How does one afford an iPhone these days?

MelodyandBarbells
MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
edited November 16 in Chit-Chat
Okay, so my 5s is finally dying. But I hear carriers don't offer "free" phones with long term contracts anymore? What's a girl to do? Anyone interested in helping me hack the numbers to come up with a plan that doesn't end up with me in the poor house? Here are some of my details:

Current Carrier: AT&T
Average monthly payment: $85.
Avg monthly data usage: Just under 2 Gigs.
I pretty much barely talk on the phone, so any voice plan would be sufficient.
Would like to keep current phone #.
Latest iPhone would be ideal, however I do not need to switch frequently and actually consider it a hassle.

PLEASE HELP!! :)
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Replies

  • DeficitDuchess
    DeficitDuchess Posts: 3,099 Member
    edited February 2017
    You know how we tell people that desire to rid themselves of an unreasonable amount of weight before an event they knew would be happening now months ago that, they should've began then; well this applies to financials also: saving money for, when it'd eventually've to; be replaced!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited February 2017
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  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    edited February 2017
    Is it necessary to your health to have an iphone to begin with? Plenty of other smartphones out there that won't charge you your firstborn just for that half-eaten apple logo. I would never pay that much for a phone, it's absurd.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »
    Is it necessary to your health to have an iphone to begin with? Plenty of other smartphones out there that won't charge you your firstborn just for that half-eaten apple logo. I would never pay that much for a phone, it's absurd.

    It's absolutely worth considering, though I love being able to search for and find random bits of data from a decade ago (among many other tidbits). Again, though, since this is a financial question, jumping ship must be on the table!
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    DeficitDuchess wrote: »
    You know how we tell people that desire to rid themselves of an unreasonable amount of weight before an event they knew would be happening now months ago that, they should've began then; well this applies to financials also: saving money for, when it'd eventually've to; be replaced!

    haha yup. Though I'm thinking of now as being the "several months before" point in time. If I make a wise decision now, hopefully I won't tinkle away unnecessary amounts of $$.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    happilymegan wrote: »
    It's cheaper if you buy th phone outright because you save on your bill monthly. So I buy the phone unlocked. Then sell my older phone. Then with the savings on my bill I acquire I make up the majority of the phone price.

    Mind sharing about how much you saved on your monthly bill? I'd need to be in the $50/mo range for buying a phone outright to be around where I am right now.
  • chocolate_owl
    chocolate_owl Posts: 1,695 Member
    My carrier is Verizon, but I think AT&T operates under a similar principle. It had been more than 2 years, so I "earned" an upgrade. Most of the cost of my iPhone SE got rolled into my monthly payments, which didn't change and are reasonable to me. I got some money for my old phone when I traded it in. After all of that, I paid $40 out of pocket. And FWIW, the iPhone SE was one of the more affordable options. The 6 or 7? Not so much.

    You could also think about switching carriers. So many of them have crazy intro offers. I think one of them was offering a free phone?
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    We use straight talk (at&t sim). $46 and some change per month for "unlimited". Works great for us. The new iPhone is crazy expensive, but I got mine as a Christmas present from my husband. He made me buy Apple Care though :smile:
  • FitOneSoon
    FitOneSoon Posts: 467 Member
    I use a burn phone, cost me $20 for 3 months. They even make smart phone ones now. ;)
  • WeepingAngel81
    WeepingAngel81 Posts: 2,232 Member
    I also use straight talk! No hidden fees, great coverage, unlimited everything. It's nice. I have never had the newest iPhones. I always buy later versions. My 5s went out, so I bought a new 5s. It was cheaper and I was familiar with it.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    edited February 2017
    So with straight talk, I could buy a new whatever and actually still save about $150 over the course of 2 years. If I buy protection plans though, I might be just about even, it looks like.

    AT&T had an awesome offer for me! Buy a new phone at $649 / $749 (I didn't even look at the "plus" versions), and they'd be happy to finance it monthly! Yeah "no contracts" is all nice and good, but if I'm still paying the same monthly fee, the appeal definitely isn't there compared to when I used to get a "free with two year contract" phone

    Thank you everyone for your awesome ideas, I'm still reading!
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    $120? I think we might be going in the opposite direction from where I was thinking :D Still worth checking out what the other major guys have, though. I'll ask!
  • mislmar
    mislmar Posts: 41 Member
    Republic wireless. They don't have iPhones but they are really cheap and have nice phones. You do have to buy the phone but the plans are super cheap. Look it up they have a website.
  • nomorepuke
    nomorepuke Posts: 320 Member
    I have an iPhone 7 plus with Verizon. Total of $99 a month including insurance. 2GB the smallest data plan, the data carry over makes it plenty to use throughout the moth.
  • nomorepuke
    nomorepuke Posts: 320 Member
    Cutaway_Collar wrote: »
    Dump ATT and go to the T-mobile or VZ store and the techies will crunch the numbers for you. You can easily get the latest 7s or even the 7s plus with an edge plan. Your bill will be in the range of 120 if you pick the medium data option.

    7S came out already?
  • Motorsheen
    Motorsheen Posts: 20,508 Member
    Land Line; Rotary Dial.

  • CooCooPuff
    CooCooPuff Posts: 4,374 Member
    Buy a cheaper Android.

    I have a ZTE warp elite an use it for MFP, gps for running and directions, and browsing the internet. Works bretty gud
  • Timshel_
    Timshel_ Posts: 22,834 Member
    JaneiR36 wrote: »
    Latest iPhone would be ideal, however I do not need to switch frequently and actually consider it a hassle.

    PLEASE HELP!! :)

    Latest will always be the most expensive. Going from a 5S to even a 6 or the 6S will be a huge improvement and you can find them online for like half of what a 7 is running. Well worth it.

  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    So the problem with my 5s was that it wasn't holding a charge. Like draining to 1% in no time flat. I went on an app deleting spree to free up space and will also need to do some cleanup in what's app. I can't find the website that had the step by step instructions I used, but I turned off location services to most apps. Finally, I replaced my crappy charge cable. The phone is no longer overheating and holds a charge I'd say acceptably well

    I really do need to look into a less expensive plan - start "saving" $$ up front for whatever phone I do get when this one dies. It should also give me a chance to test out reception, doing business with another provider, etc without the pressure of getting a new phone working as well.

    Thanks everyone, you've given me a lot to think about!
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • festerw
    festerw Posts: 233 Member
    I've purchased a few used phones through Swappa, much cheaper than buying new.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    edited April 2017
    I thought someone said they bought another 5s for like 50 bucks used? Aww man I'm imagining things. I could easily see myself doing this if the need were to arise.

    Anyway, I finally made the switch to cricket wireless. Kept my number. Owned by AT&T, $35 per month with autopay, I get one gig data more than I had before and it just gets throttled down In speed if I go over. If I want one more gig of LTE I pay another 10 bucks but it's not automatic like it was with my AT&T (I consider this a plus???). I also have no access to using the service outside the USA and I think Mexico, whereas the times I traveled with AT&T my phone just worked - just had to brace myself when the bill arrived. 10 bucks for the cricket kit, they recommend an UNLOCKED phone. If you own the phone outright, your carrier can unlock it for you, though a locked AT&T phone will work on cricket wireless. had to swap out my SIM card which simply involves sticking a small paper clip in the side of my phone so the tray ejects. This is also what I'll need to do if I travel: buy a temporary international plan with SIM card and swap it out.

    Can't wait to start saving some dough!
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    edited April 2017
    I pay $100 a year to keep my 3G stupid tracfone working and am astonished at the willingness of people to spend more than that each month to rent a supercomputer to swipe right or left.

    I have the non-disclosure agreements to prove nothing about nothing to no-one.
  • FabulousFantasticFifty
    FabulousFantasticFifty Posts: 195,832 Member
    Right????
    I broke mine and had to settle for an Android,
    I hate it!!! :bawling:

    No offense to you expert Androidians! ;)
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    FabulousFantasticFifty wrote: »
    Right????
    I broke mine and had to settle for an Android,
    I hate it!!! :bawling:

    No offense to you expert Androidians! ;)

    How much was the android and which brand exactly was it? Are you still paying it off?
  • FabulousFantasticFifty
    FabulousFantasticFifty Posts: 195,832 Member
    edited April 2017
    It's actually not that bad!
    I'm just spoiled because the iPhone is so user friendly!
    A BLU HD unlocked only $59 on Amazon
    It works well, but the battery life isn't that great, pics are decent. 5" screen
  • Rebeccacm1971
    Rebeccacm1971 Posts: 3 Member
    I like be my iPhone and especially my Apple Watch. My watch convinced my husband to switch from Android... however I really do wish I had stuck with dial and left it at that. My husband is big on phones and keeps upgrading me. I hate what cell phones has done to relationships and socializing, though they are good for safety. After watching Brain Hacked on 60 minutes, I'm even more frustrated with cell phones. I have just always kept things in perspective for the most part though it's just most people don't.i can't even let my self think about the money or the control these companies seem to have without fuming.
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    Land Line; Rotary Dial.

  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,724 Member
    Rebeccacm1971 wrote: »
    I like be my iPhone and especially my Apple Watch. My watch convinced my husband to switch from Android... however I really do wish I had stuck with dial and left it at that. My husband is big on phones and keeps upgrading me. I hate what cell phones has done to relationships and socializing, though they are good for safety. After watching Brain Hacked on 60 minutes, I'm even more frustrated with cell phones. I have just always kept things in perspective for the most part though it's just most people don't.i can't even let my self think about the money or the control these companies seem to have without fuming.
    Motorsheen wrote: »
    Land Line; Rotary Dial.

    Can you send me your unlocked iPhone the next time he upgrades you, please? :D
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