Aldi in the US always gives me the option at checkout to pay later, I've never explored it to find out the fine print

I haven't either but knowing how greedy companies can be, I wouldn't be surprised if it was offered somewhere.

I ended up ranting a bit so feel free to ignore this comment 🫣

It's so shitty too because even if you spent years or even decades paying your bills on time, if you hit a few hard months you are completely fucked. None of these companies, not the government, not even the community gives a shit. Everyone just tells you to apply for food stamps, go to a food bank, apply for section 8, etc etc, without realizing that (at least where I am) they actively vote for and support policies that prevent most people from accessing those things. Not to mention food banks have so much moldy shit it's not worth standing in line for 5+ hours to get nothing edible and then have to go to a different place next week because god forbid you go to the same food bank twice in a month. And then section 8... So many places their waitlists are closed for 10-20 years! If you get accepted during that time you still have to apply, find a participating landlord, and jump through 5,000 hoops before you can even plan to move in somewhere. And don't get me started on healthcare!

My ex destroyed my credit back in 2009. My credit score was in the mid 500s. Fortunately, even though it took a decade, I was able to recover my credit and get it back into the 800s.