Got a prison record, we don't care.
Don't have a job, we don't care.
You don't expect to pay us, THAT'S when we care!
Posted on 10/21/2014 8:49:47 AM PDT by knak
CULLMAN, Ala. — The love seat and sofa that Jamie Abbott can’t quite afford ended up in her double-wide trailer because of the day earlier this year when she and her family walked into a new store called Buddy’s. Abbott had no access to credit, no bank account and little cash, but here was a place that catered to exactly those kinds of customers. Anything could be hers. The possibilities — and the prices — were dizzying.
At Buddy’s, a used 32-gigabyte, early model iPad costs $1,439.28, paid over 72 weeks. An Acer laptop: $1,943.28, in 72 weekly installments. A Maytag washer and dryer: $1,999 over 100 weeks.
Abbott wanted a love seat-sofa combo, and she knew it might rip her budget. But this, she figured, was the cost of being out of options. “You don’t get something like that just to put more burden on yourself,” Abbott said.
Five years into a national economic recovery that has further strained the poor working class, an entire industry has grown around handing them a lifeline to the material rewards of middle-class life. Retailers in the post-Great Recession years have become even more likely to work with customers who don’t have the money upfront, instead offering a widening spectrum of payment plans that ultimately cost far more and add to the burdens of life on the economy’s fringes.
The poor today can shop online, paying in installments, or walk into traditional retailers such as Kmart that now offer in-store leasing. The most striking change in the world of low-income commerce has been the proliferation of rent-to-own stores such as Buddy’s Home Furnishings, which has been opening a new store every week, largely in the South.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yeah, but that actually takes work.
...which is one of the reasons they are poor.
At least not until she fails to pay the vig...
Got a prison record, we don't care.
Don't have a job, we don't care.
You don't expect to pay us, THAT'S when we care!
>> One night, the group split up in several teams to play a game we called bigger and better. Each team was given a paper clip and a street name. We would start at one end, knock on a door and say that we’re playing a game and could they trade our paper clip for something bigger and better. Within an hour, we came back with a couch. For the cost of a paperclip.<<
Great game idea! You know, that story about the guy who started with a paper clip and ended up with a house is true...
>>You are fortunate the you and your wife agree on saving for what you want. I know so many couples where one saves and the other one borrows and spends, and it always causes trouble.<<
The reason my ex-wife is ex...
Being poor requires a continuous stream of bad decisions. Low IQ, lack of self discipline and laziness make those bad decisions easy to make.
Idiots.
That is why there are resale shops, thrift shops, yard sales, flea markets and assorted other ways to get used items. Not so nice looking? Make a damn cover for it.
That’s why if you could magically transfer all the money from the rich to the poor, the rich would get it all back within a year.
That’s why reparations is a moot idea...it won’t change the wealth at all.
I’ve said, for over two decades, “It is expensive to be poor in the U.S.”
Yeah for some things that you only need for a short period of time it is okay.
Like renting a washer might be cheaper than going to the laundry mat in the short run but it is still better to find a good used washer or buy a cheaper model without all the extra settings.
We got a wonderful sofa at the local charity thrift store for 75. We kept it over ten years until new cat tore it up. We went back and got a fantastic leather couch for $200 (and they had several more perfectly good couches on offer for less ).
But, then some asswipe leftist comes along and does the math, points it out and somehow it becomes OUR fault that they have no impulse control, no money, etc. And the answer is to take more of OUR money.
It gets so tiring.
Because they've been told they're ENTITLED
Yea, but he had a red paper clip, not an ordinary silver one. Huge advantage.
Depending on one’s budget and location, consignment stores are a good way to find quality furniture at a reasonable cost. In the DFW area, yard/rummage/garage sales in the more affluent neighborhoods are also a good way to find good furniture at an equally good price. If you don’t mind a ding or two, scratch-and-dent places are good for new appliance with minor issues with the finish. The other posters are correct, it just takes some work and a little effort to find something within a person’s price range.
Being this stupid should be painful. Maybe then she would learn a lesson....
Nothing new. I went into a rent-to-own store in Dallas years ago to rent a small black and white TV while my larger TV was being repaired. It would cost more to rent than to buy a new one on the spot. I turned around and walked right out.
They’re not stupid, just indifferent. After all, it’s not their money they’re spending so why should they give a hoot? When that’s gone they’ll just whine for more.
Yep. I would never buy a used car at a place that said bad credit is no problem. It mens the prices are way too high.
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