Stories

_{Desiree Moore says PayPal’s Pay in 4 product helps
her keep on top of her family’s finances.}

As a mom of two boys, Desiree Moore understands how important it is to have a plan and a budget when it comes to managing her money. Each month, she diligently puts money away in envelopes, each labelled with a purpose -- bills, Christmas, birthdays, savings. But sometimes life pushes the envelope and so, when she needs a little bit of wiggle room, she turns to a Buy Now, Pay Later product from PayPal (named Pay in 4) for some relief.

“I like to plan out when I’m making purchases. Without a plan, you plan to fail,” said Desiree, who hails from Atlanta. “I love Pay in 4 because instead of using a credit card, it’s interest free so I'm not paying extra money to get the things I like. It allows me to make my dollar go a little further when I’m looking to make those leisure purchases.”

Sometimes a leisure purchase means buying something for her fiancé or sons ahead of Christmas or their birthday, once it goes on sale. Without having payment flexibility, she wouldn’t have the money to jump on the deal, she said.

“If I had to wait, I would likely have to pay full price for it,” she explained.

Other times, it means treating herself to something nice, like a recent vacation she took with her best friend.

“We took a trip to Houston,” she said with a smile.  “We were trying to find tickets at a good price, and she called one morning and she was like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to buy a ticket today.’  I didn't quite have it all right then, but I used Pay in 4 to put that first amount down and over the next couple weeks, I was able to pay that trip off. Because of that, we were able to go shopping when we got there, we ate good food every day. We stayed in a really nice hotel and were able to just enjoy a vacation without worrying about finances.”
 

Dad stressed benefits of saving, PayPal

Finding a good deal is Desiree’s hard and fast rule when she goes shopping, something she says helps her stick to her budget.

“Instead of sitting at home making a grocery list, I go to the store to see what's marked down. That's what we are going to eat this week because it's saving me money,” she said.
 

She learned about budgeting from her dad who always stressed the importance of saving money.

“He didn’t say, ‘save for something,’ he just said ‘save’ so that when something comes up, you have it there,” she said.

Her dad is also the one who introduced her to PayPal. Always hesitant to enter his credit card information online, he appreciated having a secure way to transact. He pushed Desiree to get a PayPal Debit Card to help her withdraw money that was coming in from her side hustle.

“When I was using the PayPal debit card, it made it easier for my personal business. I have a mobile bartending company and anytime I need to purchase products to use for that event, I can actually go to an ATM and withdraw what I need right away or use it online,” she said.

She said from there she started regularly using PayPal to make online purchases and was impressed when she realized her eligible purchases could be protected¹ after dealing with some unscrupulous merchants.

“I got really comfortable using it after going through customer service and seeing (them) work on my behalf,” she said. “As new products rolled out, I started using some of them as well.”

With her penchant for planning and keen eye for a killer sale, Desiree is now turning her focus to the holidays.

“Managing the holiday season is going to be much easier for everybody,” she said. “Even with inflation hitting our pockets, I’m still able to provide for my family so that they don’t feel the struggle.”