6 ms·

I'm also European, but buying furniture on credit is perfectly normal in my country - indeed, it would be quite unusual to buy any big-ticket item and not be of

I'm also European, but buying furniture on credit is perfectly normal in my country - indeed, it would be quite unusual to buy any big-ticket item and not be offered credit terms, usually with an interest-free option.

pergadad 7y ago
Being offered whether actually planning to buy on credit are different things. I'm German and would never buy furniture for which I don't have the money (exception maybe if the oven breaks and I don't have enough at hand) - but I'd never buy a sofa paying as instalments.
- donogh 7y ago
  Culturally, Germany seems to have a strong aversion to personal debt. In the UK and Ireland, consumer behavior is very much in line with the US.
  - akuji1993 7y ago
    This is absolutely the case for Germany yeah. We only take credits out for cars and houses mostly. Taking out a credit for common or ordinary items is very uncommon and looked down upon. It "shows" that the person can't handle money well or lives above their means.
- bengale 7y ago
  Each time I've got a sofa I've done it on credit. It's always been 0% interest and it seems sensible to keep money liquid if someone wants to give me credit for free.
donkeyd 7y ago
I'm also European and I know, within my own country, one group of people who would fin it completely normal to buy TVs and furniture on credit and another group that wouldn't. The former is low income and the latter is high income. People in low income communities find it very normal to buy on credit, often allowing you to buy now, pay in a year. My friends from higher income communities think this is a strange thing to do. What I'm trying to say is that some of these customs might not depend on country, but even on groups within countries. On a related note, I've personally noticed that here in the Netherlands, there's a pretty clear split between low income and high income, very tightly connected with education. In 'High School', lower and higher education are split in different classes and often different schools. So friendships are often formed within these groups and not across them (sports begin the exception). Because of this, a lot of people think something is normal in the Netherlands, but it's actually normal in their environment.
fluffything 7y ago
I'm also a human being from planet earth, and if I'm ok with paying X in cash to buy something, and the other persons offers me paying it in interest-free rates, it would be stupid for me not to. Worst case, I move the cash to a 2% interest rate bank account and let it sit there. Best case, there are other investments I can make now with that capital, and end up paying less overall for whatever I was buying because having the money has made me money in some other way. Lucky case, the company bankrupts and I don't end up having to completely pay for the thing at all. Being also European, it is rare to be offered interest-free financing, and when you are, is because you are already paying a premium and could find the stuff cheaper somewhere else. But occasionally, some shops do have the cheapest price and still offer interest-free rates. I always take it, and have no idea why I wouldn't do that.
- josteink 7y ago
  > if I'm ok with paying X in cash to buy something, and the other persons offers me paying it in interest-free rates, it would be stupid for me not to. Disagree. This severely complicates my economy. Instead just having X funds less available, I still have the same funds at disposal, but have to remember I owe X to Y which must be paid by Z. Even just once this makes the simple question “How much disposable funds do I have?” hard to answer. More than once and I will need a system to manage my own personal economy. That’s horrible! When asked for credit I always answer no, because the small savings of delayed payment does in no way make up for the extreme complexity it adds to day-to-day economics.
  - JshWright 7y ago
    This is not a hard problem to solve... Personally I use YNAB[1], but there are plenty of other options out there. [1]: https://www.youneedabudget.com/ https://www.youneedabudget.com/
  - halr9000 7y ago
    What I do has worked great for >10 years: - Direct deposit paycheck into checking account 1(the main account) - automatically transfer spending money to checking account 2 (I call it the Petty Cash account) - auto transfer $x for the large recurring or known but infrequent bills into savings account 3 (I call it the Escrow account) - Only issue bill payments from the main account - Only walk around with debit card for petty cash account. I also use this for online purchases, Amazon etc - As needed, transfer from escrow to main to pay off something big, like property tax or car insurance. Play with the transfer amounts to suit your budget. This helps you not have to think about spending money, or if you have enough to pay rent that month. Back to the furniture example from grandparent comment, I simply ensure that main has enough in it each month to cover the monthly expenses. HTH

pergadad 7y ago

Being offered whether actually planning to buy on credit are different things. I'm German and would never buy furniture for which I don't have the money (exception maybe if the oven breaks and I don't have enough at hand) - but I'd never buy a sofa paying as instalments.

donogh 7y ago
Culturally, Germany seems to have a strong aversion to personal debt. In the UK and Ireland, consumer behavior is very much in line with the US.
- akuji1993 7y ago
  This is absolutely the case for Germany yeah. We only take credits out for cars and houses mostly. Taking out a credit for common or ordinary items is very uncommon and looked down upon. It "shows" that the person can't handle money well or lives above their means.
bengale 7y ago
Each time I've got a sofa I've done it on credit. It's always been 0% interest and it seems sensible to keep money liquid if someone wants to give me credit for free.

donkeyd 7y ago

I'm also European and I know, within my own country, one group of people who would fin it completely normal to buy TVs and furniture on credit and another group that wouldn't. The former is low income and the latter is high income. People in low income communities find it very normal to buy on credit, often allowing you to buy now, pay in a year. My friends from higher income communities think this is a strange thing to do. What I'm trying to say is that some of these customs might not depend on country, but even on groups within countries. On a related note, I've personally noticed that here in the Netherlands, there's a pretty clear split between low income and high income, very tightly connected with education. In 'High School', lower and higher education are split in different classes and often different schools. So friendships are often formed within these groups and not across them (sports begin the exception). Because of this, a lot of people think something is normal in the Netherlands, but it's actually normal in their environment.

fluffything 7y ago

I'm also a human being from planet earth, and if I'm ok with paying X in cash to buy something, and the other persons offers me paying it in interest-free rates, it would be stupid for me not to. Worst case, I move the cash to a 2% interest rate bank account and let it sit there. Best case, there are other investments I can make now with that capital, and end up paying less overall for whatever I was buying because having the money has made me money in some other way. Lucky case, the company bankrupts and I don't end up having to completely pay for the thing at all. Being also European, it is rare to be offered interest-free financing, and when you are, is because you are already paying a premium and could find the stuff cheaper somewhere else. But occasionally, some shops do have the cheapest price and still offer interest-free rates. I always take it, and have no idea why I wouldn't do that.

josteink 7y ago
> if I'm ok with paying X in cash to buy something, and the other persons offers me paying it in interest-free rates, it would be stupid for me not to. Disagree. This severely complicates my economy. Instead just having X funds less available, I still have the same funds at disposal, but have to remember I owe X to Y which must be paid by Z. Even just once this makes the simple question “How much disposable funds do I have?” hard to answer. More than once and I will need a system to manage my own personal economy. That’s horrible! When asked for credit I always answer no, because the small savings of delayed payment does in no way make up for the extreme complexity it adds to day-to-day economics.
- JshWright 7y ago
  This is not a hard problem to solve... Personally I use YNAB[1], but there are plenty of other options out there. [1]: https://www.youneedabudget.com/ https://www.youneedabudget.com/
- halr9000 7y ago
  What I do has worked great for >10 years: - Direct deposit paycheck into checking account 1(the main account) - automatically transfer spending money to checking account 2 (I call it the Petty Cash account) - auto transfer $x for the large recurring or known but infrequent bills into savings account 3 (I call it the Escrow account) - Only issue bill payments from the main account - Only walk around with debit card for petty cash account. I also use this for online purchases, Amazon etc - As needed, transfer from escrow to main to pay off something big, like property tax or car insurance. Play with the transfer amounts to suit your budget. This helps you not have to think about spending money, or if you have enough to pay rent that month. Back to the furniture example from grandparent comment, I simply ensure that main has enough in it each month to cover the monthly expenses. HTH