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A phone of that cost is a luxury item. Now I'm in the category of people who can afford that and I want to make sure I'm not just living in a bubble when I dism

A phone of that cost is a luxury item. Now I'm in the category of people who can afford that and I want to make sure I'm not just living in a bubble when I dismiss what you said, so I opened up a tab and typed in "cheap phone" to google. The first result is a $20 phone from best buy. It appears to do calls, take pictures and video, do web browsing and have some library of available apps. So I don't think "People cannot buy a phone outright" is a very helpful way to frame it. Rather say that "people cannot buy a top of the line luxury brand-name phone outright". Which doesn't sound as bad, right?

flukus 8y ago
You're not wrong, people that can't pay cash for a phone shouldn't be buying one. But there are a lot of expenses in that range that are more of a necessity, car tyres that OP mentioned, other car expenses, removalists fees and bond payments, a fridge breaking down. There's some even bigger ones you can't put off like funeral expenses or missing work for medical reasons. A $500 phone gets used as an example because it's something people here will buy somewhat often and without much thought but it's missing the point to argue that there are cheaper phones.
- sjg007 8y ago
  You can finanace an iPhone for basically 0%.. and it could last you 5+ years. Example are the iPhone 5s that are still quite usable.
  - beatgammit 8y ago
    And how much does that cost compared to less expensive options? At $1k for an iPhone, you're paying $200/year if it lasts you 5 years, more if you stay on the upgrade wagon. My phone cost me $250 (Moto x4) and it's an improvement on my previous $400+ phone (Nexus 6). I could buy a new one nearly every year for the price of making payments on an iPhone. But people see a top-of-the-line product at a monthly cost they can afford and jump on it, not realizing that they could buy a cheaper option and get much more financial stability, and thus much less stress. And yes, it's not just phones, but to me it's a symbol of the other decisions you make it life. Nearly everyone I know who complains when payroll is a day or two later than expected has a way nicer phone than me, drives a nicer car, and eats out a ton. I, on the other hand, have a house I can afford, am well above average on retirement, and have enough cash in the bank to survive without a job for several months without touching my investments. If people realized that they could be out of debt in just a couple years of living more frugally, I'm sure they'd do it. But people just assume they'll be stuck, so they don't even try and spend everything in luxuries now.
    - scarface74 8y ago
      And how much does that cost compared to less expensive options? At $1k for an iPhone, you're paying $200/year if it lasts you 5 years, more if you stay on the upgrade wagon. The iPhone 7 is $449 and seeing that the 5s from 2013 which is three years older is still supported, worse case you would probably still get three years worth of updates for the 7.
- toasterlovin 8y ago
  FWIW, you can buy a used car for the price of a set of new tires. And you can buy a used fridge for $50-100. A common thing that I notice with poor people is that they buy bad cars. 15 year old American sedans. That kind of crap. When you can buy a Japanese sedan, use it for 5 years, spend almost nothing on maintenance, and then sell it for most of what you paid for it.

flukus 8y ago

You're not wrong, people that can't pay cash for a phone shouldn't be buying one. But there are a lot of expenses in that range that are more of a necessity, car tyres that OP mentioned, other car expenses, removalists fees and bond payments, a fridge breaking down. There's some even bigger ones you can't put off like funeral expenses or missing work for medical reasons. A $500 phone gets used as an example because it's something people here will buy somewhat often and without much thought but it's missing the point to argue that there are cheaper phones.

sjg007 8y ago
You can finanace an iPhone for basically 0%.. and it could last you 5+ years. Example are the iPhone 5s that are still quite usable.
- beatgammit 8y ago
  And how much does that cost compared to less expensive options? At $1k for an iPhone, you're paying $200/year if it lasts you 5 years, more if you stay on the upgrade wagon. My phone cost me $250 (Moto x4) and it's an improvement on my previous $400+ phone (Nexus 6). I could buy a new one nearly every year for the price of making payments on an iPhone. But people see a top-of-the-line product at a monthly cost they can afford and jump on it, not realizing that they could buy a cheaper option and get much more financial stability, and thus much less stress. And yes, it's not just phones, but to me it's a symbol of the other decisions you make it life. Nearly everyone I know who complains when payroll is a day or two later than expected has a way nicer phone than me, drives a nicer car, and eats out a ton. I, on the other hand, have a house I can afford, am well above average on retirement, and have enough cash in the bank to survive without a job for several months without touching my investments. If people realized that they could be out of debt in just a couple years of living more frugally, I'm sure they'd do it. But people just assume they'll be stuck, so they don't even try and spend everything in luxuries now.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    And how much does that cost compared to less expensive options? At $1k for an iPhone, you're paying $200/year if it lasts you 5 years, more if you stay on the upgrade wagon. The iPhone 7 is $449 and seeing that the 5s from 2013 which is three years older is still supported, worse case you would probably still get three years worth of updates for the 7.
toasterlovin 8y ago
FWIW, you can buy a used car for the price of a set of new tires. And you can buy a used fridge for $50-100. A common thing that I notice with poor people is that they buy bad cars. 15 year old American sedans. That kind of crap. When you can buy a Japanese sedan, use it for 5 years, spend almost nothing on maintenance, and then sell it for most of what you paid for it.