{"id":915367,"date":"2020-08-16T16:57:24","date_gmt":"2020-08-16T21:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=915367"},"modified":"2020-08-17T16:57:00","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T21:57:00","slug":"bbb-tips-for-making-payments-in-installments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/?p=915367","title":{"rendered":"BBB: Tips for Making Payments in Installments"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"TYLER — It’s back-to-school time, and many online shops are offering pay in installment services which target high school and college-age buyers.\u00c2\u00a0These buy-now-pay-later services are new and quickly gaining in popularity. They allow shoppers to purchase just about anything \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from electronics to a pair of shoes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by agreeing to pay a series of smaller installments. Of course, as with any financing option, consumers should do a little research before signing up, so they can make informed purchasing decisions and avoid getting in over their heads. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Paying in installments could help you stay within budget,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Mechele Agbayani Mills, President and CEO of BBB Serving Central East Texas. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153However, before choosing to do so, make sure you do your research to determine if it actually helps your family\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s finances long-term.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n

How Paying in Installments Works<\/p>\n

As you start the checkout process with an online store, you notice that in addition to the option to pay with a debit or credit card, you can choose to pay for your purchase in a specified number of installments. The opportunity to split up payments is appealing to many shoppers, but especially younger shoppers who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t tend to have and use traditional credit cards.<\/p>\n

Most of the time, this option comes from a third-party financing company that makes money by charging retailers a small percentage of each sale made through their financing options and by collecting late fees and interest from consumers. Interest rates on pay in installment purchases can range between 0% to 30%, depending on your credit history and the retailer. Installments can last for as little as a few weeks or as long as 39 months. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll likely need to be approved by the financing company before you can take advantage of an installment payment plan.<\/p>\n

Pay in Installment Smart Shopping Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t forget you are borrowing money.\u00c2\u00a0Even though many installment payment services come with only a few small payments and zero-percent interest, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s critical you keep in mind you are still borrowing money to enjoy a product before you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve paid for it in full. Ask yourself if paying the total price means spending more than you can actually afford, and make your decision accordingly.
\nStick to your budget.\u00c2\u00a0Think about how bi-weekly or monthly payments could affect your budget \u00e2\u20ac\u201c even if the payments seem small. Will they cut into the funds you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve set aside for necessary expenses, such as your rent or groceries?<\/p>\n

Read the fine print<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before you sign up to pay in installments, be sure you understand exactly how the service works. Find out what company is financing your purchase, how long you have to pay off the purchase and in how many installments, how they handle late payments, and how much interest you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be charged, if any.<\/p>\n

Get to know the financing company<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you do decide to take advantage of an installment payment plan, look up the financing company on\u00c2\u00a0BBB.org\u00c2\u00a0to make sure they are a reputable company with honest business practices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TYLER — It’s back-to-school time, and many online shops are offering pay in installment services which target high school and college-age buyers.\u00c2\u00a0These buy-now-pay-later services are new and quickly gaining in popularity. They allow shoppers to purchase just about anything \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from electronics to a pair of shoes \u00e2\u20ac\u201c by agreeing to pay a series of … Continue reading BBB: Tips for Making Payments in Installments<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":817314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-915367","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-07-03 07:29:27","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915367","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/62"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=915367"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":915368,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/915367\/revisions\/915368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/817314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=915367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=915367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=915367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}