Retail Stores Christmas 2012 layaway policies

Did you know that Christmas is coming on Tuesday  December 25, 2012 this year.  

Christmas is not an emergency.  You should be planning a budget on how you are planning to pay for it. Don’t use credit cards to make purchases unless you can pay it off right away. It wasn't long ago that layaway was a fading cultural fad, right up there with the typewriter or the phonebook.  Luckily many retail stores are offering layaway as an option these days

Walmart  Christmas 2012  Layaway polices.

Cancelled since 2006, Walmart's layaway program  comes back from September 16 to December 14. The retail giant is sweetening the pot by lowering  its Christmas layaway plan fee from $15 to $5. Once the item is fully paid for, Walmart will give the consumer a $5 gift card.  Minimum purchase amount is $50 with $15 min per item.   Check all the details here   at Walmart

Toys-R-Us   Layaway policies

The nation's largest toy retailer has already rolled out its holiday layaway plan, and it has a sweetener of its own. Toys-R-Us layaway is open now, and won't place service fees on layaway items ordered by October 31. The retailer wants 20% down on any layaway item; 50% paid within 45 days, and everything paid in full by December 16. Items ordered after October 31 comes with a $5 service fee. Stores now offer layaway on everything, 
from toys, video game systems, swing sets & more!  Sister store Babies-R-Us has the same layaway policy.

K-Mart  Christmas Holiday layaway polices

K-Mart wants $5 down to open a layaway account, and charges $10 if you cancel. You'll need to either pay $15 or 10% of the item purchase price to get rolling. K-Mart wants consumers to pay up within eight weeks of ordering a layaway item

Sears  Holiday layaway policies

Sears has pretty much the same criteria as Kmart but their down payment is   higher    and  will extend the timetable from eight weeks to 12 weeks for items that cost more than $400.

T.J. Maxx  layaway policies

The discount clothier and home furnishings retailer doesn't offer layaway in all of its stores, but the ones that do provide a 30-day layaway program with a down payment of 10% of the total cost (or $10), as well as a $5 service fee. Don't expect to place jewelry or furniture items on layaway at T.J. Maxx.

Best Buy layaway policies 

Best Buy wants more cash down on its layaway items (25% of the purchase price) than most stores, but their prices are higher, on average, than the retailers listed above. There's a 5% layaway service fee, which can add $50 to the cost of a $1,000 television.   Item must be $250 or more to be put on layaway. The retailer offers an eight-week and a 12-week layaway payment period.

Layaway plans are fine for consumers looking to spread payments out over the course of a month or two. But they can jack up the overall price of an item once you factor in service fees.  You should be paying in cash or using your debit card so you don’t increase your credit card balance.