Walmart recently announced it’s done away with its layaway in favor of a buy-now-pay-later option. Or, as the law calls it, a loan. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
Just in time for what is normally lay-away season for Christmas gifts, which is to say, almost Halloween, Walmart announced it’s doing away with its lay-away in favor of what it calls a “buy-now-pay-later” option by partnering with Affirm, one in a growing list of point-of-sale loan companies. The good news is, unlike layaway where you don’t get the merchandise until you’ve paid the balance, you do get the goods at the time of the transaction. The bad news is that by Christmas, you may have already lost the merch but still have to pay for it.
And unlike layaway, it’s particularly easy to overspend, especially because you’ll pay interest on the loan, although according to Affirm the interest is fixed and won’t compound. Still, you should calculate the price plus the interest and then decide if you’ll still be talking to the guy you’re buying a gift for now by the time Christmas rolls around.
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