Appearing in the Associated Press on October 1, 2026, Adriana Morga talks to NCLC Senior Attorney Carla Sanchez-Adams about how Americans spent more than $160 billion last year using buy now, pay later plans and experts are increasingly seeing people use the plans for everyday expenses like groceries, bills, transportation and, sometimes rent.
As with credit cards, you can sign up for multiple buy now, pay later plans. These loans can quickly balloon until they become unmanageable. If you don’t want to risk snowballing into debt, avoid stacking buy-now, pay later loans, said Carla Sanchez-Adams, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.
“Avoid multiple purchases because then it gets really hard to track, especially if they’re with different companies,” Sanchez-Adams said. If you have to utilize multiple loans, make sure you keep track of the payment amounts and dates so you avoid late fees, she added.
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