of these layaway programs are designed with the retailer in mind… NOT the customer. I prefer to earn interest on savings rather than pay a big box store (or credit card company) fees or interest!
Vicki Hornsby - October 23, 2009 @ 9:30 am 6

I was very upset when Walmart in my area decided to close the lay-away department. I can remember my mother using lay-away at Kmart and other stores for years. I have used it many times, when trying to buy Christmas or school clothes for my son and grandchildren.
I am very glad to hear that Kmart is bringing it back and I am planning on using it this year.
Amy - October 25, 2009 @ 12:27 am 7

I will sometimes shop at Kmart, because they have layaway and Walmart doesn’t. With four children it comes in handy.
Jessica - October 25, 2009 @ 4:08 pm 8

I’m a bit upset about a few of the first comments, for a lot of family’s it’s not about budgeting or discipline, but simply not having the money to set aside. We have 3 children, my husband works 2 jobs, and we live paycheck to paycheck. Lay away is a blessing for our family. My kids don’t get expensive things, and their only getting 3 toys each so being able to afford $20 every 2 weeks is a lot easier for us to afford (even though it’s difficult to pay that) than setting aside that money throughout the year when we need it to pay bills. I’ve already put our gifts on layaway, so were all set for this year.
Amber Cooper - October 26, 2009 @ 2:55 pm 9

My mother always used layaway when I was younger. I am excited to hear that some stores are bringing it back. I think it is a great way to ensure that you can get the items you want before they sell-out and you won’t have to worry about that holiday rush. Personally, for me, it has NOTHING to do with budgeting or being disciplined with my money, but more of a convinience for me and my family. We don’t have any room to store items in hiding and I would rather get the super-fantastic-awesome-going-to-be-sold-out-come-holiday-season-toy now and pay the store the money I was going to be setting aside for it anyway than be in a panic during Christmas-time because I can’t find it.