Money Minute: Buy now, pay later

Money Minute: Buy now, pay later

Money Minute: Buy now, pay later

There is a new trend to help you buy things quickly without cash called buy now, pay later.

While it might work for some people, it can be a slippery slope for others.

The temptation is real, with online deals offering you to buy what you want now and pay for it later — often with no interest and no fees.

“You get the product and you pay it back in a certain number of installments,” said Shannon Doyle with Lutheran Social Service.

There are lots of them online, including companies like Affirm, Klarna, Sezzle, etc.

Usually, it’s four interest-free payments paying every two weeks. That can work just fine for you until it doesn’t — especially if you use several of these buy now, pay later programs.

“The payments can get really hard to manage,” Doyle said.

Keeping up with bi-weekly bills can be hard to track.

“If you miss a payment, you can get really high late fees,” added Doyle.

Or you could be charged interest.