If you’ve been following the site for any period of time then you’ll know that Ronnie and I have a rack 4 kids. That equals a lot of requests for Christmas and gifts under the tree. Some things on the list we will buy and a bunch some things we won’t. Above all else, what I do know is that I’m not going into debt over a bunch of toys, clothes and gadgets. This is why I’m excited to share news about Kmart’s Layaway plan with you.

Now I’m old school layaway. Grew up on it with my mom who used it for me and my brothers. Even used it in my early single days when cash was tight but there was something I had to have. Layaway gave me the ability to get what I wanted without charging it. I was able to break it down into manageable payments. It also took away the worry of the item not being there when I did have the money a few weeks later. I think that with the rise of the credit cards a lot of people dismissed layaway because they could experience the instant gratification of walking out of the store with their goodies even though they didn’t have the money to afford them. Well now that the recession has been lingering for a while people aren’t charging like they used to.

We’ve been asked by Kmart to try out their layaway program and I’m looking forward to it. With Kmart you have the ability to shop online at Kmart.com for   gifts that you can place on layaway. You can then pick them up at your local Kmart store.   I love that, that’s the best of both worlds.   I know you are asking, well what makes Kmart layaway better?

• Kmart layaway is available on virtually all items in the store and online (marked as “Available for Layaway”) ““ including small kitchen appliances, sporting goods, fitness equipment, pet items, health and beauty items, and of course – clothing.
• Layaway terms of 8 or 12 weeks are available in most states
• Kmart layaway is year round and doesn’t end in early December like some companies. Also the last day for Christmas pick up is Dec. 24th so you can push it to the wire LOL.
• Black Friday deals are eligible unlike some competitors.
• There is a calculator on the Kmart website that will help you figure out how much is due with your biweekly payments.
• My favorite thing is that you can make payments on Kmart.com! I used to hate going into a store to pay if I wasn’t going to pick something up.

If you’re worried about excessive fees, don’t worry. There is only a $5 service fee for using Kmart’s layaway plan. You only have to put down $15 or 10%, whichever is greater. And lastly, you can pay the contract down faster if you’d like without any penalties. You can find out more information on the Kmart layaway page.

I’ll be back with another post after we begin using the Kmart layaway plan. If you try it out we’d love to know what your experience is like as well.   Also let us know if you use layaway and if your family used it growing up? What did you like the most and the least about layaway?

This post is part of a series that I will receive compensation for from Kmart in exchange for the time and effort that it will take to produce the surrounding content. All opinions expressed are totally honest and totally mine.