Patsy, My mum used to run a club when I was a boy. The people who used it were then often stuck at home, -no transport, young children,- and they had little money for 'discretionary' spending. They sort-of used it as a form of compulsory saving, -you didn't just have to receive the item and then pay for it, you could also pay first and build up credit,- and it made a real difference at Christmas, or birthdays.

When I was an insurance agent, I had clients who used endowment insurance the same way. Take out a policy, and surrender it for cash at the first opportunity. THAT was a lousy investment, but they did it despite my advice. It was the only way they would ever achieve a reasonable sum of cash-in-hand and also have life-insurance.

I do agree with your statement, but you are arguing from the point of view of the provident or comfortably situated. From the other side, the people 'on their uppers' as they say in England, or those tied to a spendthrift partner, it makes a kind of sense.