Sezzle and Afterpay
Looking back at my spending problems, a lot of it started when I got my first credit card. I think it was a Sears card. It was like having free money, albeit money I could only spend at Sears and would eventually have to pay back one day. I wasn't thinking about the paying back part at the time though, this was money in my pocket to young, not particularly prepared to have a credit card me.
By the time my husband and I were preparing to get married, probably about seven or eight years after that first credit card, I had five store credit cards (JC Penny, Express, Macy's (which was a Hecht's card when I first got it, helloooo old age. Do people even know what Hecht's stores were anymore?) Victoria's Secret, and the aforementioned Sears card), as well as a Visa and a MasterCard. I was under the mistaken belief that as long as I was paying the minimum payments every month that I was find, nevermind the fact that they would literally never get paid off that way. It took me over a year of focusing on paying them all off and closing them to get rid of that debt.
Fast forward to present day. To avoid that pitfall, I no longer have a credit card. We do have a joint card that we put household expenses on and then we pay that off once a month or so. We get cash rewards that way, and it's also handy when unexpected medical bills or something pop up. We always make sure to never carry a balance longer than a month though, that way we don't get behind.
Because of my small personal income and the fact that until now my money pretty much flows through my fingers like the last vestiges of my sanity are (a two year old and a three month old? what were we thinking?)
What's a person to do when they see something they "need" to have and it costs more than the meager $15 currently bouncing around in my bank account? Enter Sezzle and Afterpay.
Sezzle and Afterpay are the internet payment platform equivalent of those credit cards we were talking about earlier. The main difference is that they take the amount you spend in a particular transaction, split it up in to four equal payments, and spread those payments out over a six week time period. As long as you don't have to skip a payment or move the due date of a payment you pay nothing. There's also a charge if your form of payment doesn't go through. The payments are taken directly off of whatever account you've set up in your Afterpay or Sezzle accounts.
If you have to move your due date for a payment with Sezzle it's free as long as you do it prior to that payment's due date. If you move it after the first time is free but subsequent payment due date movements will cost you $5 a piece. You'll be charged $10 if your form of payment is declined. Afterpay will charge up to $8 for a missed payment with no option to move payment due dates.
These payment options are only available through retailers who carry them, so you can't use them everywhere like you would a normal credit card. Retailers pay processing fees and what not on their end (being a small business owner who just sells a few things from time to time on my Facebook I don't use these platforms so I'm not sure of the logistics involved on that side) but I'm sure they also make a good deal of money on people who A, live outside of their means and thus have to reschedule or miss payments from time to time, or B, in the case of Afterpay they forget to pay their bill. I will say that both payment platforms are pretty good about keeping you up to date when your bills are due via text or email.
I've been pretty good about my accounts and I haven't spent more than I can afford to pay back on the payment plans and as long as you're planning properly I do think they are a good option for when something comes up that you can't afford all at once but you can manage in smaller payments. But really the retailers that I've seen that these companies work with (granted I haven't gone down their retailer lists to look at every single company they do business with so maybe I'm missing something) do not sell things that would be considered an emergency necessity. The items I've bought using them have all been makeup, clothing, or craft supplies. None of these things are items that I NEED to have so why am I pre-spending my money in order to get them?
I don't have much of a balance left in my Sezzle and Afterpay accounts and I will have them paid off in two weeks. I look forward to having that extra money to add to savings, or put in my hair appointment fund, or meet a friend for lunch with instead of having it taken out of my paycheck to every week. Not only am I not spending money on unnecessary material objects for the next year, but once my no buy is over I will no longer be spending money on things that I can't afford to buy at the time of purchase. Carrying unnecessary debt does nothing but hurt future you (something I learned from the book The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan, stay tuned for my review on that next Wednesday.)
Quick update on my progress so far: I currently have $20 in savings, I missed a couple days of work last week due to an illness and Halloween was last week so we spent the day watching Halloween specials and getting ready for trick or treat so I didn't earn as much as I usually do and had to adjust the $50 I'm supposed to be setting aside accordingly. I'm getting my Sezzle and Afterpay accounts paid off. I haven't broken any of my no spend rules. I did buy a day planner for next year with a gift card I was given by a friend for my birthday and I used the remainder to buy myself a coffee. The rest of my pay this week has been set aside for a hair appointment I have next weekend.
By the time my husband and I were preparing to get married, probably about seven or eight years after that first credit card, I had five store credit cards (JC Penny, Express, Macy's (which was a Hecht's card when I first got it, helloooo old age. Do people even know what Hecht's stores were anymore?) Victoria's Secret, and the aforementioned Sears card), as well as a Visa and a MasterCard. I was under the mistaken belief that as long as I was paying the minimum payments every month that I was find, nevermind the fact that they would literally never get paid off that way. It took me over a year of focusing on paying them all off and closing them to get rid of that debt.
Fast forward to present day. To avoid that pitfall, I no longer have a credit card. We do have a joint card that we put household expenses on and then we pay that off once a month or so. We get cash rewards that way, and it's also handy when unexpected medical bills or something pop up. We always make sure to never carry a balance longer than a month though, that way we don't get behind.
Because of my small personal income and the fact that until now my money pretty much flows through my fingers like the last vestiges of my sanity are (a two year old and a three month old? what were we thinking?)
 | |
| Pictured: Me, bedraggled, still in my pajamas having spent half the night up with a sleep regressing two year old and the early morning hours with a hungry, grumpy baby. |
Sezzle and Afterpay are the internet payment platform equivalent of those credit cards we were talking about earlier. The main difference is that they take the amount you spend in a particular transaction, split it up in to four equal payments, and spread those payments out over a six week time period. As long as you don't have to skip a payment or move the due date of a payment you pay nothing. There's also a charge if your form of payment doesn't go through. The payments are taken directly off of whatever account you've set up in your Afterpay or Sezzle accounts.
If you have to move your due date for a payment with Sezzle it's free as long as you do it prior to that payment's due date. If you move it after the first time is free but subsequent payment due date movements will cost you $5 a piece. You'll be charged $10 if your form of payment is declined. Afterpay will charge up to $8 for a missed payment with no option to move payment due dates.
These payment options are only available through retailers who carry them, so you can't use them everywhere like you would a normal credit card. Retailers pay processing fees and what not on their end (being a small business owner who just sells a few things from time to time on my Facebook I don't use these platforms so I'm not sure of the logistics involved on that side) but I'm sure they also make a good deal of money on people who A, live outside of their means and thus have to reschedule or miss payments from time to time, or B, in the case of Afterpay they forget to pay their bill. I will say that both payment platforms are pretty good about keeping you up to date when your bills are due via text or email.
I've been pretty good about my accounts and I haven't spent more than I can afford to pay back on the payment plans and as long as you're planning properly I do think they are a good option for when something comes up that you can't afford all at once but you can manage in smaller payments. But really the retailers that I've seen that these companies work with (granted I haven't gone down their retailer lists to look at every single company they do business with so maybe I'm missing something) do not sell things that would be considered an emergency necessity. The items I've bought using them have all been makeup, clothing, or craft supplies. None of these things are items that I NEED to have so why am I pre-spending my money in order to get them?
I don't have much of a balance left in my Sezzle and Afterpay accounts and I will have them paid off in two weeks. I look forward to having that extra money to add to savings, or put in my hair appointment fund, or meet a friend for lunch with instead of having it taken out of my paycheck to every week. Not only am I not spending money on unnecessary material objects for the next year, but once my no buy is over I will no longer be spending money on things that I can't afford to buy at the time of purchase. Carrying unnecessary debt does nothing but hurt future you (something I learned from the book The Financial Diet by Chelsea Fagan, stay tuned for my review on that next Wednesday.)
Quick update on my progress so far: I currently have $20 in savings, I missed a couple days of work last week due to an illness and Halloween was last week so we spent the day watching Halloween specials and getting ready for trick or treat so I didn't earn as much as I usually do and had to adjust the $50 I'm supposed to be setting aside accordingly. I'm getting my Sezzle and Afterpay accounts paid off. I haven't broken any of my no spend rules. I did buy a day planner for next year with a gift card I was given by a friend for my birthday and I used the remainder to buy myself a coffee. The rest of my pay this week has been set aside for a hair appointment I have next weekend.
Comments
Post a Comment