More Americans Are Using 'Buy Now, Pay Later' Services To Pay for Groceries (marketwatch.com) 153
The concept of "buy now, pay later" has exploded in popularity in recent years. Americans have been using this form of lending -- in which the cost of a purchase is typically divided into four payments over several weeks or months -- to buy everything from clothes to Peloton bikes. But now there is a new trend: People are using the payment method for smaller items, like groceries. From a report: Buy now, pay later -- referred to in the payments industry as BNPL -- is a new spin on the concept of layaway. It allows consumers to get the product up front, divide their payment into installments paid over a longer period with little or no interest -- as long as the make the payments on time. Common BNPL options include Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm, PayPal and Zip. In the first two months of 2023, the share of online grocery orders made using buy now, pay later grew by 40% compared with the same period a year ago, according to new data released by Adobe Analytics this week.
The overall rise in BNPL online orders, meanwhile, grew by 10% over the same period, and overall online BNPL revenue fell by 19%, meaning the average dollar amount for each order fell. This trend may be partly due to the fact that Americans are simply spending more money on groceries online. Online grocery spending grew by nearly 27% year over year to $8.4 billion in February.
'I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today (Score:5, Funny)
Wimpy
Re: 'I'd gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger t (Score:2)
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Are you talking to me? I see lots of other people around here, but I can't see any link between your words and mine or the summary's. Must be some relationship to some comment somewhere?
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they send a repo man to come get their pooperty
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Eh?
Scary (Score:5, Insightful)
Well, that is much more concerning than the banking "crisis." It is scary on a large number of levels to the point that I am not sure if I would worry more about short-term or long-term effects. Long term it seems like people are destined to destroy their credit and flexibility long-term which when you factor in a few other things going on now... just seems dangerous.
Re:Scary (Score:5, Insightful)
I'm not sure it's actually alarming. It depends on what peoples' motivation for using BNPL services is. If they're doing it because they actually can't afford to pay for their groceries now, that's an issue. If they're doing it because it's convenient and free, that's not.
It's like credit cards. You might look at a statistic that shows that a huge portion of Americans buy absolutely everything with their credit card, and assume that it means they can't afford to live, when in fact they're just optimizing for managing cash flow and maximizing loyalty points.
Re:Scary (Score:5, Insightful)
It's like credit cards. You might look at a statistic that shows that a huge portion of Americans buy absolutely everything with their credit card, and assume that it means they can't afford to live, when in fact they're just optimizing for managing cash flow and maximizing loyalty points.
Even considering your analogy, it is still alarming. Considering how poorly average people manage their credit card bills, the mere existence and usage of buy now pay later grocery systems makes it more likely people will manage them poorly.
The article said interest rates in these programs are very high, but didn't mention if they are higher than credit cards. Since anyone managing this poorly would likely also not manage their credit cards well, so I guess it's only a big problem if the rates are higher than credit card rates.
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It's like credit cards. You might look at a statistic that shows that a huge portion of Americans buy absolutely everything with their credit card, and assume that it means they can't afford to live, when in fact they're just optimizing for managing cash flow and maximizing loyalty points.
Even considering your analogy, it is still alarming. Considering how poorly average people manage their credit card bills, the mere existence and usage of buy now pay later grocery systems makes it more likely people will manage them poorly.
The article said interest rates in these programs are very high, but didn't mention if they are higher than credit cards. Since anyone managing this poorly would likely also not manage their credit cards well, so I guess it's only a big problem if the rates are higher than credit card rates.
I've never missed a credit card payment, or paid interest on my card. However I can still see how easy it would be to fail to keep up with credit card payments religiously.
Re:Scary (Score:4, Interesting)
Many of the BNPL schemes incentivise you to use them, eg by offering discounts or some other perk. If you're going to be buying the goods anyway, it seems foolish not to use the most beneficial payment scheme available.
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I also don't use them unless they are for x months interest free.
I pay my CC's off monthly, and if I find a deal with the x months interest free, like for large purchases, I have the cash on hand (I save to buy my toys)....I put that in the bank to earn some interest and do the float.
I may
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Don't blame the poor for this. It's a statistical fact that wages have been falling relatively to inflation adjusted prices. Not just the price of food and other essentials, the cost of renting too.
If some of them were tricked into thinking that working hard at their shitty job would yield just rewards, that's not their fault either.
It's because they can't pay (Score:2)
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Re: It's because they can't pay (Score:2)
Interesting. Do they run a hard credit check when you sign up?
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It's like credit cards. You might look at a statistic that shows that a huge portion of Americans buy absolutely everything with their credit card, and assume that it means they can't afford to live, when in fact they're just optimizing for managing cash flow and maximizing loyalty points.
Especially if one pays off the credit card entirely each month (like I do). It's basically a convenient alternative to cash, with a free one-month float on the money.
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We don't have nearly enough data resolution to draw conclusions here.
How do we know that people aren't using this to even out monthly spend on groceries over a month, rather than having two big spikes of payment per month?
Example: you do your grocery shopping twice a month, buying two weeks worth of stuff. You also have rent and a car payment in there, and don't want it to all fall in the first week of the month and drain your bank account until your next payday, so you pay for your food shopping through 4
Re:Scary (Score:5, Interesting)
Even if what you say is true, I would argue if its the case (all the data suggests it is) the so many American's have so little in the way of savings they need shift basic expected outlays for things like groceries to preserve working cash-flow - that is already a serious problem.
That is a household on the brink of financial ruin if they experience even a brief disruption on the income side.
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Again, not necessarily.
For example, my wife and I use our American Express for just about every purchase we can, out of convenience. And we pay it off completely every single month, so American Express doesn't make a single dime in interest. Yet, on some rollup report somewhere, that probably contributes to "massive credit card spend" even though it's essentially equivalent to a cash purchase with a pile of airline miles added on for literally nothing.
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I get that I do the same thing I run just about everything over one card or the other to capture rewards points.
From a cash-flow perspective that actually makes for more spiky account balances not less as I end up paying for an entire months worth of purchases (of all kinds all at once). I was specifically reacting to the suggestion that people were using BPN because they are trying to spread two "large" grocery bills out over 4 weeks rather than two. (Not many people get paid weekly to begin with but..).
My
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From a cash-flow perspective that actually makes for more spiky account balances not less
It might move in big chunks, but you would perpetually have a minimum of a month's expenses sitting in your bank account as float even after paying the statement balance.
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For some stupid reason I watch my credit report religiously. I haven't carried a balance on a credit card in at least 30 years, but I use 5-8% of my available credit every month which actually dings my credit report. A few of the cards are starting to have more reasonable limits relative to my needs, but most are pretty stupidly low given my situation. There are financial "warning signs" with my activities, but the credit reports don't see them. (90% of my spending goes to paying off my house and taxes;
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How do we know that people aren't using this to even out monthly spend on groceries over a month, rather than having two big spikes of payment per month?
The reason I don't pay too much attention to that possibility is even if it's true today that doesn't mean a year from now it'll still be true.
I worry about how dark things could turn when acquisition of stuff moves from greed to survival. Things like being mugged in a grocery story parking lot over bread as opposed to a shiny phone. I'll concede, though, that my fears here aren't based on stats or anything empirical.
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Well, in many if not most US states, it's pretty easy to get a carry conceal license.
My motto is like the one American Express uses...
"Don't leave home without it".
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Oh good.. I can endanger my family and my neighbors, too.
I am sorry for being flippant, but it's not my favorite option. I don't see that as an effective deterrent. I'm not even super confident that if I were armed it'd help me much, surely the other person would take that into consideration while surprising me.
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Well, that is much more concerning than the banking "crisis."
Why?
This is the principle upon which credit cards work: buy now, pay in installments.
I'm not sure why this is even news. "Newsflash! People use credit cards to buy groceries, and sometimes don't pay off their credit card debt every month!!" is not news.
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My grandfather ran a general store in a small town, and most of his customers bought on credit.
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This is actually a reversion to how food stores used to work. Most grocers, butchers, bakers, etc. let their customers buy on credit and collected at the end of the month. You could pay cash, but if the owner knew you, he'd let you run a tab. In fact, the first chain grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, wasn't expected to succeed because it wouldn't let customers buy on credit.
My grandfather ran a general store in a small town, and most of his customers bought on credit.
My grandfather opened a grocery store in his small town. After he passed, my family found a box of IOUs from the store - totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. In his will, he indicated his desire for all of those IOUs to be forgiven. I love how small town folk look out for each other.
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I'm not 100% sure how US credit scores work, but... If this counts towards the score, wouldn't it be an easy way to get a good rating if you pay the bills on time?
As far as I understand it, if they don't know you, you're a higher risk than if you are a borrower that pays on time.
Might be a good way to get a favorable score when you need a mortgage.
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I'm not 100% sure how US credit scores work, but... If this counts towards the score, wouldn't it be an easy way to get a good rating if you pay the bills on time?
As far as I understand it, if they don't know you, you're a higher risk than if you are a borrower that pays on time.
Might be a good way to get a favorable score when you need a mortgage.
Each credit card issuer reports current balances to each bureau on a certain day of the month. That day is not tied to your individual due date. This report doesn't indicate whether this balance is paid off each month or if part is carried. Utilizing more than 30% of your available credit negatively impacts your credit score. The report also indicates if your payment was on time, 30-60 days late, 60-90 days late, or more than 90 days late. Late payments may stay on your credit history for up to 7 years.
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Usually revolving credit doesn't actually do much to improve your score, but it is some kind of history at least.
Re: Scary (Score:2)
It's generally not reported to credit bureaus. It's one of the well-known drawbacks of most BNPL services.
And so it ends (Score:5, Insightful)
If people buy their bread on installments, the hunger riots ain't far off.
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If people buy their bread on installments, the hunger riots ain't far off.
Depends on why they're buying their bread on installments. A key point here is that most of these BNPL schemes are zero-interest (if paid on time). Many people who can afford to pay now will always choose to pay later if given the option in a way that's convenient and free. I'm one of them.
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The interest rates are going up, so keeping your money a few more weeks actually results in (albeit still small) earnings of interest. It's free money, why would you refuse it?
Re:And so it ends (Score:5, Insightful)
No way. No fucking way.
Miss a single payment and whatever you were "saving" is out the window, along with more. And that can easily happen, and it needn't even be you forgetting about it. Break a leg, have to go to the hospital for a week or have for some weird reason not the correct amount of dough in your checking account.
Nope. Gimme the goods, here's your money. Never credit. Never ever.
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Ok I give up.
What is "NBC stuff"?
Are they going to throw Lester Holt at us?
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Nuclear, Biological, Chemical.
The troll is fantasizing about using weapons of mass destruction on his neighbors.
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There's an old (and quite racist) joke with the punchline "and your third problem, you bring knives to a gunfight".
The new US version is probably "you bring assault rifles to a drone fight".
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Is that the contemporary version of "have them eat cake"?
I don't know whether I should tell you how that went down.
It works for the government... (Score:2)
Too bad these people can't print money and inflate it (and your retirement) away.
Food insecurity is nothing new (Score:5, Insightful)
Economists will talk about why we don't using various euphemisms. If you strip them away what you're left with is this:
Maintaining a certain amount of unemployment and desperation keeps worker bargaining power low and with it wages. The Milton Friedman crowd likes this. They say the human suffering is an acceptable loss in exchange for the ability to control inflation.
Why no, none of them ever ask about controlling inflation by increasing supply via public works when private companies fail to meet demand or by restricting money supply by taxing high income earners and giving zero interest loans to middle and low income earners instead of banks and billionaires. Why do you ask?
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Why no, none of them ever ask about controlling inflation by increasing supply via public works when private companies fail to meet demand
Why no, none of them ever ask why private companies suddenly can't meet demand when they had previously. Kicking over that rock leads to all sorts of world view disruption when you find a bunch of fucking government staring you in the face.
They've never met that demand (Score:5, Insightful)
We let kids go hungry, with a substantial number of Americans saying it "builds character". Science says otherwise, so they gave up on science and now demand we stop teaching it in schools. They call it Critical Race Theory and Woke, using those terms to describe everything they dislike, just like they did with "Political Correctness" a generation earlier.
Same shit, different day.
Re:They've never met that demand (Score:4, Insightful)
Don't forget there's Prosperity Theology - which teaches that if you're rich it means God loves you, and if you're poor, well it's probably that Someone doesn't like you very much. Yes, it's a fringe theology; well it used to be fringe but there are some big name teleevangelists who very much seem in that mold, and at least one Grade A prosperity theology preacher invited to the White House, so they have some clout.
I wouldn't call it a fringe theory (Score:2, Insightful)
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From what I understand, not a lot of kids in the USA going hungry short of what I'd call a distribution problem, not a finance problem. And only particular assholes go on about it "building character" short of the occasional missed meal here and there(so hungry, not actually starving).
And yeah, I know about conservatives being so against CRT and "wokeness" while crit-failing any ability to actually define it. I mean, I can assign definitions to it, but I'm more libertarian than conservative, and as a resu
Re: They've never met that demand (Score:2)
"woke"-ness is a theological principle in the right-wing cult, akin to Satan in the bible. It is the source of all evil and anything undesirable is labeled as the work of "woke"-ness.
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Maintaining a certain amount of unemployment and desperation keeps worker bargaining power low and with it wages. The Milton Friedman crowd likes this. They say the human suffering is an acceptable loss in exchange for the ability to control inflation.
I can't help but think that while there's shades of truth to this, there's a lot of context missing here. To me, there needs to be balance in all things. So, businesses shouldn't be able to hold workers over a barrelhead, but neither should employees be able to hold their employers over one either.
As such, a certain level of unemployment is indeed good - what you could call "frictional" unemployment, plus unemployment for the "negative productivity" types. Those who do more harm by working than not. If
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> Maintaining a certain amount of unemployment and desperation keeps worker bargaining power low and with it wages.
Do open borders and flooding the unskilled labor market to keep minimum wages low count as a "dick move" in your world?
> In principle, yes. But since I tug Biden's dick I'm anti border, so... No.
This confirms everything I thought.
Bullshit (Score:5, Insightful)
We stopped doing what it takes to have a fictional capitalist country and then we bitch and moan that we don't have a functional capitalist county. We're like a dumb rich kid skipping the oil changes on the Ferrari Daddy bought us.
Keynes [Re:Food insecurity is nothing new] (Score:4, Informative)
Because Maynard Keynes (whom you seem to be channeling) was a fucking moron, and his policies (which you are suggesting)
I don't think you understood the post you're responding to. No, John Maynard Keynes did not advocate a policy of "taxing high income earners".
For reference, a reasonable summary of Keynesian economics can be found at investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/t... [investopedia.com]
have always led to market crashes whenever applied.
I would like to see a credible citation to that statement "his policies have always led to market crashes whenever applied." I haven't seen any evidence of this.
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To expand upon this a bit, one can certainly reach "tax high income earners" as one of the tools in keynesian economists' chest.
The problem with "led to market crashes whenever applied" is that we've had a lot fewer market crashes since he did his economics, even as politicians have difficulty applying his actual advice.
To be clear, this isn't a failure like Marx, where he did a lousy job of predicting people in general. For Keynesian economics, it's specifically the politicians who tend to only apply half
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Because Maynard Keynes (whom you seem to be channeling) was a fucking moron, and his policies (which you are suggesting)
I don't think you understood the post you're responding to. No, John Maynard Keynes did not advocate a policy of "taxing high income earners".
For reference, a reasonable summary of Keynesian economics can be found at investopedia: https://www.investopedia.com/t... [investopedia.com]
Yes, in general keynesists can be divided into two categories: those who think the money for that huge spending programs they want comes from taxes, and those who think it comes from the Tooth Fairy. Quoting the link you gave: "Based on his theory, Keynes advocated for increased government expenditures and lower taxes to stimulate blah blah blah..." - yeah whoever wrote this is definitely the Tooth Fairy Keynesist, and so are you.
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When you put it that way, it boils down to Friedman's economics and Tooth Fairy Keynesian economics being identical.
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Makes sense (Score:5, Interesting)
Aren't these just another hidden fee scam? At first glance it looks better than carrying a balance on your credit card, until you miss a payment...
However given the rate of inflation, if you can get an interest-free loan on groceries and stock up now, you'll end up ahead when the prices go up even more in 6 months. So it kind of makes sense.
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If you have good credit (Score:2)
If you have good credit and no worry about paying, one should always use BNPL systems when given the choice. 0% loans are a great deal, that money can be used for other purposes.
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Especially since money is becoming less valuable per unit over time (definition of inflation).
For example, with interest rates where they currently are, there's no fucking way I'm making extra principle payments on my home loan which is sitting at a fixed ~2%. The bank can eat the inflation loss while I put that extra money into an investment that pays back at or above inflation rates.
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These are short term loans for small amounts... what are you gonna do with the money in that timeframe, generate couch change in interest?
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I generally average around $1k on the credit card each month. If this enables me to keep $1k extra in my investments, that's ~$100/year extra to me.
It might not be much, which is why people specify "easy", but it's easy money and has other benefits like improved credit score, an evening effect on bills, etc...
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For certain goods yes. A general rule of credit is that the thing should at least last as long as the credit terms. So if you're buying a cell phone and have BNPL for say, 2 years, that's fine as long as you keep cellphones for longer than two years. But given groceries are typically eaten within a couple of weeks, this is really po
General rule of thumb... (Score:2)
I agree with your general rule of thumb, but in making it more specific to things like groceries, I think that you need to consider billing cycles.
For example, I technically do full up "buy now pay later" because by default I put all my groceries on my credit card. Which I then pay in full every month. So I could buy food, eat it that night, and not be paying for it(as in coming out of my checking account) for almost 45 days.
So, in general, even for consumable goods, I think that rounding to the nearest b
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There could be situations where this is a smart move. Let's say you're poor and live in a food desert with no car. You could either walk to the Dollar General and pay massively overinflated prices for small quantities every week or you could pay to have a month of groceries delivered from further away and pay over time. Even after paying for delivery, you are almost sure to still come out ahead. Even if you do it every month.
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If you have good credit and no worry about paying, one should always use BNPL systems when given the choice. 0% loans are a great deal, that money can be used for other purposes.
In principle, yes. In practice the sums of money you can earn are tiny enough to be irrelevant (Postponing grocery payment for a month? That'll be what, dozen cents? tops), and God help you if you miss a payment.
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People with good credit generally get that good credit by NOT overusing credit of any kind, but rather, buying things that you actually have money to buy. They don't engage in gimmicks, but follow their grandparents' tried and true financial advice.
Not a good idea (Score:4, Insightful)
Buy stuff frequently (like groceries) and the due date those split payments becomes frequent and unrelenting. Any convenience disappears in weeks. The likes of Klarna know that and they know too they can rape people on late fees when it happens
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I never said anything about reminders. The reality is these systems are designed to get people in over their heads so they can't furnish their constant debts and can be hit with fees and/or more expensive forms of debt like loans. Here is an article that spells out [ramseysolutions.com] how they operate.
Klarna and its ilk are just exploitative and toxic.
Re: Not a good idea (Score:5, Insightful)
Imagine buying groceries once a week and the payment is split into 4 weekly payments. But next week you do the same, and the next week, and the next week. Before long you're furnishing 4 payments every week, like some glorified musical round of debt. You're no better off than if you just paid in cash. Except that if you miss a single payment, for whatever reason, you are fucked. The likes of Klarna know it and this is their entire profit model - screwing over people who can least afford to be screwed over - by enticing them with superficial payments that soon stack up.
Not enough info (Score:2)
Since this is specifically about online grocery orders, I have to wonder if the rise is really due to financial insecurity... or just to these online stores shoving these BNPL options front and center. Whenever I buy something on Amazon, for instance, the site "helpfully" includes that option on every page.
Personally, I buy groceries (and other things as well) on my credit card whenever I can. But I also pay it off in full that same month, which lets me take advantage of the card's cash back feature without
Dumb like a fox? (Score:2)
Taking out low-to-zero interest loans could be a good way to make inflation work for you, especially if your wages keep up.
That is a pretty bad warning sign (Score:3)
You do not pay for small stuff like groceries in that way because you want to. You do it if you have to. Seems the average US citizen is sliding deeper into poverty.
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You do not pay for small stuff like groceries in that way because you want to. You do it if you have to. Seems the average US citizen is sliding deeper into poverty.
LOL. Okay. You really think that "broke destitute hunger-ridden, and most importantly: insolvent" person is the average customer a 0% interest rate credit service is targetted at? Keep dreaming. In the meantime, people are immigrating from Europe to the USA, not the other way around.
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In the meantime, people are immigrating from Europe to the USA, not the other way around.
Huh.
As an American who emigrated to Europe, I guess that’s good to know
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Yep, keep telling yourself that. That fantasy is the only thing you still have going for your country.
Safeway (Score:4, Interesting)
Do you know why Safeway is called that [wikipedia.org]? Because prior to the Great Depression, buying groceries on credit was quite common. General stores would extend credit to people of good repute as well, you've probably seen scenes like that in old Western movies.
So with our 21st century hindsight we know what happened. During the Great Depression there was an extended *deflationary* period. Instead of being beneficial, groceries on credit were now aggravating the crisis because customers had to pay off the loan with money that was now hard to come by as opposed to "easy" during more inflationary periods. Doing a strictly "cash and carry" business was the "safe way" to buy groceries because while you might not be able to afford a steak, at least you knew you wouldn't go in to debt over the hamburger you walked out with.
Later on, Safeway opposed integration and came down against the Black Panthers and the UFW. I didn't know that part of their story, so I learned something today too.
Always take free/cheap credit (Score:2)
That 2% car loan will always beat inflation and you can often get free installment payments. In the meantime, you can at least keep money in credit union and get a little interest, or invest in an index fund, or have a little extra for unforeseen expenses - whatever your situation is. There are obviously bad outcomes when people overcommit or suffer unexpected hardship. But overall it's just another tool companies use to close the sale, and it's possible to use it to your benefit even if you could have boug
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An even better deal is to buy only what you can afford. Those "cheap" 2% interest payments add up to a lot of money that you could be spending on something more useful than the lender's profit margins.
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And you are not factoring in human psychology. Sure, if you are able to strictly adhere to a budget that makes mathematical sense, go for it, you can probably squeak out some profit borrowing money so you can have things now. But most mortal humans are not so rational. If they have available credit, they will often use it, even if they shouldn't. For them, it makes more sense to pay down balances and get out of debt as quickly as possible.
You're also not factoring in Murphy's Law. When you borrow money to b
Prioritize Commenting (Score:5, Insightful)
If you're spending your internet time victim-blaming, you need to rethink your priorities.
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-Priorities.
Re:Prioritize Commenting (Score:5, Insightful)
People are products of their environment, it's easy to tell someone "hey, make better decisions" but ones environment restricts the decisions available to them to choose among.
A kid growing up in the bad part of town with a shit school and not many job prospects doesn't have the same choices of a same kid growing up in an upper middle class suburb who has a well funded school, etc etc.
If we want to play the meritocracy game then we need to make sure everyone has the same starting position otherwise it's just an empty veneer.
If we want people to make better decisions we need to create better environents for them and this is absolutely a place where the government (i.e, public services and institutions) has a role to play.
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100% bullshit.
I grew up in "the wrong part of town". Not "I couldn't afford 2 vacations a year" poor, but "I guess I won't eat until my mother's pay day" poor. When I became an adult, I made similar decisions and ended up in the same situation. And I resolved, then and there, to never make those kinds of decisions again.
Lo and behold, I haven't been "that poor" since. Then, when my daughter came along, I resolved that she would never be deprived of things, and thus I started making even better decisions.
W
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No. If people are a "product of their environment," what you are saying is that people are too stupid to make changes to improve their own lives when things get hard. Sure, some are. But I have a lot more faith in humanity than that. I see it in action, teaching people in an impoverished community in Houston how to earn a living. People can learn to take care of themselves.
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I have a lot more faith in humanity than that
That's is a good feeling to have because we do need optimism and individual action but on the large scale of tens or hundreds or millions of people I don't think the policy of "everyone just make the most optimal choice all of the time" reaches the outcomes we want for those large groups of people better than actual public infrastructure. In fact I think the evidence through history supports my position.
That absolutely does not mean on an individual level. In person you teaching people one on one absolute
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It is not our job as a society to ensure equality of outcomes for people's lives. Equality of opportunity, yes. Outcomes, no. Hard work and wise choices _should_ be rewarded, and dumb ones _should_ be penalized. This is how we learn to survive, quite literally.
To be sure, there is lots of work to do to provide disadvantaged people with equality of opportunity. But if we put all our effort into making the outcomes equal for everyone, then those who are the real achievers will have no motivation to pursue ach
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To be honest you are strawmanning me here pretty hard to hammer home some pretty common talking points. In no way other than a very uncharitable one if i can be honest am I advocating for equality of outcomes, no more than would be fair for me to summarize your possition os just "bootstraps".
There is nothing out of bounds to say as a society we would like people to be able to achieve these outcomes and try and give people the tools and oppurtunity that are most likelyfor them to achieve those outcomes. In
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Is there indication that the demographic doing that is doing these things? I read the article and it didn't mention anyone's sneakers, phones or streaming services.
Is this just another myth like the "welfare queen" myth started in the 70's?
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If you’re wearing $300 sneakers, get a shiny new iPhone every 6 months, pay for 5 streaming services, and can’t afford groceries you need to rethink your priorities.
Is there indication that the demographic doing that is doing these things? I read the article and it didn't mention anyone's sneakers, phones or streaming services.
Is this just another myth like the "welfare queen" myth started in the 70's?
True, contrary to popular myth, most low wage workers don't wer $300 sneakers. Apart from gang-bangers and drug dealers most of them (i.e. the remaining 99.9%) wear the cheapest most durable shoes they can find. Literally nobody I know gets a new iPhone twice a year (hint: Apple only updates them once a year), on top of that many low income people actually prefer Android. Finally, most low wage workers do not pay for 5 streaming services when they can pirate that content. Then again, since when do these lo
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You can convert you know.
There are even classes you can attend.
All it takes is a sincere desire to become Jewish through education and commitment to the faith...
And not being a racist.
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May his noodly appendage touch and enlighten you.
Pastafari
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Grocery prices have inflated greatly in the past three years. Mostly due to greedflation and lack of competition and stagnant wages. Shady borrowing companies are taking advantage of people with poor financial skills. But honestly fuck these borrowers. If your credit is already bad then running up another debt so you can eat isn’t a crime in my book.
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Credit cards need to be paid in full, unless you want to pay interest. Otherwise there's a minimum payment. What you're describing is "charge cards" such as most American Express cards. These need to be paid in full. They typically have much higher absurd limits - mine is at least $80,000. I'm not sure just how high I can go.
BNPL isn't like a credit card. It's closer to a charge card except that it's aimed at a lower income demographic whereas American Express is aimed at high income people. BNPL accounts