EXTRA: eLayaway -- newest form of online shopping

Clearwater, Florida - "I work a lot of hours and it's very hard to accomplish everything at one time, " says 28-year-old Danielle Del Bello. "I don't have time to go to the mall to do all of my holiday shopping." She's the Vice-President of Marketing for all of the Bay area Arigato Japanese Steakhouses, and also helps manage day-to-day operations. Yet, Danielle has already completed most of her holiday shopping. She did it all online, but Danielle didn't put anything on a credit card or even a check card. Instead she's using an old fashioned system that's been reinvented. "We've brought the old concept of layaway to the Internet age," says Matt Ryncarz, the 25-year-old creator of eLayaway. So far, Danielle says she's loving it. "The whole point of eLayaway is to make monthly payments, slow payments towards something instead of just paying for something right away." Unlike the interest rates of a credit card, eLayaway charges a one-time, flat transaction fee of 1.9% of the amount of the product. For example, let's say you wanted to buy a Weber gas grill at the price of $1,499.00. You click on the eLayaway icon and the calculator shows you the monthly payments and the shipping date. We decided on 8 monthly payments of $190.94. Also notice the total amount on the grill you're paying is $1,527.48. Going back to that flat 1.9% rate, you're paying an additional $28.48 for the item. Now say you bought the item immediately with a credit card. According to Consumer Credit Counseling Services, the average interest rate on a standard credit card is 13%. So if you had put the grill on a credit card, and wanted to pay it off in the same amount of time, 8 months, you would need to pay $196.62 every month. Those payments are about $6 more than eLayaway ($190.94). Plus, you would have paid $73.96 in interest instead of a flat rate of $28.48. "It is an alternative to buying it now, accruing interest and other fees associated with credit card debt that would make that item twice as expensive," says Karin Klassen of Consumer Credit Counseling Service. Although she thinks cash is always best, Karin says eLayaway isn't necessarily a bad idea. However, she does have her reservations about direct access to your checking account. That's because you can't sign up for eLayaway without one. The service directly withdraws the monthly payments from the account. Busy people like Danielle say they're loving the service. "This does take a little bit of planning but in the long run it's better financially for me to just pay for something and set it aside," she says. She also enjoys not having to fight the holiday rush, which for her, ended 4 months ago. The minimum number of monthly payments you can make is three and the maximum is thirteen, so unfortunately it's too late to use eLayaway for this holiday season. Online Exclusive - Consumer Credit Counseling Service Tips to Avoid Credit Card Debt During the Holidays: Plan ahead by doing a dry run and adding up prices of things you're thinking of buying. If you do use a credit card, put everything on one card, and NOT multiple ones. Avoid impulse buying at all costs and look for sales. A good gift doesn't have to be pricey. Gifts that involve you giving up your time (i.e., 5 car washes) can also be valuable.