(WSIL) -- Believe it or not, the holiday shopping season is almost upon us. You probably already have a few items picked out for the special people in your life. The traditional forms of payment for those purchases usually come in the form of cash or credit card, but a new form of payment lends consumers a little more flexibility. A past version of "Buy now, pay later" was layaway, but that option doesn't allow you to leave the store with your item. New forms of "Buy now, pay later" are now gaining in popularity, and they do allow consumers to leave with their item, before a single payment is made. There's a wide variety of these "Buy now, pay later" plans, each with their own unique terms and conditions.
According to Regional Director of the Cape Girardeau Better Business Bureau, Sydney Waters, "Buy now, pay later" plans are not typically used for household items, but larger, more expensive and extravagant gifts. So, Waters suggests the first thing you do is, ask yourself if this is a "must have" big-ticket item. If so, maybe it's a gift, be sure to add these payments into your budget. Waters goes on to say that it's probably not a wise idea to take on more than 2 to 3 of these loans at a time. Many of these do charge interest and have an impact on your credit if left unpaid.
Waters also wants to remind people to pay close attention to the terms of your "Buy now, pay later" agreement. She suggests paying special attention to the number of payments, the life of the loan, any penalties with late or reschedule payments and if there's any interest associated with the loan. She says you should also check with the company to make sure there are no hidden fees.
Along with making sure you check the fine print, Waters suggests you visit to research both the third-party company and the company where you're making the purchase.
