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If You Can't Afford to Buy an iPhone 6 off contract, You Can't Afford to buy an iPhone 6
https://www.johnnyfd.com/2014/09/if-you-cant-afford-to-buy-iphone-6-off.html
If you think it's a good idea to "save" money by signing a 2 year contract, you are digging yourself into a hole with this phone and most likely everything else you do in life.
How I pay $0 a month for my phone while traveling.
When i'm in the US I use AT&T's prepaid Go Plan and pay $60 for Unlimited Everything if I'm going to be there the whole month, or if I'm only there for 2 weeks, I pay $40 for a smaller smartphone plan.
When i'm traveling which I do 10 months out of the year, I pay $2 a day only on the days I use the phone, which is $0 per month to keep my number and account active. All I have to do is keep $100 balance in my top off account.
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| Total cost after 24 months. $801.43. And that's with tax and for the 64gb model. |
How much do I pay when traveling?
Whether I'm in Thailand or Berlin, Germany I pay less than $20 a month for my phone plan because it's not on contract and I can just walk into a 711 and buy a $10 data package.
Don't listen to me:
Start around the 5 minute mark, and listen to Grant Cardone to see if you are a baller or a pretender.
Great post Johnny, adding debt is just like throwing out an anchor on the boat of your life. It hold you down and holds you back.
ReplyDeleteAlso if you say 'but I need a smart phone and can't afford one", either buy used or check out Motorola's X and G phones or the Google Nexus line - you can get a NICE android for $200 - $400 now-a-days. Samsung & Apple stuff is great but 2x or 3x the price and only marginally better.
Also if you are mostly US based and prefer a traditional carrier, check out T-Mobile. Not perfect (spotty coverage outside of cities) but they have great features for travelers like free texting & data in 120 countries, free texting on most US flights (via GOGO) and now free WIFI calling (like Skype, but with no software). Plus their plans are no-contract & pretty cheap ($80 for their unlimited everything plan). No interest in T-Mobile, just switched from a rip off AT&T plan a while back and they keep adding awesome stuff for travelers, so was impressed. A good transitional company if you aren't willing to make the jump to buying your own phones & using rechargeable SIMs right now.
I realize what you're trying to say Johnny in regards to digging yourself into debt and a contract which will tie you down, and I generally agree. But for those people who are going to be in the US long term anyway, it might be more economical to go with a plan.
ReplyDeleteAssuming a person will be using the phone daily, if they buy the phone outright and then use a pay-as-you-go monthly plan from T-Mobile (http://www.t-mobile.com/cell-phone-plans/individual.html, even the cheapest plan is $45/mo plus taxes, fees, etc.) or some other carrier, the minimum total cost of the phone and the service is:
Phone: $649
Plan: $45 x 24 months = $1080
Total: $1729 (plus tax, fees, etc.)
Another option: I have a old unlocked iPhone 3G and use a T-Mobile pay-as-you-go $2 daily plan for unlimited data (3G), voice and text. There's also a $3 daily plan that has 4G. However, I am on a mini-retirement and don't need to use the phone daily and I only turn on the cell reception when I need it, averaging about $10 to $20/month. Even then, the total cost for a new iPhone 6 and a daily plan (assume $15/month) is $1009.
Lorry
So my argument above is pants because the costs you quoted don't include the plan costs and are only the amortized phone purchase costs. Comparing apples to oranges. If you added the $1080 ($45/mo, minimum) to the costs you posted above, that makes apples to apples.
ReplyDeleteHi Lorry, great breakdown. I like T-Mobile as another option. I use AT&T's gophone plan which similar. The $45 a month Simple Starter Plan looks like a great deal if it isn't a contract. I especially like the free data and texting while traveling internationally. I would advise anyone living mostly in the US 10+ months a year to look into the details of that.
ReplyDeleteHey Leonard, great tips. It sounds like T-Mobile is giving really good value now a days. People will just have to check if the coverage in their area is good enough. As for Androids, you are right that if buying a new phone, something like a Nexus is a great value, or the One Plus One if you can get one is even better. The only reason why I would stick with Apple products is for the resale value.
ReplyDeleteIf I was on a budget I would buy a used iPhone 4S for $200-$250 as they hold their prices nicely and are easy to sell again. But you're right about debt, and love what you said:
"adding debt is just like throwing out an anchor on the boat of your life. It hold you down and holds you back."
So to summarize my waste of time and space above:
ReplyDelete"If You Can't Afford to Buy an iPhone 6 off contract, You Can't Afford to buy an iPhone 6"
Johnny, even at $2 per day, don't you need your phone on everyday for this or that?
ReplyDeleteBut really I also had another question, has anyone looked into Google Voice and using that somehow when travelling internationally? I'm going to be heading over to Europe for a couple of months and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about my phone (and yes I also have T-mobile and I do think it's the best - but even with the international plan the per minute charges can really add up when travelling overseas).
Hi Michal. The $2 a day plan is only a placeholder when I'm not in the U.S. and I just want to keep my number active. It allows me to pay $0 a day since I don't actually use it. When I traveled through Europe I'd just pick up local sim cards for less than $15 including data. As for Google Voice, I love using it in the US but internationally it is choppy. Skype sucks in the US but is good internationally. I have a skype out number.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the reply Johnny. Could you elaborate more on the "skype out number"? And while coming back to the site I thought I might as well ask this since we're on a "phone" topic. For you eCommerce sites, do you use a toll-free or any number (since most every has free long distance these days). We've been with 8x8 but our call volume does not justify the cost so I'm looking at options for that as well.
ReplyDeleteHey Michal, the Skype Out Number is $60 a year and basically assigns you a permanent local number that displays when you make calls, as well as giving people a way to call you. You can technically use it for your eCommerce site and have it forward anywhere, but the lag is a bit annoying. Toll free numbers are outdated. I personally just use a cell phone, skype number, or google voice number for my stores.
ReplyDeleteThanks Johnny, we were going to go with a toll-free ($29 per year and then 5 cents a minute pre-paid) that forwarded to a Google Voice but on your advice, we'll go with a straight Google Voice number.
ReplyDeleteJust tried setting up a new Google Voice number. Unfortunately I have found that I can't have it forwarded to my cell because I already have another GV number forwarded (for another business). Is there a way around this? Do you just use the same number for all your stores Johnny?
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI, signed up with a service. MightyCall. Can't report on their call quality yet but you get any number and 300 minutes for $10 a month.
ReplyDeleteJohnny,
ReplyDeleteWhat iphone model do you have?