Blhollo2,
I'm not picking on you by quoting you here, but this is a very common conception of using credit like this. You say that it's a good way for somebody buy something they can't afford. Let's use a $300 plane for example. Being able to pay on credit doesn't change the cost of the item, it's going to cost $300 whether you buy it on credit or if you pay all of the cash as the time you buy it. So buying on credit doesn't make the item any more affordable if it's purchased that way, it's going to cost the same either way.What's the difference of saving up every month and buying the item when you have all $300 in your hands and then buy it??And this is the point of my discussion above.

Look at this example:

Guy #1 wants to buy a $300 plane. Every month he puts aside $100 and in three months he has the money in hand, so he orders the plane. He now has the plane in his hands and doesn't owe anybody anything.

Guy #2 wants to buy a $300 plane, but he can't wait to get it so he buys it on the Easy Pay system. He gets his plane immediately and makes the first $100 payment. Now, next month the car engine blows up (or the dishwasher dies, or the kids need to go the doctor, or insert any other unplanned emergency that costs a lot of money) and he has to use the money he was going to send to Tower to pay for the emergency. Now he's going to get behind in his payments with Tower and will have to deal with the repercussions of that (read collection action if it goes on too long). And if you add on to that he crashes the plane now he's in debt over a plane that he doesn't even have anymore.

Now Guy #1 can have the same unplanned emergencies that require cash, but in his case he simply takes the money he was saving for the plane and applies that to his emergency. Yes, Iknow that he doesn't get the plane. But he also isn't into debt with Tower Hobbies either. So in the long run he's better off.

Let's face it, what we do is for recreation. It's not like this is life or death and the world isn't going to end if we can't fly. And because of this it simply isn't worth getting into debt over (in my opinion). There are plenty of things that are worth racking up debt over, buying a house for instance. Or even unplanned medical expenses. Something like that I can see having to owe money on. I know because we've been there. My wife needed surgery and we wound up owing the hospital for that. But Isimply set up a payment plan and had them payed off in 6 months. I don't mind being in debt for something like that, but not for an airplane.

I know that there will be some out there that will say "But it's on sale right now, and that's the only way Ican get it."I'm all for buying something on sale and saving a bit of money on, but not enough to go into debt for. In the time that I've been flying Ihave missed many deals on special because Ididn't have the money to buy it during the sale. Has it changed the way Ienjoy the hobby??Heck no, Ijust moved on and kept flying the planes that Ihave. But not getting that plane "right now" didn't stop me from enjoying what Ihave.

The last paragraph is actually a great statement about part of the problem with society and why we have so much financial problems in this country right now. It's the "I want it now!!!" syndrome. Instant gratification.People just don't want to wait for something, they want it now. So if they can't wait and save the money they finance it, and go into debt to get it. And that is something that Ijust refuse to do. Especially for a hobby.

That's my 2 pennies worth

Ken