Future income has been pre-divided
Earlier this year, Mr. Hoang Minh (27 years old, office worker in Ho Chi Minh City) bought a phone worth more than 20 million VND in installments for 12 months. Each month, he only had to pay nearly 2 million VND, so at that time, he thought this expense did not create much pressure.
However, each month Mr. Minh also has to spend more than 2 million VND on motorbike installments, about 1 million VND for PayLater loans (buying first, paying later) and from 2-3 million VND to pay outstanding credit card debts.
With an income of about 16 million VND, nearly half of his salary has been used for debts before considering rent, food, travel and living expenses.
From the goal of saving 3 million VND per month, he currently has almost no fixed savings. When he needs unexpected spending, he continues to use his credit card, making payment obligations in the following months increase.
Not only is it easy to buy many items at the same time, the advertisement "0% installment" or "0% interest" also makes many people only pay attention to the amount to be paid monthly and ignore the total actual cost.
At the end of 2025, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hang (29 years old, saleswoman in Ho Chi Minh City) bought a TV for about 12 million VND under a 0% interest installment program. Because the money was divided into smaller amounts over many months, she did not compare the selling price and accompanying expenses carefully.
After that, when a friend bought a similar product at another electronics store for about 10.7 million VND, Ms. Hang checked the contract again. In addition to the higher price, her installment also included insurance fees for the loan.
When buying, I only calculated how much I had to pay each month, so I found it quite light. When I added it up and compared the prices, I realized that 0% interest does not mean no additional costs are incurred," Ms. Hang said.
When should you buy in installments?
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper about this issue, financial expert Nguyen Thuc Khoa - Founder and Chairman of ERIC Capital said that credit cards and installment purchases are not bad tools. The problem lies in the purpose and way consumers use them.
According to Mr. Khoa, installments can be reasonable when the product serves work and generates income for a long time. For example, a person buying a computer to work can choose to pay in installments to avoid running out of the reserve fund.
However, buyers need to calculate the total debt repayment obligations instead of just looking at the amount to be paid for each item. If paying in installments for phones, motorbikes, using credit cards and pre-purchase and post-payment services at the same time, the income of the following months may have been divided in advance.
Especially with credit cards, users need to carefully research the payment term and incurred costs. According to Mr. Khoa, interest rates can fluctuate around 2.7-4% per month, equivalent to more than 30% to nearly 50% per year. If you regularly only pay the minimum amount and leave the outstanding debt to rotate, the actual cost may increase.
Experts believe that consumers should avoid installment purchases when the item is not really necessary, the decision to buy mainly stems from promotions or the feeling that the monthly payment amount is not large, income is unstable; there is no reserve fund or they are carrying many debts.
One way to check before deciding is to ask yourself: "If I have to pay the full amount in cash today, will I still buy this item?". If the answer is no, buyers should reconsider their actual needs.
In addition, when the total amount of debt paid each month accounts for about 30-40% of income, the emergence of new obligations may affect savings and the ability to cope with unexpected expenses.
Credit used correctly will help us regulate cash flow. But if used to raise living standards beyond the current income generation capacity, then in essence, we are taking our money in the future to serve today's needs," Mr. Khoa assessed.
