Financing an iMac

[peacenfunk]

I've had my current laptop now for about 5 years. In the tech world it's a very long time. But now I want to make the jump and get an iMac. I have recently thought about financing one. I could save. I earn enough that after bills and what-not i could get it within the next few months. Also have an iPad mini. Recently i bought a DSLR as photography is a passion I am able to fulfill and hopefully turn it into a career.

My question is how many of you have financed an iMac or a computer or thought of doing it?

Thanks

 

[Beaverman3001]

It seems kind of silly to finance such a small purchase, I'd just stick it out a few months then buy it. I hate paying extra when I don't have to.

 

[TheJae]

You could use some relative's students discount to get educational pricing.

 

[nabwong]

Don't finance. Only finance something you really need for the rest of your life. Like a house. Not even a car. Buy a used car. If you don't have to pay interest, then don't. That's just wasted money.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Agree with buy what you can afford... however I did use the 12-month interest free credit card offer on Apple.com for my last computer. Could have paid outright but no sense turning down free money.

 

[nabwong]

Agree with buy what you can afford... however I did use the 12-month interest free credit card offer on Apple.com for my last computer. Could have paid outright but no sense turning down free money.

No interest is a different story.

 

[Bear]

...

My question is how many of you have financed an iMac or a computer or thought of doing it?

Thanks

If you can get an interest free deal, go for it. However if you're ever late on a payment, you got hit with a heavy interest charge. I'd recommend paying extra each month and pay it off as soon as you can.

If you can't get an interest free deal, you could figure out exactly how much the interest is and then deide if it is worth buying now. If you pay it off in 3 months you might only be looking at $20 to $40 in interest total.

 

[toondw]

As nobody has actually answered your question financing via apple is easy and quick (holds your order up by about 1 day) and all done online. The interest rate is reasonable compared to some. Take the least time you can afford to take and if after a few months you can afford to repay the loan you do get some interest rebate. I can only talk about the UK however, no idea about other countries. I have done it before via the education apple website. Currently the APR is 14.9 here.

 

[marzer]

As nobody has actually answered your question financing via apple is easy and quick (holds your order up by about 1 day) and all done online. The interest rate is reasonable compared to some. Take the least time you can afford to take and if after a few months you can afford to repay the loan you do get some interest rebate. I can only talk about the UK however, no idea about other countries. I have done it before via the education apple website. Currently the APR is 14.9 here.

And you didn't actually answer the OP's question either, it was "who?" not "how?".

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My question is how many of you have financed an iMac or a computer or thought of doing it?

Thanks

Let me give it a try: I did not finance but purchased with cash (debit). My thought on financing is, do it if the interest is reasonable and the payment is comfortably available within your monthly operating budget for the term of the loan.

 

[richard13]

I have not and would not consider financing a new Mac. I am very much against paying what I consider unfair interest (credit card rates) for something I'm likely to replace in a few years anyway.

If you can get low interest or no interest financing and don't already have a lot of debt I say go for it.

 

[maxosx]

I've had my current laptop now for about 5 years. In the tech world it's a very long time. But now I want to make the jump and get an iMac. I have recently thought about financing one. I could save. I earn enough that after bills and what-not i could get it within the next few months. Also have an iPad mini. Recently i bought a DSLR as photography is a passion I am able to fulfill and hopefully turn it into a career.

My question is how many of you have financed an iMac or a computer or thought of doing it?

Thanks

This is a wonderful opportunity to practice patience & self control.

Even if you arranged some interest free credit card deal, you're still spreading out the payments over several months. During that period if you were in a car accident or other serious accident preventing you from working, suddenly your Mac payment would be a burden at the least or worse if you failed to make the payments.

I have never considered financing anything other than my house.

If you focus on your weekly expenses & live frugally you'll be surprised, it won't take you that long to save the money & pay cash.

Remember in this economy cash is king

 

[boy-better-know]

Don't finance. Only finance something you really need for the rest of your life. Like a house. Not even a car. Buy a used car. If you don't have to pay interest, then don't. That's just wasted money.

You save money from buying brand new cars from repairs, warrantees and through not being required to pay for an MOT each year (in the UK), not to mention newer engines have better fuel consumption, so sometimes financing a new car is a sound decision.

However, financing a Mac is not. Looking at the repayments, it seems that the finance option is only for people who have to have it now.

 

[richard13]

This is a wonderful opportunity to practice patience & self control.

Even if you arranged some interest free credit card deal, you're still spreading out the payments over several months. During that period if you were in a car accident or other serious accident preventing you from working, suddenly your Mac payment would be a burden at the least or worse if you failed to make the payments.

I have never considered financing anything other than my house.

If you focus on your weekly expenses & live frugally you'll be surprised, it won't take you that long to save the money & pay cash.

Remember in this economy cash is king

Good advice about self control and limiting debt load.

However, I'm going to partly disagree with you about paying for things with cash. While doing so will keep you out of trouble with debt and occasionally get you a slightly better deal it is often a bad way to go. Paying for coffee, a quick bite to eat, or some service that has already been performed with cash is fine but for anything of value I always advise people to pay with credit. The creditor has programs that protect you from fraud. Some cards even offer extended warranties, price protection, damage protection, and cash back for things you charge. This is a far better way to pay for things than using cash or debit card.

The other thing I always advise, and may be what you really meant, is to pay your credit card bill off at the end of the month. The benefits to using credit quickly dissipate if you then have to pay interest. Paying off your card monthly ensures you pay no interest and get all of the benefits.

 

[Reddyt5]

If I was you I would save up a few more months and buy it outright, unless it is interest free. However I would still buy outright. How badly do you need the iMac? If you HAD to have it I could possibly see financing but if it is not a necessity now save up and buy with cash.

 

[PJM82]

Most people finance cars and houses so I do find it funny when some people pretend it never happens. Financing a mac is expensive unless you can find it for 0%. This usually happens at Christmas with Apple so I would wait. Use the time to try and save and if you don't make it you've lost nothing and can 0% it.

 

[Apple fanboy]

You save money from buying brand new cars from repairs, warrantees and through not being required to pay for an MOT each year (in the UK), not to mention newer engines have better fuel consumption, so sometimes financing a new car is a sound decision.

However, financing a Mac is not. Looking at the repayments, it seems that the finance option is only for people who have to have it now.

You simply don't. When you buy a new car for £25000 and then try to sell it a month later how much do you get? If you buy new you always lose out through depreciation.

To the op never get finance on anything other than a house. Always pay it off as soon as you can.

Interest free deals may have been worth while when you could actually get a decent return on your savings. These days probably not worth the hassel of doing the forms etc.

 

[mmomega]

My usual plan is to kill two birds with one stone. Get what I want and increase my credit.

I've done this for a while and that was have the money in my account to pay for the item, so save is step one. 2 was to get a small loan from my bank, use the loan to buy what I want, then use the money in my account to pay the loan off.

Pay it off immediately and you aren't paying interest and the bank reports that you paid off your loan. You have your mac + your credit score increases which usually means lower interest rates later on when/if you really need a loan plus ability to get a higher loan.

 

[Apple fanboy]

But if you never ever borrow money who cares about a credit score?

 

[mmomega]

But if you never ever borrow money who cares about a credit score?

I'll agree, it can definitely vary from one person to the next.

 

[nabwong]

You save money from buying brand new cars from repairs, warrantees and through not being required to pay for an MOT each year (in the UK), not to mention newer engines have better fuel consumption, so sometimes financing a new car is a sound decision.

However, financing a Mac is not. Looking at the repayments, it seems that the finance option is only for people who have to have it now.

True for some cars. But not for Japanese cars. My 96 Integra gets 37 mpg. The only maintenance I do is oil change and brakes and I got the car at 97,000 miles. I've put 20k more. But yeah, some cars, it's better to buy new for the warranty because they don't last. But Japanese cars last forever.

 

[Arfdog]

I've had my current laptop now for about 5 years. In the tech world it's a very long time. But now I want to make the jump and get an iMac. I have recently thought about financing one. I could save. I earn enough that after bills and what-not i could get it within the next few months. Also have an iPad mini. Recently i bought a DSLR as photography is a passion I am able to fulfill and hopefully turn it into a career.

My question is how many of you have financed an iMac or a computer or thought of doing it?

Thanks

OK to answer the OP's question, since no one actually has....

I've financed my 2012 IMac through the Apple website, via Barclays. It's interest free if the balance is paid in 12-18 months depending on amount. So that's what I did. Pretty painless, applied and approved with about 2 minutes of work, and interest free gets my interest any day.

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True for some cars. But not for Japanese cars. My 96 Integra gets 37 mpg. The only maintenance I do is oil change and brakes and I got the car at 97,000 miles. I've put 20k more. But yeah, some cars, it's better to buy new for the warranty because they don't last. But Japanese cars last forever.

I have a Ford Contour V6 with 180,000 miles.

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But if you never ever borrow money who cares about a credit score?

Spoken like a non-adult.

 

[forty2j]

I've financed my 2012 IMac through the Apple website, via Barclays. It's interest free if the balance is paid in 12-18 months depending on amount. So that's what I did. Pretty painless, applied and approved with about 2 minutes of work, and interest free gets my interest any day.

I did the same, and I've found that Barclay's is wonderful to work with. But I do need to spread a word of caution:
- It is not "interest free". It is "deferred interest". The difference? The interest is still being calculated. At the end of the promotion period, if you haven't paid the balance in full, then you will be billed the interest that has been calculated.
- The minimum payment follows the normal rules for calculation (I think 2% of total balance, minimum $25) - and does not pay off your purchase in time to avoid the interest.

Since my purchase was in the higher-end (18-month) range, I divided the total balance by 18, then went on Barclay's website and scheduled automatic withdrawals of that amount from my bank account. I can't miss a payment, since it's being done for me, so I won't hit penalties. The balance will be paid off before the deferred interest hits. And thus my purchase becomes interest-free and thought-free.

 

[Hildegerd]

Do not do this. Wait untill you have saved up the money.

 

[tom vilsack]

The only thing you should ever finance is a home,and only if you can afford the payments for when your term comes due,knowing interest rates don't always stay low.

 

[throAU]

My ex did it. Pretty simple with apple finance.

It is an extremely bad financial decision though.

Computers are a very quickly depreciating asset. They're bad enough to buy cash, if you're financing over say 3 years and adding 40% to the long term cost, well... you're throwing money away at a vast rate of knots.

If you do finance, buy the lowest spec you can get away with (Try to get a re-furb) and don't buy upgrades from apple. In addition to being expensive you'll be paying 1.4-1.5x the sticker amount over the finance period.

I'd suggest downloading a loan calculator spreadsheet (or use the one in Numbers), plug in the numbers and work out how much the machine will cost you over the repayment period. If you can avoid financing even SOME of it, pay everything you can now as you'll save money in the long run - every dollar you don't have to finance will save say $1.50 after 3 years.

You're definitely better off saving the money and buying it that way.

Interest free periods do change it a bit, but bear in mind that often a lot of the "interest free for 12 months" loans have a killer interest rate AFTER the interest free period (like 2-3x the regular rate - this is where they make their money!). Make sure you pay it out before the interest free period ends!




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You save money from buying brand new cars from repairs, warrantees and through not being required to pay for an MOT each year (in the UK), not to mention newer engines have better fuel consumption, so sometimes financing a new car is a sound decision.

Depends how old you go. If you're buying 20 year old POS then of course.

However... not sure on the UK market, but here in Australia a lot of cars depreciate by say 50% over 3-5 years.

After 3-5 years plenty are still perfectly roadworthy, reliable, etc. And fuel economy hasn't changed THAT much in the last 5 years.

On say, a $40,000 car, saving $20,000 (even more if it means you don't need to finance it all or as much) pays for a lot of maintenance (that MAY or may not be requried), additional fuel consumption or other more important things. Such as say, getting further ahead on your mortgage...



Bear in mind we don't have snow and so no salt on the roads, so our cars do tend to last a lot longer.


But of course, everyone wants teh new shiny!