Mattress Financing

Mattress retailers have for many years offered a variety of ways to pay for your new mattress set. But it seems in bad economic times, we see retailers pushing financing even harder than usual. Now there is nothing necessarily wrong with borrowing if you have the money to service the loan. In an ideal world, we would all pay cash for everything and never borrow. Unfortunately, that is unlikely in the age of exorbitant taxes and trillion dollar deficits.

The most common forms of financing are no interest plans. Based on your purchase price, you could finance very large amounts sometimes as much as 60 months. The key is making your payments every month and on time. If you don’t, you will be hit with some pretty ugly interest rates that are retroactive.

No interest financing requires good credit – sometimes very good since there is very little value to a used mattress, making this essentially an unsecured loan. But if you have good credit, and have the cash flow to make the payments, this might be a very good opportunity for you.

The darker side of the equation is the no credit check folks. These are companies that prey on the people with poor or no credit. There is usually a short grace period, where if you pay it all off, there are no extra fees. But if you end up paying out over time, you might end up paying twice as much for that mattress set. You might as well borrow from the loan shark down the street.

For people with little or no credit, I would suggest a few alternatives. If you are not desperate for a mattress, set aside a few dollars a week until you save enough for a mattress. If you don’t have the discipline, many places have a layaway option – make sure there are no penalties or additional fees AND you can cancel and get a refund.

If saving and/or layaway is not an option and you need a mattress now, consider buying a less expensive bed. Some retailers have an exchange option. Depending on the length of time they offer, you might be able to save enough to upgrade to a better mattress during that time and not lose much in the process. Read the terms and conditions very closely before going this route.

If all of the above does not help and you have to have a mattress, consider an air mattress, buying used or clearance, or asking friends and families if they have a spare bed. If your need is the result of fire, storm or other calamity, check with churches, charities and local government to see if there are any options for you. All of these would be far better than going into debt or paying way more for a mattress than necessary.

As a very wise man once said – “Owe no man anything except love.”

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