Layaway... A good thing or a bad thing?

   In the end, my wish is for everyone to be a saavy shopper.   I think layaway is an optition that is  very attractive to many and the fee of $5.00 is a service that ensure your item is there for you.   

Layaway was big when my children were young. Everybody did it! Now I think that it's actually better than racking up charge card debt.

I use to use layaway, and I think it's handy for some people. Although the layaway fee detracts a bit from the savings of the sales.

I think layaway is a great idea and is a great thing for many people.  I recently heard that Toys r us does layaway which helps in early christmas shopping and getting what you want before its gone. It also helps hide all the gifts from the kids verses bringing it home.  Its a great idea.

For the rich like Schumer I guess Lay a way is a bad thing the $5 is probably for the storage or service itself. When I was grown up we probably wouldn't have gotten any good stuff because we couldn't buy it all at one time and it would have been sold. Schumer needs to look at the crime of the defict.

Lay away was what people did long ago when there was no such thing as credit cards.  It remains a viable purchase method for many and Schumer should worry about real issues confronting the country.

The layawa program makes people pay for the goods nad not charge so much.  Yes, they may not spend as much, but without the credit card debt they and us are in much better shape.

When I was growing up, credit cards did not exist. Layaway was the most popular way to shop except for expensive items like appliances which offered 90 days same as cash. Both were great budgeting tools for people with large families. Our family used both regularly until credit cards became common place and those options pretty much disappeared. I'm glad to hear that layaway is making a comeback.

Why is it that people will shop via catalog or online and pay "shipping and handling" fees without a second thought but object to something like a nominal $5 service charge on layaway...

Oh Marte - I don't know.  I'm kind of mixed.  I mean I wouldn't go so far as to call it usury and I think it's a smart selling strategy.  But it does appeal to those who have the most financial difficulty and some will "default." It kind of reminds me of the lottery - the odds are stacked up against you and those poor/needy tend to spend the most and therefore lose the most, so part of me feels that collectively we are setting people up for failure.

that being said, it's a wonderful option for those responsible with their money and as you said a better option vs. the expensive fees on credit cards if they are not paying their bills on time.

And a lot of stores do layaway free.  I think it's a great idea.  Walking out of a store with the item paid for is such a great feeling.  The money somone would pay for it on a credit card would make you sick. 

Marte - I do a fair amount of online shopping myself and use places that offer free shipping as much as possible. We are in a small resort town on the beach so convenience is important to me. I've done my share of driving an hour (or more) trying to pack all my shopping into one day and you're right, it is exhausting.

My comparison about shipping costs was aimed at the bozos Senators who started this. Would people be better off shopping online or catalog with a credit card and paying shipping charges (possibly twice if the item had to be returned or exchanged). The Senators don't seem to realize that not everyone has a credit card and for some people, layaway is the only option available to them. As mentioned in #5 and #6, there are far more important issues in our country that need attention. 

I also remember the Christmas Club savings accounts - wonder if they will come back next? My mother had a charge card for Kaufman's, the "nice" store in town and sometimes she would send me to town to buy something for her with it...and yes, I took the bus alone and the store let me use the card with no questions asked...