The holiday season approaches , imagine not being able to pay for your loved ones gifts. High prices in the toy market means that lower income  families may not be able to afford the gifts their children desire.

     Layaway allows families to pay for purchases gradually until the gift is paid in full instead of paying for it all at once, similar to a house or car payment.

     Cyrus McCormick introduced layaway as an installment plan to be able to afford his farm equipment. Families could slowly pay off the farm equipment that McCormick offered. It especially became popular during the Great Depression. One store, Walmart, first introduced their layaway program in September 2006 but quickly dismissed it because of lack of interest. However, as the economy changed yet again for consumers, Walmart brought layaway back in September 2011. Unlike Walmart, Kmart has been offering their layaway services for over forty years.

     For example before the holidays, a household may not be able to afford a gift of fifty dollars but would pay in installments of ten dollars until the gift was paid for. This creates a set schedule of estimated debt the buyer will be expected to pay off each month. However, stores can actually make a lot of money from layaway. For each item that is in layaway, stores charge a down payment ranging from five to tendollars depending on the store.

     One family that uses layaway is sophomore Payton Cummins. Cummins stated that most often her family puts away jewelry or clothes.

     “[Layaway] has helped us to avoid spending a ton on money in one trip and to help save money for the items too,” Cummins said.

     Whether or not layaway is here to stay, families like   Cummins can see the benefits that layaway brings.

     “I think stores should continue layaway because it helps a lot of families that are      buying a lot at once because they most likely don’t have enough money to spend at one time,” Cummins said.

     Not only do families benefit from layaway, but businesses like Walmart can also benefit from the purchases at the beginning of the layaway purchases.

     A Walmart spokesperson indicated that the layaway program helps Walmart with billions of dollars in sales throughout it’s five hundred stores across the United States of America.

      Walmart’s layaway program consists of a minimum purchase of ten dollars worth of items and no fee for putting the item on layaway. Walmart’s layaway program started on September 1st and ended on December 12th for the Noblesville location. This franchise not only offers layaway for the holidays but offers  layaway on jewelry all year.

     So when looking for an easier way to be able to afford everything during the holiday season, think of layaway as a viable option.