The Use of Layaway

     Can you afford to buy all your Christmas gifts at one time? I know I cannot.  This is why I use the layaway program offered through Sears and K-Mart.  I love layaway because I am allowed to put as little as 10% down for the items I wish to put on layaway.  Since Sears and K-Mart are sister stores, the layaway program remains the same at either store.  Not only does Sear and K-Mart offer layaway in store but also online.  This is a very convenient way to shop for merchandise for Christmas, birthdays, or back to school items.  With two small children, I cannot afford to pay for many items with cash, hence the use of layaway.

     Next, the best thing about layaway through Sears and K-mart is that every piece of merchandise except clearance items is offered for the layaway program. However some stipulations apply to this layaway program. For instance, there is a requirement of a five dollar non-refundable processing fee and 10% or 20 dollars down, whatever one is higher, on your first layaway.  Also, one has eight weeks to pay the layaway in full, which means making a required payment every two weeks. This equals a total of four payments over eight weeks.  On the other hand, if a person decided to cancel their layaway a 15 dollar charge is imposed, but the rest of the payments that were applied to the layaway are refunded.  Does this program sound like something you might be interested in?

     Currently, Wal-Mart will be reinstating their layaway program on October 16, 2011 and will run through the holiday season until December 16, 2011. As of right now, this layaway program only consists of toys and electronics. It has been said that if Wal-Mart succeeds with this program, then layaway might be extended throughout the year, instead of just during the holiday season.  The other requirements involved for this program are relatively the same as for Sears and K-Mart, with the exception of only in-store layaways, the items must be at least 15 dollars or more to eligible to layaway and the total layaway amount can be no less than 50 dollars. I agree that bringing back the layaway program to Wal-Mart may be beneficial for many people, but I do not think it will supersede the Sears and K-Mart layaway programs. To be more competitive, Wal-Mart must allow all items to be considered for layaway and it must run year round. Also, I believe layaway would be a more profitable program for Wal-Mart if they had a certain length of time that a layaway could be help just like Sears and K-Mart.

     In conclusion, I believe using a layaway program is a great way to save money and I would recommend anyone to use these programs. I am also not alone in my feelings because many other people have stated the same comments. I encourage everyone to try the layaway program this holiday season. You will never regret it. Best of luck shopping!