10.09 Comparing purchasing options

Shops and retailers look for way to encourage people to make purchases. This section will look at a variety of the common purchasing options.

Paying cash

A number of shops offer discounts to people who pay cash for their purchases. This is because cash, unlike other payment methods such as credit card, ensures the retailer receives the money straight away and without incurring any transaction fees. Most retailers offer a percentage off for paying cash.

This is the most simple of all the options, and perhaps increasingly the least common. If you are purchasing a low-cost item, such as a coffee, or your bus ticket, you might pay for these with the cash you have handy.

Practice question

Question 1

 

Lay-away

Lay-away is a method of payment, where an initial deposit is made to secure an item for purchase and the balance is paid off at a later date, usually after a number of repayments. The initial deposit may be a fixed amount or a percentage of the total price.

Practice question

Question 2

 

When purchasing an item, there are many ways in which we can make this purchase, perhaps many more than you realise!

Purchasing with a debit card

This option is very similar to spending cash. Instead of physically withdrawing money from an ATM and then making a purchase, you use your debit card the cash register and the amount required to make the purchase is transferred from your debit account to the bank account belonging to the shop.

When purchasing using this option, you need to be sure that you have enough money in your account. You also need to be mindful of how many transactions like this you can make before your bank starts charging you fees for doing so.

 

 

Purchasing with a credit card

A Credit card is a very different purchasing option as rather than using your own money, you borrow money from the bank to make your purchase. 

The way most credit cards work is you have a certain number of "interest free days" after you make a purchase. After that time has passed, the bank will begin to charge you interest on the balance on your card. This means that not only do you have to pay the bank back for the money you borrowed from them, but you also have to pay a fee in the form of interest for borrowing that money.

Some people use a credit card for convenience and always pay back the amount they owe the bank within the interest-free period. In this way it's not much different to using a debit card. However, many more people accumulate a lot of debt by not making enough repayments.

 

Purchasing with a personal loan

Making a purchase with a Personal Loan is very similar to using a credit card, but is usually reserved for more expensive purchases, like buying a car.

You first need to apply for a loan from a bank. If you are granted the loan, you'll then make regular payments, usually monthly payments, to pay back what you borrowed plus the interest the bank charges you as the fee for borrowing money.

Depending on the circumstances, you have to carefully consider whether it's worth taking out the personal loan in the first place, especially because you always ending up paying more for the item you purchased than the asking price. This is because you pay back what you borrowed, plus the interest charged. When thinking of buying a car, keep in mind that a car depreciates, or loses value, as soon as you buy it. Do you really want to pay even more than the purchase price?

 

Purchasing using a deferred payment plan

Purchasing using a deferred payment option, allows you to purchase more expensive items, like a television, without needing all the money to make the purchase. A deferred payment plan is an arrangement that essentially allows customers to "buy now and pay later." It is a bit like lay-away in that you pay and deposit and do not have to pay the balance until sometime in the future.

Usually, you enter into an agreement with the company selling the goods, that you will pay for the item in monthly installments over a certain period of time. In return, you are allowed to take the item home to use straight away.

It's similar to using a credit card or applying for a personal loan in that you will be charged interest by the company. So your monthly payments or installments will include paying back the cost of the item as well as paying interest charged.

 

Practice questions

Question 3

 

Question 4

Question 5