Do you save money first or pay items on installment basis?

It really depends on the item that I am buying and how badly I need that particular item. Now if I needed a vehicle and I could not come up with the cash to buy one out right I would probably have to finance it. For smaller items such as tv's and things of that nature I will save up to buy them. No sense in adding all of those interest charges on things like that. I do not believe in credit cards so using one, even with 0% interest is a no go for me.

Saving is just part of my life. So, the question for me is that when I need to spend on something, do I choose to use the savings or on installment. Now, if the installment is free of interest (where many shops are doing that here to promote spending), then I will usually take that as it doesn't need to cut on my savings. However, when I need to make a purchase next time, I will consider my savings actually decreased and see if the remaining amount is still adequate for funding the new purchase.

we used to just use credit, but got into a lot of debt so we are now only buying things if we have the money saved up.

It's true that the usage of credit cards have been increasing in recent years. However, it has also caused many people to be deep in debt and this has caused a lot of trouble for the society as a whole. For me, if i want to buy something, I would save up first before buying that particular thing that i want. Furthermore, i don't want to buy something on an installment and then every single month, i have to worry whether i repaid that $20 dollars. I would much rather spend my time on other things. Furthermore, not using our credit card to buy on installment allows us to reduce impulse buying and we could then be able to save some money!

When my husband and i first started as married couples, we already have saved money for a refrigerator, since it is very important to have one. Then, for the rest of the appliances, the sala set ,dining set etc., we first used hand me downs, while we save to buy a new one. Luckily, my husband was paid a lump sum, from his job where they had a labor strike and won the case, so we were able to buy some new appliances, such as the TV and the component. Until now, my husband don't like to buy on installment. He likes us to save and buy it in cash. His reason, he doesn't like a long time debt.

Depends on the situation. If I really need the item, I use my card and buy it and avail of the 0% interest. It the item is like a luxury but I really like it, my most trusted strategy is to look around first, window shop and get the prices. I'll wait for a week or sometimes two weeks, and if still I desire to buy the item, I will buy it. But usually, my desire to buy it passes away. Try it, it's a good tip.

We always pay for things in cash. I could not get a credit card anyway but I have been down that road before an I dont like credit cards. Its cash or nothing in my house

I don't own a credit card and do not have the facilities to buy now and pay later. It is not wise to buy something in the hope of paying later through the use of plastic money as it will make us financially unstable due to the unseen bank charges incurred. It is better to save before buying as it not only make us debt free but we are able to budget our money accordingly. Using credit cards will only make us overspend and at the end of the day will stress us out thinking of our mounting debts.

I don't like to buy on credit, it costs more and you never know when you'll be financially tight in the future.

Sometimes I just wait the next pay day before buying anything I need and sometimes save first if it is a bit costly. Using credit is always comfortable. We can use it anytime, anywhere. I also use credit card when the need arises. As much as possible, I avoid using it on things that are not so important.

I try to pay for what I want, but it's really hard when I want a big ticket item and I don't have enough money at the moment, but I'm working on getting enough money for it.

I save first. I do not like buying things that I have no money for yet. There is one time that we availed of that 0% interest purchase by credit card. I really don't like interest. =P But even in that case, we used my father's credit card, and as soon as I got the whole amount I needed, I paid him in full.

I save money. I'll only spend money I have. It's just common sense, why spend money you don't have now that will just make you go into debt later? My peers have given me tons of examples on why I should ALWAYS avoid using credit cards. So many have gone into debt because it's not drawn directly from their bank account so they don't realize that they swiped their credit card for $1,000 til the bill comes and then they realize they don't have enough money to pay it off.

I don't use a credit card, but I do keep a loan open and keep refinancing it when I want something that is an expensive item. I usually keep it at $500 and pay it down to almost paid off and then renew it. Other than that I just save.

The ideal situation is always we save money first. buy only can afford to. But in life nothing is ideal. All of us want to save money but how many of us really can save money with all the commitment and current high cost of living. I found myself very difficult in saving money. So most of the times I alternate between loaning or buy by cash. There are things that I really need and I cannot live without, I might loan if I didn't had enough money to buy it cash. If something that I can wait, I will probably buy it when I get my bonus. Hey maybe next time I just wait for bonus then I buy my things. Currently I have loan a few things and buy cash few things. I guess it is 50/50, depend on the situation I tell you above. Currently in our country we can have 0% interest easy payment by using our credit card. It is also an ideal situation.

Using credit card is very popular nowadays. I know for the fact if you are just a good payer then you can manage your money very well. But for me it is very best or if possible in buying things you should try to save money first before you will purchase. And it is so true that we need to save money for rainy days and most of all the best thing you need to do is to spend our money wisely. Have a good day.