To think if you’re buying luxury goods on Klarna, you can’t afford them?

[ThatHonestOchreSloth]

It’s not classist. It’s just maths.

I mean theres no cultural shift, that has always been there, people needing to spread how they buy things, "getting it on tick" back in the day, just as there's always been middle class jumping at the chance to be like I never use credit at all, apart from my mortgage and my car, which is tots different, I just take from my savings, well good for you, have a medal.

How is it different to paying on a credit card though, really? If I’ve understood correctly you have to pay one third when you buy whatever, and the balance in 2 interest free instalments. Which means paying over 2 months doesn’t it. Exactly the same as paying by credit card on the first day of the new statement period. Actually, if you think about it, it’s less credit than using a credit card, where you pay nothing at all at the point of purchase and defer the whole purchase price. But, I’ve never heard of Klarna or seen it advertised so I am presumably not its target market. Is it aimed at those who don’t have / can’t get a credit card?

Klarna is a trap. That’s the whole point. It’s designed to be a debt trap. That’s the business model.

People use it to buy stuff (very often non-essential stuff) that they can’t afford. Which is how it’s marketed to retailers. Then, surprise surprise, they can’t afford to pay it off. Which is when the penalty changes start. And the debt snowballs from there. Financially literate people don’t use Klarna.

klarna is just the 21st century equivalent of littlewoods/freemans etc catalogues which were common place in the 80s and 90s

Having read your responses beyond your original post, I agree.

I’m a high earner but might (even with savings) choose to spread a £500 splurge over 3 months rather than dip into my holiday/saving pot and pay £150 per month off rather than £500 in one go. That’s my own strategic spending. (I save £1000+ a month)

I however do understand your point on those that misuse Klarna. I hear people/see them online saying they’re recovering from debt as they had racked up Klarna and other debt (I thought it was over 3 months but seems to be that you can extend it!) and it’s affording them a lifestyle they can’t maintain by relying fully on credit.

I’ve spoken to people about this before where I as a higher rate earner (as is my husband) have had friends on £30K (as are their husband) who are confused on “how we got our mortgage”….and the financial literacy flabbergasts me. To my friend, we’re financially on the same level even though she earns less than half my salary. This is because we both have the same iPhone, same limited designer items (me less so, due to very wide feet and I’d also rather travel 😂), eat at the same restaurants, drink the same wine etc so “where’s the difference” in her mind.

This is where I think Klarna is creating a generation that rely more so on credit than many did in the 90s and 00s to fund their day to day lifestyle, not just cars, holidays and big items like your sofa or television etc. I think the way Klarna/Paypal were intended to work - split over 3 months does NOT indicate you can’t afford it, but living off Klarna and constantly putting all purchases onto it is trying to represent yourself as earning/having more than you do. In my personal experience.

Look at you just trouncing on every single reverse the OP tries after being told they are not looking at the full picture 👌.

Of course babes 😂

that's sadly the mindset behind completely useless and unaffordable purchase.

No, having a luxury designer bag doesn't make you look "rich" or "posh" or "classy" or god knows what. You can carry the same handbag as Kate, you won't look as wealthy as she does.

Too many fakes, too many second hand shops around anyway. Shame people think they need to spend more than they can afford to try to look "rich". If you are trying to look anything, you are not it.

Loads of people pay their holidays over the space of a year ect, it's exactly the same isn't it?

different mindset when you save in advance, or pay after the holiday.

Realistically, it's not just ONE purchase on klarna either. People can spread the cost, think they spend less in a month, so buy even more unnecessary items.

Oh god one of these know your place poor people posts

I used Klarna to by air fair tickets you’re right I can’t afford them since my bills and mortgage has increased by around 30% in the last few year and my nhs salary by about 2%

and shall do it again this year

You're right, us paupers shouldn't have nice things because we can't afford to buy outright and have to spread the cost over a couple of months 😶

Exactly what I was thinking!

I used PayPal pay in 3 the other day to get the school uniforms for next year. Hardly a luxury item but it helps keep money flowing when it's a big chunk going out at once. 3 payments of £40 is less of a shock to the system than one whole lot of £120.

I also bought them from Asda so definitely not a luxury but a definite necessity. However I've also bought non essential stuff even luxury stuff on pay in 3 for exactly the same reason. We could just not bother but some things are needed like my Garmin watch. I would struggle to send my runs back to my coach to analyse with my previous fitness watch so I bought a second hand one and paid in installments. It's about as essential as my running coach is but life isn't all about essentials only, there needs to be an element of fun too.

As long as people aren't asking you for money just let them be.

I follow some financial people on YouTube and what it seems a lot of people do is have multiple items on Klarna. So they'll buy a designer sweater one day and because they've only spent a third of the price they use that to justify buying something else because the still have 2/3 of the money left.

If you default on your payments Klarna does charge interest and aren't slow to send you to collections.

It doesn't make sense to use Klarna because you don't know what will happen in the future. I've gone without so many things because I couldn't afford them but I can't think of one that's affected my life in any way.

Mumsnet has gone so weird recently. It used to be largely quite educated people who were fairly sensible and now we seem to have threads defending getting into debt for frivolous reasons.

I help a charity that helps people in debt, it can all spiral very rapidly

Maybe ppl could afford to pay for the luxury item in 3 installments then have something nice ? Or do u think because they can’t afford it in one go they shouldn’t have anything “luxury”
prob best to just mind ur own business and u can buy things u see fit for urself

I agree with this and the OP. It’s quite clear from this thread this is why we have a ‘cost of living crisis’! People really don’t understand money. The OP has explained several times what they mean yet people are refusing to understand or claim the OP is being judgy! If you can’t afford It without Klarna, you can’t afford it! (Not talking about strategically using Klarna).

They could save up for three months then buy it.

But yeah, I've been poor. Skipping meals poor. Spending on "luxuries" is how you stay poor.

it's not "nice things" is it. It's luxury good you can't afford. It's sad that people think that the value of their belongings is a reflection of their own value.

Not many people can afford a genuine Birkin bag. Only a few care and feel left out though.

Absolutely
We do this with so many things because id always prefer to.keep my money for as long as I can
DH bought something for about £400 and got 12 months interest free credit because why not!

Well maybe next time (god forbid) you start a thread, you could put some content into it instead of just a one liner then saying 'that's not what I mean' to everyone that others to rely ti your judgey nonsense.

🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️🙇🏻‍♀️

oh & before you start. I don't use Klarna or the like. I hate anything on 'BNPL' 'HP' or whatever as I prefer to keep my monthly payments as low as possible.

but I have occasionally done it, if it suits me. It's nobodies business but my own.

id never pay thousands for a designer handbag or hundreds for trainers - cash or credit. But what other people choose to do/buy is up to them.

What equals a luxury item to you may not mean luxury to the next person. A tumble dryer and a dish washer to me would be a luxury because I have a washing line and I wash up by hand 🤷‍♀️.

You're missing the point.

If you can genuinely afford to pay the Klarna off by splitting the cost over 3 months then you CAN afford to buy that item outright...just in 3 months, not today.

Klarna is a symbol of lots that's wrong with society imo. Why delay your gratification with something as boring as setting some money aside for your next few pay days when you can get into debt for it and have it RIGHT NOW!

Like a pp said, Klarna is designed to be a trap. They WANT to encourage people into debt, they WANT you to miss a payment. That's partially how they earn their money.

And also this, as pp said:
Financially literate people don’t use Klarna
Some may consider that as 'sneery' because it's touched a nerve but it's the truest thing on this thread.

I think while there's a grey area in relation to whether some things are luxuries, others are emphatically "not necessities" and those are the things op is referring to (expensive perfumes/sunglasses/handbags etc)

I use Klarna because I’m a bit mean these days and don’t like parting with my cash until I have to 😁