It's tough to amortize a large cost if you don't have any savings to begin with. Some people may recognize that the up-front cost with the lower monthly rate is

It's tough to amortize a large cost if you don't have any savings to begin with. Some people may recognize that the up-front cost with the lower monthly rate is the best deal, but be flat out unable to pay it. Arguments that they should wait and save for the next 3 years are silly, because in those 3 years they're losing out on any opportunities enabled by having the device at the higher monthly cost. It's only an irrational decision because those opportunities frequently don't have any monetary value.