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DBZmusicboy01

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Original poster
Sep 30, 2011
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Like for 12 months could we pay like $40 a month and then it gets paid full in 12 months?

Does anyone on here bough an ipad with a Barclay card ?
 
Like for 12 months could we pay like $40 a month and then it gets paid full in 12 months?

Does anyone on here bough an ipad with a Barclay card ?

The only way it gets paid in full is if you pay for it. It's not clear what you're asking. Whether you pay in cash or with a credit card, you still pay for it.
 
Oh yes paying it all
But I mean can we pay it monthly without problems ? Like no interest ?
 
Like for 12 months could we pay like $40 a month and then it gets paid full in 12 months?

Does anyone on here bough an ipad with a Barclay card ?

I bought my wife a new Macbook Pro last Christmas and they offered 0% interest for 12 months via the Barclays card.

At the end of August Barclays sent me a email with an offer for 0% for 6 or 12 months (based on dollar value I think, but don't recall) if I purchased something before Nov 11th (5th or 11th, again can't recall). I'm planning on picking up at least a new iPad, but might also pickup a new Mini if they refresh before the 11th.
 
I bought my wife a new Macbook Pro last Christmas and they offered 0% interest for 12 months via the Barclays card.

At the end of August Barclays sent me a email with an offer for 0% for 6 or 12 months (based on dollar value I think, but don't recall) if I purchased something before Nov 11th (5th or 11th, again can't recall). I'm planning on picking up at least a new iPad, but might also pickup a new Mini if they refresh before the 11th.

But they aren't a scam? And any tricks they have ? So this means that we can't buy an ipad if it comes out November because the 0 percent interest will be added ?
 
Oh yes paying it all
But I mean can we pay it monthly without problems ? Like no interest ?

I imagine you would have to have credit card that had some kind of no interest promotion for 12 months.

I got an email from Amazon yesterday about the same. No interest for 12 months on MacBooks, iMacs and tablets. The problem is that amazon prices tend to be higher than other outlets. So even if you pay it off in 12 months with no interest, the amount you're paying overall is higher. Doesn't seem like a good deal.
 
But they aren't a scam? And any tricks they have ? So this means that we can't buy an ipad if it comes out November because the 0 percent interest will be added ?

Not a scam at all. If you have discipline it is interest free financing.
 
Not a scam at all. If you have discipline it is interest free financing.

Thats the real trick. To often, people do NOT pay the bill off early and do end up overpaying because of interest charges. The card companies count on that. Dont help their cause ;)
 
Thats the real trick. To often, people do NOT pay the bill off early and do end up overpaying because of interest charges. The card companies count on that. Dont help their cause ;)

Yep, if you miss paying it in full even by one dollar, they retroactively hit you with the interest from the entire year. With that being said, you will only find those offers by opening a new credit card.

I personally wouldn't buy anything unless I can pay it in full.
 
Since it hasn't come up yet, I will say the common wisdom on everyone's behalf: If you have to finance a consumer product like this you probably shouldn't be buying it.

$540 ($500 + tax) is not a fortune so financing over 12 months should not even be part of the discussion. If you can't come up with the $500 it probably means you can't afford it.

I would also go as far to say if you are the type of person who can't come up with $500 of disposable income in a month, you may not qualify for financing deals too.
 
Since it hasn't come up yet, I will say the common wisdom on everyone's behalf: If you have to finance a consumer product like this you probably shouldn't be buying it.

$540 ($500 + tax) is not a fortune so financing over 12 months should not even be part of the discussion. If you can't come up with the $500 it probably means you can't afford it.

I would also go as far to say if you are the type of person who can't come up with $500 of disposable income in a month, you may not qualify for financing deals too.

I think there's a valid argument that zero percent always makes sense, but it's up to you to manage the risks. I certainly know a couple of people sufficiently mean that they wouldn't countenance a finance company earning a penny of interest they couldn't earn themselves (both considerably richer than me, through sheer force of meanness BTW).

Because I spend quite a bit of time away from home, and don't necessarily have time to deal with any problems that might occur, like you I just pay the up front cost and pay the Amex bill in full.
 
Can you finance the iPad without over paying?
Sure. You can use Apple's Barclay card's financing offer or any promotional financing offer available to you whether that's through another credit card or Bill Me Later.

But they aren't a scam?
No. A scam involves fraud. Barclay (and other card companies and Bill Me Later) clearly defines the terms of the promotional financing. If you don't read the terms or assume then you have only yourself to blame. Always make sure you fully understand the terms you're agreeing to regardless of what the terms are for.

Since it hasn't come up yet, I will say the common wisdom on everyone's behalf: If you have to finance a consumer product like this you probably shouldn't be buying it.

$540 ($500 + tax) is not a fortune so financing over 12 months should not even be part of the discussion.
It's generally not a good idea but one size does not fit all. It's really up to each to evaluate. Promotional financing is just a tool. Like any tool it can be used responsibly or irresponsibly.
 
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I think there's a valid argument that zero percent always makes sense, but it's up to you to manage the risks. I certainly know a couple of people sufficiently mean that they wouldn't countenance a finance company earning a penny of interest they couldn't earn themselves (both considerably richer than me, through sheer force of meanness BTW).

Because I spend quite a bit of time away from home, and don't necessarily have time to deal with any problems that might occur, like you I just pay the up front cost and pay the Amex bill in full.

Sure, you can use the Time Value of Money to calculate that you benefit like $1 or $2 in interest earned if you buy a $500 item on credit over 6 months while the cash balance is earning an interest at the bank or another financial instrument.

However, that argument is also flawed in that it does not take into account management time. The act of physically spending 30 minutes to an hour setting up to the arrangement, keeping track of the incoming bills, and writing checks or setting up online payments easily wipes that $1 or $2 benefit and turns it into a negative.

All it takes is 6 stamps at 45 cents for you to mail your check in, and you already got $2.70 of cost. The $2 of interest you "earned" is now -$0.70. and you were hassled. Also, if you value your time, those losses can be more substantial.

Buying things on 0% interest is only worth it versus paying cash when the benefit is substantial enough to outweigh administrative costs/hassles in managing it AND virtually all your money is in interest earning accounts.

I do support the use of credit cards as a MODE of payment since its not practical to order things online for physical cash, or one may not want to be wandering around town with a wad of bills, but I would pay it all off immediately when the bill comes.

But let's face it, $500 is not a lot of money. So if you feel like you have to finance it (and that it IS a "lot" of money to you), you probably have a lot of problems and maybe spending money on an iPad should be rethought or postponed until the financial bind you are in is over. That's my advice to the OP.
 
Sure, you can use the Time Value of Money to calculate that you benefit like $1 or $2 in interest earned if you buy a $500 item on credit over 6 months while the cash balance is earning an interest at the bank or another financial instrument.

However, that argument is also flawed in that it does not take into account management time. The act of physically spending 30 minutes to an hour setting up to the arrangement, keeping track of the incoming bills, and writing checks or setting up online payments easily wipes that $1 or $2 benefit and turns it into a negative.

All it takes is 6 stamps at 45 cents for you to mail your check in, and you already got $2.70 of cost. The $2 of interest you "earned" is now -$0.70. and you were hassled. Also, if you value your time, those losses can be more substantial.

Buying things on 0% interest is only worth it versus paying cash when the benefit is substantial enough to outweigh administrative costs/hassles in managing it AND virtually all your money is in interest earning accounts.

I do support the use of credit cards as a MODE of payment since its not practical to order things online for physical cash, or one may not want to be wandering around town with a wad of bills, but I would pay it all off immediately when the bill comes.

But let's face it, $500 is not a lot of money. So if you feel like you have to finance it (and that it IS a "lot" of money to you), you probably have a lot of problems and maybe spending money on an iPad should be rethought or postponed until the financial bind you are in is over. That's my advice to the OP.

Agree on all points. I pay for everything in full with a credit card. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. It doesn't matter if you make minimum wage or a six figure salary, $500 is not a lot of money. A child can save up $500 in a year (the iPad lifecycle) with a monthly allowance and saving money from birthday gifts. I only plan on financing three things in life - a car, a home, and a college education if I ever have kids (though I hope to invest in a fund as soon as they are born to negate this).
 
While $500 is a decent chunk of money for some people, it is generally unwise to finance something like consumer electronics. A car, home or college is one thing but an iPad is another.
 
save money for 12 months and pay cash.

This

AND you'll have the iPad 6! How cool will that be? Cooler than your 5 that you won't have to know is outdated by the time you actualy own it.

Financing is for homes, leasing is for new cars, cash is for everything else. Keep a single credit card with no annual fee for renting cars.

Your life will be MUCH better financially. You won't find many people that live by those rules with bad credit... Funny how it works that way, but it's the truth.

If you HAVE to have it (surgery, for example), sure. But a consumer electronic??? Cash. You will thank me later...
 
This

AND you'll have the iPad 6! How cool will that be? Cooler than your 5 that you won't have to know is outdated by the time you actualy own it.

Financing is for homes, leasing is for new cars, cash is for everything else. Keep a single credit card with no annual fee for renting cars.

Your life will be MUCH better financially. You won't find many people that live by those rules with bad credit... Funny how it works that way, but it's the truth.

If you HAVE to have it (surgery, for example), sure. But a consumer electronic??? Cash. You will thank me later...

I always put big electronic purchases on a no interest card, you never know what could happen in case of an emergency, keeping cash in your pocket is a good thing. But usually just end up paying it in full the first month anyways :D
 
This

AND you'll have the iPad 6! How cool will that be? Cooler than your 5 that you won't have to know is outdated by the time you actualy own it.

Financing is for homes, leasing is for new cars, cash is for everything else. Keep a single credit card with no annual fee for renting cars.

Your life will be MUCH better financially. You won't find many people that live by those rules with bad credit... Funny how it works that way, but it's the truth.

If you HAVE to have it (surgery, for example), sure. But a consumer electronic??? Cash. You will thank me later...

While I agree that it is not wise to finace things that you want, and not need, I think paying for cash is a bad idea in general.

A few years ago we we routed all of our bills/purchases to our discover card, and simply pay it off in full each month. Beyond the 970 dollars we have earned this year in cash back bonuses, we also get some nice side perks as well. like double manufacturer warranties and 90 days free accidential damage/loss replacement for all purchases; we also get the ability to file a charge back in cases where the merchant is shall we say less that honest :)

If the CC companies are offering it up might as well take advantage of it. So thank you discover; you are going to cover 70% of the cost for the two iPads I am going to buy in a few weeks.
 
While I agree that it is not wise to finace things that you want, and not need, I think paying for cash is a bad idea in general.

A few years ago we we routed all of our bills/purchases to our discover card, and simply pay it off in full each month. Beyond the 970 dollars we have earned this year in cash back bonuses, we also get some nice side perks as well. like double manufacturer warranties and 90 days free accidential damage/loss replacement for all purchases; we also get the ability to file a charge back in cases where the merchant is shall we say less that honest :)

If the CC companies are offering it up might as well take advantage of it. So thank you discover; you are going to cover 70% of the cost for the two iPads I am going to buy in a few weeks.


This. It's insane how fast points add up with credit cards. Just pay it off fully each month and you'll be fine.
 
While $500 is a decent chunk of money for some people, it is generally unwise to finance something like consumer electronics. A car, home or college is one thing but an iPad is another.

I'm 62 years old and I must say that while I agree with you the way my husband and I have done it is to buy good used cars (usually 2-3 years old) and paid cash. Add up the amount of interest you pay on a car loan, you'll be astonished. We maintain them scrupulously and sell them after 3-4 years. It has saved us a fortune over the years. Now we no longer buy used but new. We still pay cash.

The way to get to this point is to buy a nice used one, on a loan if you must, then keep it when it's paid off. But continue to pay yourself the payment into a separate account each month. Use that cash to buy the next one. Rinse and repeat. It didn't take us long to be able to afford a new car but we continued the process until a year ago.

If you do this it can add up to a couple hundred thousand extra dollars by the time you retire. We also financed our house for 10 years only. Then we paid it off early. By doing this we retired at 54 and 58, bought our dream house in the country for cash and life is sweet. But it takes discipline. Worth it if you can do it.
 
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