Cute Debt Is Not as Cute as You Think It Is

Did you ever notice how many movies are based on the premise of something cute turning hideous and scary once you spend enough time with it? Those little creatures in Gremlins are adorable until you feed them after midnight. Chucky in the Child’s Play movies is a literal doll. The man-eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors starts out as a cute little houseplant in a flower shop. Yes, all of these movies are funnier and sillier than they are scary, but there is something unsettling about letting down your guard about something that seems harmless, only for it to come back and bite you. This is how buy now pay later (BNPL) services have always worked. It looks like reverse layaway, an interest-free payment plan with affordable installments. Eventually, you find out that BNPL is at least as dangerous as credit cards, because credit cards have a credit limit, and a card issuer can refuse to open a new account with you if you are already carrying a balance on too many other cards. BNPL lets you keep borrowing until you are in over your head. If you are struggling with BNPL debts, contact a Philadelphia debt relief lawyer.

Luxury Brands Target Young Women Consumers With Buy Now Pay Later Offers

The current issue of The Atlantic includes an article on “cute debt.” The cuteness refers, of course, not to the debt itself but to the advertisements for it. Personal finance experts recognize good debt and bad debt, but debt has no beauty or ugliness. Rather, advertisements for clothing and airfare have started to focus on BNPL options, with content clearly targeted to an audience of young women who would not be able to pay the full price of these items upfront and do not have enough available credit to charge the full price on a credit card or open an account that would give them enough available credit to buy them.

The “cute debt” content plays on the idea that it is socially unacceptable for women of working age to spend large amounts of money on themselves, but every recent graduate and every mom of young children deserves a little splurge here and there to keep her spirits up as she works endlessly, even if it is $20 per month until that $300 handbag is paid off. The biggest dangers of cute debt are when you buy several clothing items with the intention of returning most of them before the second installment payment is due.

Unpaid BNPL debt is as dangerous as unpaid credit card debt. There is no interest, but you incur late fees, and the BNPL company can sell your debt to a collection agency if you miss multiple payments.

Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com About BNPL Debt

A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you get out of trouble after racking up BNPL debt.  Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.

Source:

ca.news.yahoo.com/rise-cute-debt-113100552.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAJ0zZEGAwA8zrcUZhwIY-8gVwtTh0eih24LpDmbFZe0Dt2KCzptz_e1hW63T_bCuz5Ybs5Cw8rQldLCaR4I1XWOJK6L2ugXBDnHZz5ZrB3Qr3TW4SrEUDBzFi_mGlk1kGgs-8P4gVkUQeQdkPKgRFn6c2Uf8Zk_Y7GNaB8QSRANW