Money Fix: Layaway vs. buying with cash
This holiday season, it won't be hard to find stores offering layaway. You can snap up hot items, stick them in layaway and pay later. Seems smart, but is it? The experts say, it depends. These shoppers are at the Roosevelt Field Mall in Garden City. Credit: Steve Pfost, 2011
Retailers will do just about anything to get you to spend money. This holiday season it won't be hard to find stores offering layaway. You can snap up hot items, stick them in layaway and pay later. Seems smart, but is it?
"Layaway works on the same principle as credit cards; they both help consumers spend more money than shopping with cash," says Michael Kresh, a certified financial planner with Creative Wealth Management in Islandia.
While layaway helps people with no credit or limited credit budget and plan their holiday spending, there's homework to be done.
