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Is it a good idea to finance a MacBook Air?

LOLZpersonok

LOLZpersonok

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Aug 10, 2012
724
18
Calgary, Canada
This might sound stupid but I want to finance a computer (so I can have it right away, maybe) for Internet, iMovie and GarageBand. I use my Power Mac G4 for that stuff but it's slow and I cannot use the latest versions of the software.

I want a base-model MacBook Air, 11". ($1000)

I'm a student in high school and my last paycheck was $345, but since my schedule changes weekly my monthly income won't be the same each month. I hate my job (to be quite honest it's fairly depressing and makes me upset, but I don't want to leave it because I don't know how hard it will be to find my next job) so I don't want to stay there for several months without getting it plus if I just save I'll water down my balance by buying random stuff like food on a daily basis. Today I ended up spending $75 on food and an HDMI cable for my Xbox and I'll be spending another $80 to register my new car that my parents bought me.

What are the monthly fees and interest like? The information they give on the Apple Site I find to be very confusing so I need some clarification.

If I lose my job and cannot pay the monthly fee, I have to return the laptop, am I correct? If that happens, will I get my money back? I don't have a credit card so I don't know if that is a requirement. If it is, that's an automatic no to financing because I will not be getting a credit card for that.
 
If u don't have a credit card, for all practical purposes u cannot "finance."

Apple's plan, as with many others requires u to have a good credit history to qualify.

Ever heard "the banks only want to lent money to people who have it?" Is true.
 
Apple's "financing" is just a Barclaycard Visa. It's a credit card. If you can't make your payment then you can't just give the computer back. You'll simply have a missed credit card payment and get to deal with all of the real world consequences that come along with that.

No, kid. This is not a good idea.
 
I think it's always best to try and avoid financing. You always end up paying more in the long run. Try and save up for one, you can always buy the refurbished models from apple for a good deal.
 
$75 on food and a HDMI cable?

I really hope that was some expensive food, because a $5 HDMI cable is no different to a $100(+!) HDMI cable
 
Good idea that your not going to go ahead with the finance. My best advice to you is to keep to your current mac and just try and save money. If your finding your having to pay $75 a day on food. Maybe concider if you can buy other food that dosent cost too much or maybe get a good cook book and try making your own food. If your finding it's hard to keep the money your saving. Might be a good idea asking your parents to hold the money for you. When it comes to your job. It may be best just looking for other work while your still working. Something good will end up coming your way.

Please don't take the above as a lecture but it's just some friendly advice if you take the advice or not its up to you. But just thought I share my thoughts and views.
 
LOLZpersonok said:
This might sound stupid but I want to finance a computer (so I can have it right away, maybe) for Internet, iMovie and GarageBand. I use my Power Mac G4 for that stuff but it's slow and I cannot use the latest versions of the software.

I want a base-model MacBook Air, 11". ($1000)

I'm a student in high school and my last paycheck was $345, but since my schedule changes weekly my monthly income won't be the same each month. I hate my job (to be quite honest it's fairly depressing and makes me upset, but I don't want to leave it because I don't know how hard it will be to find my next job) so I don't want to stay there for several months without getting it plus if I just save I'll water down my balance by buying random stuff like food on a daily basis. Today I ended up spending $75 on food and an HDMI cable for my Xbox and I'll be spending another $80 to register my new car that my parents bought me.

What are the monthly fees and interest like? The information they give on the Apple Site I find to be very confusing so I need some clarification.

If I lose my job and cannot pay the monthly fee, I have to return the laptop, am I correct? If that happens, will I get my money back? I don't have a credit card so I don't know if that is a requirement. If it is, that's an automatic no to financing because I will not be getting a credit card for that.
Click to expand...

sell the car, buy a computer. It worked for Ferris.

In all seriousness, you definitely need to talk to your parents about this because, and i don't mean to be mean, but you really need a talking to about the importance of your credit history.

I will say this - good for you for working AND for researching this before just plunging forward. You're obviously no dummy:)


PS - spending more than $10 on an HDMI cable is crazy. massive ripoff
 
Best Buy does a 18 month same as cash. If you are disciplined to pay it off before the 18 months, you're great.


Credit like that gets a bad wrap, mostly from people who don't know how to handle money. If you are smart, it's pretty easy to use other people's money in that situation.
 
Aegelward said:
$75 on food and a HDMI cable?

I really hope that was some expensive food, because a $5 HDMI cable is no different to a $100(+!) HDMI cable
Click to expand...

Yes. I spent about $40 on food with my friends and a $30 HDMI cable. It was from Target and now that I think of it it probably would be cheaper if it was from Futureshop or Best Buy or something like that.

----------
DisplacedMic said:
sell the car, buy a computer. It worked for Ferris.

In all seriousness, you definitely need to talk to your parents about this because, and i don't mean to be mean, but you really need a talking to about the importance of your credit history.

I will say this - good for you for working AND for researching this before just plunging forward. You're obviously no dummy:)


PS - spending more than $10 on an HDMI cable is crazy. massive ripoff
Click to expand...

I definitely will not sell that car! It's like a 'luck' car as it is perfect condition and has low mileage for its age and we paid only about $1,500.

I already decided that I won't finance one, it doesn't sound like a good idea.
 
Just put some money aside every week or when possible and before you know it you will have enough money to buy a new or even refurbished like new from Apple store. Gives you something to look forward to keeps you out of unnecessary debt.
 
DisplacedMic said:
spending more than $10 on an HDMI cable is crazy.
Click to expand...


Side Item -

When going into your local store, you MUST RESIST buying accessories like CABLES. It's very tempting and convenient, but am sorry, when cheap cables can be had EVERYDAY at eBay, Monoprice... to me a cable is a cable is a cable. If you must have everything genuine, stop reading.
 
Look into getting a 2012 model for $725. That's a saving of $275 right there. appleinsider.com had a offer recently for $725 brand new. This would still be a huge upgrade from what you have now and it will be easier to pay off. If in fact best buy has 18 months same as cash I would look into it. They usually have them for $949.99 new.
 
The Apple HDMI cable is not a bad deal (as far as quality in-store cables go).


You can get a gold plated one for $6 at Biglots but mine stopped working after a year. If you don't disconnect/reconnect much this is a good option.
 
Mrbobb said:
Side Item -

When going into your local store, you MUST RESIST buying accessories like CABLES. It's very tempting and convenient, but am sorry, when cheap cables can be had EVERYDAY at eBay, Monoprice... to me a cable is a cable is a cable. If you must have everything genuine, stop reading.
Click to expand...

The thing is the quality of the display is significantly better when using HDMI rather than the conventional sound left and right and video displays. It's much clearer and sharper and smaller words are easier to read.
 
LOLZpersonok said:
The thing is the quality of the display is significantly better when using HDMI rather than the conventional sound left and right and video displays. It's much clearer and sharper and smaller words are easier to read.
Click to expand...

Right. He wasn't telling you not to buy an HDMI cable, he was telling you not to buy an HDMI cable (or any cable, really) from a physical store.

You overpaid for that HDMI cable by about $26. :p
 
LOLZpersonok said:
What are the monthly fees and interest like? The information they give on the Apple Site I find to be very confusing so I need some clarification.
Click to expand...
From an economic standpoint, many people see borrowing to buy an asset that quickly loses value can be bad as the value of the asset can be lower than the money you owe putting you "under water." The Apple/Barclaycard new customer 6/12/18 month no interest financing is a decent deal, where it costs nothing to borrow and you are likely stay above water as long as you pay it off during the promotional period. Outside of that promotion though, it's around 23% interest which is very high rate.

An example of how it works would be if you bought a MacBook Air that with taxes cost $1,200: the 12-month special financing promotion would be $100/moth payment for 12 months. That's not a bad deal, because it cost you nothing to borrow the money and you're likely "above water" once you get past 2-3 months. But, if you don't qualify for that promotion, you'd instead pay 22.99% interest, so if you made 12 monthly payments of around $112.89/month it would cost you $154.68 in interest over that year. Or, if you slowly paid over 24 months, it'd only cost $62.84/month, but you'd pay $308.16 in interest over those 2 years.

Only you can answer if that's worth it to you.

LOLZpersonok said:
If I lose my job and cannot pay the monthly fee, I have to return the laptop, am I correct?
Click to expand...
No, it's an unsecured debt, not tied to the laptop. You simply owe them the money, and any interest.

LOLZpersonok said:
If that happens, will I get my money back?
Click to expand...
No. But you can sell the laptop and use the proceeds to pay down the debt.

LOLZpersonok said:
I don't have a credit card so I don't know if that is a requirement. If it is, that's an automatic no to financing because I will not be getting a credit card for that.
Click to expand...
The Apple "special financing" is simply a Barclaycard credit card. It's a good deal only in that the first purchase from an Apple store gets 6/12/18 months of no interest. That's a good deal, in general. But, outside of that, it's simply a regular high-interest credit card.
 
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