Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (Full Version)

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cuddleheart50 -> Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 5:43:21 PM)

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2006-09-14-wal-mart_x.htm

Well, there goes my Christmas.



SirKenin -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 6:03:54 PM)

I do not shop there for Christmas much anyways, and when I do I pay with the green stuff, so it is fine by Me.  I can somewhat understand their point.  They really do not have the space for it, they are paying staffers to man it and I can not see it being that profitable for what use it might get.  It is all about the bottom line, and I guess when it boils down to that I agree with their decision.  Besides, how many things in Wal-mart are worth more than $50.00 anyways?  (yes, I am being borderline facetious... Do not jump Me.  lol).



KenDckey -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 6:17:56 PM)

I've know about it for quite a while.  Doesn't bother me at all but is driving my grand daughter nuts.   LOL



cuddleheart50 -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 8:05:42 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: SirKenin

I do not shop there for Christmas much anyways, and when I do I pay with the green stuff, so it is fine by Me.  I can somewhat understand their point.  They really do not have the space for it, they are paying staffers to man it and I can not see it being that profitable for what use it might get.  It is all about the bottom line, and I guess when it boils down to that I agree with their decision.  Besides, how many things in Wal-mart are worth more than $50.00 anyways?  (yes, I am being borderline facetious... Do not jump Me.  lol).



Well, when you are poor and Walmart is about the only thing you can afford, it really hurts.



SirKenin -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 8:33:32 PM)

I can not afford a down payment on  a free lunch, so I certainly empathize with you.  However, every time I go to Wal-mart I always pay cash.  If I can not afford it, I do not buy it (for example, there was this really awesome looking chocolate bar for $3.50, but I figured it was either that or toilet paper, so what is a man going to do?  I put the toilet paper back).

What I always recommend to people, regardless of their circumstances, is two fold.  One, your kids do not have to get the impression that Santa won the lottery, and two, start early in the year and save up presents somewhere hidden in the house.  Of course this does not work when your kids are old enough, but young ones will never know the difference.



cuddleheart50 -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 8:37:20 PM)

(for example, there was this really awesome looking chocolate bar for $3.50, but I figured it was either that or toilet paper, so what is a man going to do?  I put the toilet paper back).

Thanks for the laugh, I really needed that tonight. [:D]




subfever -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 10:13:10 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: cuddleheart50

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2006-09-14-wal-mart_x.htm

Well, there goes my Christmas.


Hmm... not sure whether you're serious or being flippant here. But I'll bite, nevertheless.

Why does your Christmas have to be gone over this?

Walmart is gambling that the layaway people will still be stuck with them anyway, because of their low prices. They can now reduce their workforce by an average of 3 employees per store, even though they claim that these employees will be "encouraged" to seek opportunities elsewhere in their stores. Bottom line... 120 less hours on the payroll per week per average store.

Why not turn the tables here and make it your best Christmas yet, instead of fretting because you can no longer burden yourself with layaway payments?

Consider making your own Christmas cards. Or, if you're the type that can't even draw a straight line... buy cards that are blank inside and write your own, personalized messages. Or even better yet, buy handcrafted cards from a local artistic type looking to make a few bucks. (Just don't buy them at Walmart!) Tell your gift recipients how much they mean to you, and bake them a homemade cake, pie, or cookies as a gift.

Giving gifts to younger children? Include a handwritten ticket-style invitation over to your place to bake even more cookies together in a cookie-baking party. Their parents will also enjoy having a break from the kids! ... lol

Hey, whatever your imagination conjures up will be better than suffering economic burden from giving more, store-bought merchandise that was probably made by cheap foreign labor, exploited by powerful American corporations... and will soon be forgotten anyway.  

IMHO... the essence of the birth of Christ is not going into additional debt to further enrich already fat corporations. And those who don't even have the option of going into more debt, should not be expected to additionally burden themselves with layaway payments.



cuddleheart50 -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 10:20:16 PM)

My Christmas is not gone over this.....my family and friends are more important to me that making layaway payments.  Thank you so much for the well thought out advice. 



subfever -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 10:26:15 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: cuddleheart50

My Christmas is not gone over this.....my family and friends are more important to me that making layaway payments.  Thank you so much for the well thought out advice. 


Glad to help!

Just don't forget to send me a batch of those homemade cookies! ... [:D]



BrutalAntipathy -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 11:06:17 PM)

I tried giving out swift kicks in the ass for Consumermas one year, but none of the people that really needed them wanted them. Bah, Humbug!



Chaingang -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 11:49:29 PM)

cuddleheart50:

Subfever has the right of it. Homemade is where it's at. All that store bought stuff just says you thought about someone just long enough to spend some of your money on them. Big deal. But when you show up with fresh baked gooey cookies, cake, lasagna, giant bowl of chili, cornbread, casserole, wheat bread, canned fruit, homemade salad dressing, fudge, etc - baby, that's the stuff!

It's very economic and who doesn't want some tasty, delicious thing around the holidays? Gauge your selection based on their circumstances. Then present it with a small note-card that reads: "I was thinking about you and made this for you with all my love."

FWIW, I am really hard to buy gifts for because I am such an anti-commercial asshole. Basically, I hate everything. But I enjoy being presented with something that someone made, that's very cool. A small piece of artwork, a house decoration, a poem, a short story, food, fresh quince jelly, special salsa, hand-knitted throw, an IOU for a special evening with a friend - money can't buy that stuff at the same level of quality or personal meaning. And the options are limited only by the imagination and skill of the maker. An arts and crafts store will get your brain working on some things that you can put together with less emphasis on money and more on your own means of expression.

As it happens I am the genius of gift wrapping in recycled brown paper and boxes. Like these except I even make paper ribbons!
http://www.muddybootsmercantile.com/Website_Images/Gift_Wrap.jpg
http://www.woodnsplash.co.uk/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/brownpack.gif

One of my favorite clients routinely tips me in bottles of wine and duck eggs that her ducks lay. To me that's better than gold. I just love duck eggs!!! I even enjoy looking at the colors of non-white fresh eggs. The whole thing is just exquisite to me. Oh, and the bottled wine part is tasty too.



SweetDommes -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/22/2006 11:59:55 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: subfever
Or even better yet, buy handcrafted cards from a local artistic type looking to make a few bucks. (Just don't buy them at Walmart!)


Or buy gifts from not-so-local artistic types who cross-stitch incredibly cute ornaments ... LOL



Owned1 -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 12:03:11 AM)

For gifts I have done baskets of home made stuff.  I purchased really cheap baskets decorated them with ribbon and such that I bought the year before at the after christmas sales.  I put in the baskets some jams I had made, home made baking, and a homemade chutney.  It took some time but it was far more enjoyable than battling the stores, searching endlessly for special gifts and then worrying if it was junk or something the person would enjoy.

For many of my friends these days I have an afternoon/evening get together.  I have a casual drop in with treats, coffee tea and wine,  we sit and enjoy each others company in the chaos of the holiday season.  It is a bit of sanity during chaos.

I suggested long ago to stop exchanging gifts with most of my friends as truly there is nothing material we need, if we need it we buy it ourselves.  When the kids were little it was fun to buy gifts for them but now they are all teens a gift card does the trick.  I like the gift cards as they cant just waste the money on nothing, even if they just buy a bunch of stuff at least it helps to make them understand the cost of things.

I truly think Christmas is far too material and its time we all took a stand against comercialism (if there is such a word) and just enjoyed each others company, take a monent to say thank you to a friend, as suggested make them a personal card with some heart felt words, something they have done for you that they may not even realize, something that you remember when they were there when you most needed to hear/have that strong voice/shoulder to lean on.

Life is short, take a moment to smell the roses and enjoy it.

Owned



SirKenin -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 12:30:45 AM)

This probably comes as no surprise, but I actually hate Commercemas and Satan Claus.  I get extremely miserable around that time.  I hate decorations.  The only decoration I own is a two foot fiber optic tree, and even that I hate.  I only have it for My wife.  I gave away My seven foot tree and a huge box full of decorations because I never used them.  I hate walking through the malls the day after Halloween and seeing all the gay/tacky decorations.  I hate people pushing and shoving, generally acting and driving like idiots.  I hate the traffic jams.  I hate the ever-increasing commercialized pressure to buy buy buy.  People buying stupid gifts that the recipients will never use and forget about the next day.  Ringing up credit cards to the max to put on this false front that they can not afford to maintain.  Paying for it until next Commercemas where they repeat the same stupidity all over again.  The competition with the Joneses to see who can by the most, biggest and best gifts.  I can not stand turkey.

The whole deal has turned from one of family and sharing to sold out, commercialized bullshit.  People measure the joy of the occasion by how many presents there were under the bloody tree.

Is that what Christmas is all about?  Is that what we have resigned ourselves too?  Have we really sunk that low that we have forgotten the true meaning of Christmas?  The caring?  The sharing?  Family and friends relaxing for a day in front of the fire with a bottle of a nice wine and some cookies?

No, that can not happen.  We are so desperate to consume that people have to work over the holiday to feed our ravenous appetites.  People are so desperate to spend money that even Boxing Day has become a spending spree.

The whole thing makes Me want to puke.  It is absolutely pathetic.

Hell, I was happy when My wife bought Me Quake 4 and a couple of sweaters for Christmas.  Quake 4 is kickass (I was just playing it half an hour ago) and I really needed some sweaters.  Her brother bought Me some cashews, which I absolutely love, and her parents bought Me some beer glasses, which I did not care if either of them bought Me anything, but they knew that I drink a lot of beer, so they were put to good use before My wife broke one and I broke the other...

But that really is not the point.  I was so happy just to spend the holiday with her family, because I do not have any around here.  That was all I wanted.  To be in the company of others.

I also donated to the Salvation Army, because I love that charity and everything they do.

That, to Me, is what Christmas is all about.  Being with family and helping the less fortunate.  They were there for Me when I needed it many years ago.  There are so many families that do not even have the opportunity to have a Christmas because they can not even afford to put food in the fridge, and all people can fucking think about is the size of the turkey and the heap under the tree.

Do you see why I get miserable?



Kedicat -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 12:38:12 AM)

I just read a short article on WalMart lowering generic drug prices in their stores. The big pharma are pretty upset about it.  WM is a very hard ball player with their suppliers. ( a bad thing in many ways ) Maybe a battle of titans coming up. Interesting......who will lobby harder.....what bizarre laws will hit the congress.



MistressTexas -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 1:13:36 AM)

*hehe* I've been hoarding recipies all year. ALL DAMN YEAR I SAY! And everyone on my list is getting a whimsical basket of their favorite goodies, along with something cheap and silly.. Like a picture of us on a bar night. Something tells me I'll spend a lot of time screaming at my kitchen, But I'm hoping my friends will think its worth it. I mostly just get upset trying to find the right thing in stores, because I have a craftsy streak (for which I blame my mother), and figure I could do it waaay better... and much cheaper. So thats the plan for this christmas.



ScooterTrash -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 5:43:38 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Chaingang

Homemade is where it's at. .....when you show up with fresh baked gooey cookies.....
Sorry to take part of your post out of context Chaingang, but you make a good point that needs a bit of a kick.
   If you do give someone those freshly baked goods and the roll their eyes like "whoopy doo, that cheap ass", they need to consider that it actually does take a substantial amount of cash and a lot of time to bake these days. I recall "twice" commenting about how she used to make hundreds of cookies for the holidays and had to start making up dough way ahead of time, just to pull off that miracle. Never assume that just because it's homemade, that is was free....it took both money as well as effort.  



Chaingang -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 6:08:00 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ScooterTrash
Never assume that just because it's homemade, that is was free....it took both money as well as effort. 


I agree. Even sex might require condoms, lube, and routine visits to the doctor for the usual maintenance check-up.[:D]

But I also think that homemade gifts are nominal in price and really provide that extra special something that is part of the giver. For example, my sister-in-law learned how to make truly amazing Mexican tamales a few years back and has been making huge batches every holiday season ever since. I usually get a dozen or so myself. This year I have asked to be taught the process in addition to receiving my normal batch. Spread the love, baby! I was warned that it would take all day to make a few hundred tamales so to increase the fun I have asserted that my nephew and niece will also learn to make tamales this year - thereby making it a family affair. They seemed unenthusiastic - but fuck 'em, the brats need to learn to cook. That way they can make me tamales when I am old and sad and still clinging to life like a withered leaf on the branch of a tree.

But you know, if you have to eat something semi-unhealthy every now and again it really might as well be tamales. Maybe it's death in a little corn husk wrapper, but what a way to go. So good!



justheather -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 6:19:03 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: cuddleheart

Well, when you are poor and Walmart is about the only thing you can afford, it really hurts.


I think this is a falsehood perpetuated by Walmart and, sadly, embraced by our nation.
You lived before Walmart moved into your town.
You gave people gifts for Christmas before you even knew what Walmart was, and the receivers were probably most genuinely grateful for what you offered them as a token of your affection.
Most of the gifts my sig other bought me for Christmas last year came from a second-hand store and every single one of them was meaningful and beautiful and showed thought and care in their choosing.
Last year, my elfen creature and I made handmade candles and gave them as gifts. They were well-received.
This year, I am going to be making several of my gifts to others. (Can't say what they are cause some of the "others" are going to read this...)

Christmas gifts are meant to be small tokens of affection. A small token, carefully chosen, beats a generic store bought sweater or DVD any day, at least in my book.

And by the way, Walmart's prices for cheap plastic crap you don't need are not all that much lower than the other places where you can get cheap crap you don't need.
Don't believe the hype!



justheather -> RE: Walmart Will No Longer Have Layaways (9/23/2006 6:21:00 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: cuddleheart50

My Christmas is not gone over this.....my family and friends are more important to me that making layaway payments.  Thank you so much for the well thought out advice. 


YAY! That's the Spirit!



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