The rent-to-own stores are attractive come-ons for the poor who can't amass enough savings to pay cash for big ticket items and who lack access to credit or have flawed credit histories that rule them out as candidates for personal loans or revolving credit lines. Rental dealers advertise that consumers can buy any appliance (invariably the ads include big-screen televisions as an example) with no money down and without a credit check by simply agreeing to make regular weekly payments. But miss a payment and the store requires the item to be returned immediately. And that used item may go out the door again the same day to another cash-short customer.

Of course, anyone can eventually own the merchandise if the payments are made on time over an extended period. But, the rental payments add up astronomically. For example, with $13 weekly rent-to-own payments over 78 weeks, a $250 television set would cost $1,014 before the consumer owned the set. This represents an annual interest rate (APR) of 265%! The same $250 television set bought through department store installment credit at 19.8 percent interest over 18 months would cost the consumer $291.06 - or $723 less than the purchase through a rent-to-own scheme.

Other options you might consider are:

• Wait and buy the item when you have saved enough money to pay cash.
• Try to buy the item through installments or layaway at a department or appliance store.
• Get a short-term consumer loan from a credit union or bank.
• Buy the item used from a garage sale, classified ad, or second-hand store.

Bottom Line: Take time to build your credit so you have options when needs arise!