I remember the first time I clicked “Pay in 4” on Klarna. It was for a weekend trip earlier this year. I booked a room for me and my friend, bought a pair of sneakers I’d been eyeing, and grabbed some wireless earbuds that looked too good to pass up. Three purchases. Four payments each.

At the time it felt harmless and manageable. Then I opened my checking-account app one morning about a month later and saw a bunch of tiny withdrawals. All from Klarna. Each one sneaked out on different days. Three sets of four. My budget didn’t feel clean anymore.

What this really meant was that splitting payments fooled me. Because I didn’t pay one big bill I felt less guilty. But behind the scenes I locked in future payments that stacked up.

The invisible cost

Here’s where it mattered: I wasn’t spending wildly. Yet my bank balance felt weird. The purchases were affordable, but I’d leveraged the “pay later” option as if cost didn’t matter. When you delay the hit, you delay the reality. Plus it kind of feels strange because you are still being charged several weeks after the time of purchase, which feels unnatural for something much more insignificant than a car or a home.

Recent data backs this up. A survey by LendingTree found 41 % of BNPL users said they’d been late on a payment in the past year, up from 34% the year before. LendingTree Another study showed BNPL users tend to be financially vulnerable – and those who make late payments are far more likely to have several indicators of financial strain. Kansas City Fed

In short, the convenience lures you into thinking you’re just “splitting payments” when you’re actually setting up multiple mini-loans.

My stack of payments

After a couple of months the pattern became clear. Each payday I’d see rent goes out, phone bill goes out, then three Klarna payments. Not all huge, but enough that my checking account “available” number kept shrinking more than usual. By the time I realized what was happening, the payments had multiplied.

And here’s the part I didn’t expect, no one payment slapped me. That’s the trick. Four smaller hits feel acceptable. But add four hits times multiple purchases and you’ve got a budget leak.

That leak affected what I couldn’t spend. Fewer impulse buys, more caution. But I didn’t notice until I looked at my Piere Spending Heatmap and saw the blobs of micro-payments everywhere.

Why it matters

This isn’t just about missing one payment. These “pay later” setups lock in future liabilities. You might be cash-flow stable now, but you’ve committed a chunk of upcoming paychecks. If anything shifts – say you switch jobs, have a car repair, or decide to invest in your side-hustle – you’re juggling more fixed outflows than you realised.

And the credit-report side of things is changing. Historically many BNPL loans weren’t reported like traditional credit. But that’s starting to shift. Business Insider. The takeaway: habits you think are harmless may carry consequences you’re not tracking.

How I stopped the bleed

Here’s what I did to turn it around:

• I froze BNPL for a few months. No pay-in-4, no deferred buys. Either I bought upfront or I didn’t.
  
• I treated each BNPL purchase like a mini-loan. what’s the total cost? When do payments hit? Does it fit my budget?
  
• I scheduled payment dates to align with my payday. If it didn’t, I skipped it.
  
• I asked myself: would I take this purchase if I had to pay in full today? If the answer was no, I passed.
  

Within weeks my remaining balance felt more stable. The surprise withdrawals stopped.

Your checklist if you use BNPL

If you use services like Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm (yes, you’ve used at least one) here are four rules:

1. Limit active BNPL plans. Think one at a time.
   
2. Match payment dates with your paycheck. Don’t create random due-dates you’ll miss.
   
3. Document outstanding obligations. Monthly overview: how many mini-loans am I servicing?
   
4. Ask the big question: if I had to pay now, would I still buy? If no, wait.
   

Final word

BNPL isn’t inherently bad, it can be a useful tool. The problem? It hides cost and reduces friction. My Klarna story wasn’t about a huge purchase. It was tiny amounts, spreading out, stacking up. What looked like “pay later” behaviour turned into “pay more” behaviour.

Once I treated the payments like the larger commitments they were, my financial life felt a bit more in control. My budget snapped back into shape. And weirdly enough, I felt more in control – not less.

Next time you see “Pay in 4”, pause. It might look like flexibility but could be future you’s regret.