How “Buy Now, Pay Later” Seduced a Generation—and Trapped It in Debt

How “Buy Now, Pay Later” Seduced a Generation—and Trapped It in Debt

For decades, stores like Leon’s, K Mart, and Zellers offered layaway: a no-interest, pay-in-pieces system where you picked out an item, the store held it, and you chipped away at the cost over weeks or months. Families used it to stretch toward something special—a couch, a TV, Christmas gifts. Eventually, in the 1980s, credit cards took over, and stores grew tired of holding merchandise. But until then, purchases were a pact, a structured ritual…