Can you afford your phone? Really?

MoreCoffee · Sep 16, 2017

I buy cheap android phones instead of "flagship" phones because it's really only a phone. It isn't a computer. It doesn't replace my desktop or laptop. It does sms and makes/receives phone calls and I use it for weather checking sometimes and as a flashlight sometimes and as a camera occasionally. My Phone cost 80 dollars or so it's a Leagoo M8 I'll replace it next year or the year after. I don't expect it to be especially secure so I don't put email and other stuff on it because android is not very secure after a year or so anyway (manufacturers only give one or two updates and then abandon their customers) so a new phone every couple of years at 80-ish dollars per phone is okay but a new phone every 2 or 3 years at 1000 dollars is not okay.

Add to the cost of the phone the price of a phone service and think about how much you're spending. I spend 180 dollars a year for my mobile-phone service it gives unlimited calls and sms in Australia and 1.5 GB of data per month. Some folk I know spend about 100 dollars per month for their phone service. That's 1200 dollars a year. Even my car does not cost me that much per year for license and third party insurance (comprehensive insurance costs me about 500 dollars a year) and I spend only 300 dollars or so on fuel per year. So why are people buying these expensive "flagship" phones? Is it a case of "a fool and his/her money are soon parted"?

Imalive · Sep 16, 2017

No I can't. I'd never buy one. I don't even have a home phone or private phone. But this one's from the office and for free YAY!
I see ppl complain they have no food but they have to have a phone.

Lamb · Sep 16, 2017

I don't do phone upgrades and don't have a contract. We pay monthly but we have 3 on our plan so it's somewhat discounted but it's still a big chunk of money. We gave up our landline when we moved here though so we don't have another phone expense to worry about. I wouldn't pay $1000 for a phone right now because I don't use it for much other than texting and calls because doing anything else runs down my battery.

Stravinsk · Sep 16, 2017

To some people, your phone is like your keepin-up-with-the-Jones's status symbol.

My phone is somewhere between 8-10 years old. Normal messaging and phone calls generally cost me between $$ 108-170 annually. I don't bother with internet on it since the cost for that on this plan is prohibitively high. That's fine. I don't need the internet everywhere I go. Basically, I bought my phone for emergencies mostly, and basic messaging. If I really need to record something, there is a camera and a crappy video service.

psalms 91 · Sep 16, 2017

My phone works and didnt cost much to begin with. I use TracFone and it only costs me $20 every three months.

NewCreation435 · Sep 16, 2017

I use my personal phone for almost everything else except calling. I use it for music, listening to sermons, texting, taking pictures, reading the news, looking up what movies are going on. I didn't pay 1000 for it though and never would.

tango · Sep 16, 2017

jsimms435 said:
I use my personal phone for almost everything else except calling. I use it for music, listening to sermons, texting, taking pictures, reading the news, looking up what movies are going on. I didn't pay 1000 for it though and never would.

I wouldn't pay $1000 for a phone, that seems silly to me. But then to some people it's worth it. To others it's just a way to flash a status symbol.

I don't need the latest and greatest phone but do use it for my business so it has to have data capabilities, and I need a plan with data. Pricing is such that my monthly contract probably costs much the same as it would on a pay-as-you-go plan, but gives me more data. I suppose in theory I could turn off the mobile data and not do stuff like gather my emails on the move and not play data-intensive mobile games etc, but if I'm going to use the phone I might as well pay a little more and enjoy it more.

It's curious that most incoming calls I get on my phone are junk calls from people wanting to talk to me about my credit card account or the viruses on my computer.

NewCreation435 · Sep 16, 2017

tango said:
I wouldn't pay $1000 for a phone, that seems silly to me. But then to some people it's worth it. To others it's just a way to flash a status symbol.

I don't need the latest and greatest phone but do use it for my business so it has to have data capabilities, and I need a plan with data. Pricing is such that my monthly contract probably costs much the same as it would on a pay-as-you-go plan, but gives me more data. I suppose in theory I could turn off the mobile data and not do stuff like gather my emails on the move and not play data-intensive mobile games etc, but if I'm going to use the phone I might as well pay a little more and enjoy it more.

It's curious that most incoming calls I get on my phone are junk calls from people wanting to talk to me about my credit card account or the viruses on my computer.

The office I work in now gave me a phone when I started working there. It is linked to my email. For them this is a good way to ensure that I am linked to my email and they can contact me whenever they want. Since we are also on call every few weeks we can use this number also without giving out our personal cell phone numbers.

tango · Sep 16, 2017

jsimms435 said:
The office I work in now gave me a phone when I started working there. It is linked to my email. For them this is a good way to ensure that I am linked to my email and they can contact me whenever they want. Since we are also on call every few weeks we can use this number also without giving out our personal cell phone numbers.

Personally I'd say that having a company phone would be a prerequisite to being on call. If the company wants people to be able to call me at their convenience they can provide the phone. If I'm paying for the phone I decide when and whether to answer it. Otherwise it becomes really convenient for the company, to tell me I have to have a phone at my expense for their benefit.

tango · Sep 16, 2017

jsimms435 said:
The office I work in now gave me a phone when I started working there. It is linked to my email. For them this is a good way to ensure that I am linked to my email and they can contact me whenever they want. Since we are also on call every few weeks we can use this number also without giving out our personal cell phone numbers.

Personally I'd say that having a company phone would be a prerequisite to being on call. If the company wants people to be able to call me at their convenience they can provide the phone. If I'm paying for the phone I decide when and whether to answer it. Otherwise it becomes really convenient for the company, to tell me I have to have a phone at my expense for their benefit.

Imalive · Sep 16, 2017

I got a call in the grocery store if I could change a map. Lol they almost never call. I said sure but not today. I'm grocery shopping. Oh sorry! lol. Fabulous this thing, free 3G and 4G, great camera to make hundreds of stupid movies, kids play games on it and once in a while a phone call from the office.

tango · Sep 16, 2017

Years ago I worked for a compay that offered to pay half of our personal cellphone bills, in exchange for us being willing to take calls on our personal cellphones at reasonable out-of-office times. Most of us agreed to it.

Then a new manager took over and refused to honor the agreement unless we submitted itemised bills (i.e. showing every single number called). Quite a few of us refused to do that, on the basis the company didn't need to know who we were calling on our own time. The manager said if we didn't he wouldn't continue to pay half our bills, so we said if he wasn't going to continue to honor the company's side of the deal he shouldn't expect to be able to call us in the evenings.

On balance that change worked out much better, the cost of half the cellphone bill was trivial when compared to the right to bother us out of hours when we weren't paid any on-call allowance.

Alexander · Feb 25, 2021

My mobile phone bill comes to £24 a month which is 34USD$ monthly. I get unlimited data, minutes, and calls to anybody living in the UK. It's good value for money, considering nothing is restricted.

Member4592 · Mar 11, 2021

My phone is a Total Wireless brand that was only 40 dollars. I spend 25 dollars a month on it. So yeah, it's affordable and it does what I need it to.

Ash · Apr 14, 2021

I used to always use a contract but for my latest phone, the Samsung Galaxy S20, I just bought it outright since I was able to get a great deal on it. Since it's something that I use quite a lot for almost everything, I don't mind the price. I need something that runs well and will not slow down after downloading a few apps. The S20 is great for me and well worth the price.

Can you afford your phone? Really?

MoreCoffee

Well-known member

Imalive

Well-known member

Lamb

God's Lil Lamb

Stravinsk

Composer and Artist on Flat Earth

psalms 91

Well-known member

NewCreation435

Well-known member

tango

... and you shall live ...

NewCreation435

Well-known member

tango

... and you shall live ...

tango

... and you shall live ...

Imalive

Well-known member

tango

... and you shall live ...

Alexander

Well-known member

Member4592

Well-known member

Ash

Well-known member