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> or $74.96/month with 24-month financing I couldn't imagine financing a phone

halestock 3y ago
That has been a thing pretty much as long as cell phones have been around?
thinkling 3y ago
All the deals where the device is free/cheap with a wireless subscription of at least 12 or 24 months are effectively all financing arrangements.
- nicoburns 3y ago
  While I can imagine purchasing one of those in the sense that I know they exist, I'm pretty much with the GP in that I can't imagine myself actually choosing to do so. I think this is partly because new phones are just crazy expensive these days, so I pretty much always buy a year-old model second hand. But also because I don't like being locked into such a contract (although to be fair, that last part is somewhat of a privilege in that I am able to afford to buy the phone up front)
sota4077 3y ago
I finance all my phones. But I refuse to have the cost of my phone be more than the monthly plan itself. That is just absurd. I have no problem paying $25-35/month for my phone for 24 months. That seems more or less like a standard phone plan at this point. But $75!? Good lord.
noncoml 3y ago
If it’s interest free, I’d be happy to finance even my morning coffee. Who doesn’t like ~10% discount?
- tombert 3y ago
  I mean, it’s pretty easy to find credit cards that have 0% interest for 18 months. I tend to get one whenever I need to make a purchase that will take more than a paycheck to pay off
gibspaulding 3y ago
Generally I'd agree, but in this case I will point out that 74.96*24 is 1799.04. At least (assuming you pay it of on schedule), it's 0% interest.
Clamchop 3y ago
At zero percent interest, it in effect reduces the price of the phone, so perhaps you should reconsider it.
- anonporridge 3y ago
  You'd be dumb not to take 0% financing. Put the money you would have spent buying outright in a savings account yielding 4%.
  - blep_ 3y ago
    Where did you find a savings account yielding 4%?
    - lotsofpulp 3y ago
      https://www.investopedia.com/best-high-yield-savings-accounts-4770633 https://www.investopedia.com/best-high-yield-savings-account... https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/ https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/
    - was_a_dev 3y ago
      Some accounts in the UK have been offering 6+%
      - seabass-labrax 3y ago
        The best interest account listed on MoneySavingExpert.com is at 5%, with the condition that you do not withdraw within 3 years of a deposit. Presumably these 6% accounts have similar requirements?
    - anonporridge 3y ago
      This comment right here is part of why the banking crisis has just barely started. Tons and tons of people have their cash sitting in a shitty Chase savings account yielding 0.1%, while there are many FDIC insured banks offering at least 3% and up to 5%. As a critical mass of these people realize the options available, they'll rapidly move their money with online transfers causing more banks to collapse. The extremely rapid outflows are what killed SVB, Signature, and Republic who were screwed because they had too many low yielding treasuries because the Fed hiked rates so fast. I've been yielding over 3% in a Capital One savings account since last year.
kelnos 3y ago
0% interest for the life of the loan is something you should use for all but the most trivial of purchases. It's effectively reducing the price of the product by several percent, since you'll be paying for it with inflated dollars as time goes on. And that's even if you don't do anything with the money but stick it under your mattress. Could also put part of it into some short-term CDs or T-bills (interest rates are great right now) and put that loaned money to work for you. Hell, you can even get north of 3% interest with some savings accounts now. I'm probably in the market for a new phone this year, and I'd absolutely do the 0% 24-month financing even for a "normal" priced phone. I get that some people are debt-averse, and I understand why, but if you can afford to pay for this phone outright, shying away from the financing plan is irrational.

That has been a thing pretty much as long as cell phones have been around?

All the deals where the device is free/cheap with a wireless subscription of at least 12 or 24 months are effectively all financing arrangements.

nicoburns 3y ago
While I can imagine purchasing one of those in the sense that I know they exist, I'm pretty much with the GP in that I can't imagine myself actually choosing to do so. I think this is partly because new phones are just crazy expensive these days, so I pretty much always buy a year-old model second hand. But also because I don't like being locked into such a contract (although to be fair, that last part is somewhat of a privilege in that I am able to afford to buy the phone up front)

sota4077 3y ago

I finance all my phones. But I refuse to have the cost of my phone be more than the monthly plan itself. That is just absurd. I have no problem paying $25-35/month for my phone for 24 months. That seems more or less like a standard phone plan at this point. But $75!? Good lord.

noncoml 3y ago

If it’s interest free, I’d be happy to finance even my morning coffee. Who doesn’t like ~10% discount?

tombert 3y ago
I mean, it’s pretty easy to find credit cards that have 0% interest for 18 months. I tend to get one whenever I need to make a purchase that will take more than a paycheck to pay off

gibspaulding 3y ago

Generally I'd agree, but in this case I will point out that 74.96*24 is 1799.04. At least (assuming you pay it of on schedule), it's 0% interest.

Clamchop 3y ago

At zero percent interest, it in effect reduces the price of the phone, so perhaps you should reconsider it.

anonporridge 3y ago
You'd be dumb not to take 0% financing. Put the money you would have spent buying outright in a savings account yielding 4%.
- blep_ 3y ago
  Where did you find a savings account yielding 4%?
  - lotsofpulp 3y ago
    https://www.investopedia.com/best-high-yield-savings-accounts-4770633 https://www.investopedia.com/best-high-yield-savings-account... https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/ https://www.doctorofcredit.com/high-interest-savings-to-get/
  - was_a_dev 3y ago
    Some accounts in the UK have been offering 6+%
    - seabass-labrax 3y ago
      The best interest account listed on MoneySavingExpert.com is at 5%, with the condition that you do not withdraw within 3 years of a deposit. Presumably these 6% accounts have similar requirements?
  - anonporridge 3y ago
    This comment right here is part of why the banking crisis has just barely started. Tons and tons of people have their cash sitting in a shitty Chase savings account yielding 0.1%, while there are many FDIC insured banks offering at least 3% and up to 5%. As a critical mass of these people realize the options available, they'll rapidly move their money with online transfers causing more banks to collapse. The extremely rapid outflows are what killed SVB, Signature, and Republic who were screwed because they had too many low yielding treasuries because the Fed hiked rates so fast. I've been yielding over 3% in a Capital One savings account since last year.

kelnos 3y ago

0% interest for the life of the loan is something you should use for all but the most trivial of purchases. It's effectively reducing the price of the product by several percent, since you'll be paying for it with inflated dollars as time goes on. And that's even if you don't do anything with the money but stick it under your mattress. Could also put part of it into some short-term CDs or T-bills (interest rates are great right now) and put that loaned money to work for you. Hell, you can even get north of 3% interest with some savings accounts now. I'm probably in the market for a new phone this year, and I'd absolutely do the 0% 24-month financing even for a "normal" priced phone. I get that some people are debt-averse, and I understand why, but if you can afford to pay for this phone outright, shying away from the financing plan is irrational.