- My Forums
- Tiger Rant
- LSU Recruiting
- SEC Rant
- Saints Talk
- Pelicans Talk
- More Sports Board
- Fantasy Sports
- Golf Board
- Soccer Board
- O-T Lounge
- Tech Board
- Home/Garden Board
- Outdoor Board
- Health/Fitness Board
- Movie/TV Board
- Book Board
- Music Board
- Political Talk
- Money Talk
- Fark Board
- Gaming Board
- Travel Board
- Food/Drink Board
- Ticket Exchange
- TD Help Board
Customize My Forums- View All Forums
- Show Left Links
- Topic Sort Options
- Trending Topics
- Recent Topics
- Active Topics
Started By
Message
Question about 0% APR on things
Posted on 3/30/25 at 7:21 pm
Posted on 3/30/25 at 7:21 pm
Is it always wise to put things on payment plans where there is 0% interest and a monthly payment (furniture, cars, etc) rather than paying it off immediately?
8
Posted on 3/30/25 at 7:32 pm to DD_Rolltide
Thanks for the downvotes assholes, I was thinking that since say 200$ a month today is worth much more than 200$ a month 5 years from now there may be some savings against inflation by paying monthly. So pretty much if you are given the opportunity to take 0% interest, even though you can afford to buy things outright, should you take it?
This post was edited on 3/30/25 at 7:33 pm
Posted on 3/30/25 at 7:40 pm to DD_Rolltide
If you are sure you are getting the best price possible with the 0%, go ahead and take that option.
Posted on 3/30/25 at 7:45 pm to notiger1997
quote:
If you are sure you are getting the best price possible with the 0%, go ahead and take that option.
Thanks, that was my thoughts too but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything with my thinking. I haven't been given the option that I have today (it's for a mattress) for 0% on 5 years. At first I was adamant that I wanted to pay cash but after going home and thinking about it, I think monthly is the better monetary decision. Thanks!
Posted on 3/30/25 at 8:06 pm to DD_Rolltide
Shouldn't the percent sign (%) be located before the 0....%0?
Posted on 3/30/25 at 8:07 pm to DD_Rolltide
quote:
Is it always wise to put things on payment plans where there is 0% interest and a monthly payment (furniture, cars, etc) rather than paying it off immediately?
No.
It is only wise if you are going to arbitrage the money to an investment that will beat inflation.
Some people do this, and come out ahead. Most people just spend the money on something else.
Posted on 3/30/25 at 8:25 pm to DD_Rolltide
quote:
200$
What country uses this to denote their money? Here in the USA we would type, $200.
Posted on 3/30/25 at 8:42 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR
quote:
What country uses this to denote their money? Here in the USA we would type, $200.
Thanks for that observation it helps me so much.
Posted on 3/30/25 at 9:25 pm to DD_Rolltide
Most of the time this is offered, it is at a price quite a bit higher than the cash sale price. They are offering a 0% interest, because the interest has already been worked into the sales price. When you see those deals, definitely inquire about them, but always ask for the cash price and see if they will do the same 0% deal from that number
Posted on 3/30/25 at 10:33 pm to Weekend Warrior79
Thanks, the totals matched and when I did the monthly calculations they provided it matched the sales price in the end. Strange deal lol
Posted on 3/30/25 at 11:10 pm to LSUSUPERSTAR
quote:
200$
What country uses this to denote their money? Here in the USA we would type, $200.
It's a poor person thing.
Posted on 3/30/25 at 11:11 pm to DD_Rolltide
quote:
Is it always wise to put things on payment plans where there is 0% interest and a monthly payment (furniture, cars, etc) rather than paying it off immediately?
It depends on the discipline of the person. If they are like most Americans, paying off would be smarter.
Posted on 3/30/25 at 11:21 pm to DD_Rolltide
Be careful that you dont get hit w back interest if not paid in full before zero rate expires. I'd even go as far as.to pay it off with a month or more to go just to be sure they dont "lose the payment."
Posted on 3/30/25 at 11:55 pm to DD_Rolltide
quote:sorry I wore out your mattress while you were out working
(it's for a mattress)
Posted on 3/31/25 at 9:24 am to DD_Rolltide
Depends. Most of the time, if you miss one payment, you are fricked and stuck with the interest.
Posted on 3/31/25 at 11:11 am to DD_Rolltide
I think for people getting started out needing some furniture or other slightly large purchase that would shake up their cash flow a bit much its not a bad idea so long as its obviously being paid off. When wife and I bought our house we financed some furniture at 0% and paid it off well before it would have came due with interest to make sure. Lots of cash flow shakeup that time moving into first house needing to furnish a number of things though.
If you have the money and it doesnt really affect you much, you should just pay for it all up front though, earn the c.c. rewards.
Most of the time if someone if offering 0% you can still come out better on a rewards card or their own C.C. if they offer something like say Microcenter does - at Microcenter on their card you can finance for 0% for a certain amount of time OR take 5% off the price up front. Taking the 5% off is always the better option assuming you can pay off either no problem.
Like others have said, always confirm the 0% rate is the same as a cash or card purchase price. I got a new HVAC unit back in 2020 (not long after covid hit) and they were selling me into the 0% plan. I read into the details and noticed the price at 0% was $7,140 while the cash/card purchase price was $6,783. Basically they gave a discount of 5% if you used cash/card to pay for it up front, but didnt give you any discount if you went with their 0% option. They didnt explain this well, just kept showing the $7,140 at 0%. I eventually actually talked them into the lower price with 0% which was nice, but you have to dig into these things otherwise its like you're just pre-paying interest if the price is higher at 0% vs. cash/card up front. This was the last thing we ever did a 0% promotion on, and really only did it with the covid uncertainty situation (it was in May-June of 2020 IIRC). We had the money, but wife's job situation was dicey back then.
Also be careful and understand if you use a C.C. they DONT charge you 3% or something to use it, more and more places are doing that as well.
If you have the money and it doesnt really affect you much, you should just pay for it all up front though, earn the c.c. rewards.
Most of the time if someone if offering 0% you can still come out better on a rewards card or their own C.C. if they offer something like say Microcenter does - at Microcenter on their card you can finance for 0% for a certain amount of time OR take 5% off the price up front. Taking the 5% off is always the better option assuming you can pay off either no problem.
Like others have said, always confirm the 0% rate is the same as a cash or card purchase price. I got a new HVAC unit back in 2020 (not long after covid hit) and they were selling me into the 0% plan. I read into the details and noticed the price at 0% was $7,140 while the cash/card purchase price was $6,783. Basically they gave a discount of 5% if you used cash/card to pay for it up front, but didnt give you any discount if you went with their 0% option. They didnt explain this well, just kept showing the $7,140 at 0%. I eventually actually talked them into the lower price with 0% which was nice, but you have to dig into these things otherwise its like you're just pre-paying interest if the price is higher at 0% vs. cash/card up front. This was the last thing we ever did a 0% promotion on, and really only did it with the covid uncertainty situation (it was in May-June of 2020 IIRC). We had the money, but wife's job situation was dicey back then.
Also be careful and understand if you use a C.C. they DONT charge you 3% or something to use it, more and more places are doing that as well.
This post was edited on 3/31/25 at 11:15 am
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News