Never use monthly payment amount to compare prices

[bueller1]

That's not a myth at all.
Its a sales and marketing strategy that works very well with many many people.
Maybe not particularly with you or me neither but you gotta admit many many people fall for it😉

Dude this rings true for people that are not paying attention to the details. And those details usually being interest and fees that they do not account for when seeing a monthly price. This is not the case for something that is literally a cost split evenly by 24 months. Why is this so hard to comprehend.

 

[rawlus]

this is actually a hilarious irony given that Apple is not hiding the true price of the phone, no matter what way you want to pay, but literally EVERY carrier has invested time and effort into subterfuge so you never really can decipher the hidden costs, plans, fees and extras that go into the final bill you pay each month.

 

[Ghost31]

It's only a difference of $150 total. $12.50/month over 12 months or $6.25/month over 24 months. That is a very small amount of money relative to the overall cost of the device.

Not to mention the thousands of hours of use you’ll get out of your iPhone x. It’s literally a device you’ll use every single day.

 

[bueller1]

this is actually a hilarious irony given that Apple is not hiding the true price of the phone, no matter what way you want to pay, but literally EVERY carrier has invested time and effort into subterfuge so you never really can decipher the hidden costs, plans, fees and extras that go into the final bill you pay each month.

lol "We're going to charge you for the phone in full and split the cost monthly to make things easier instead of dealing with silly subsidies and hiding fees in your bill on top of forcing you into a contract for two years that you think you didnt want to be in but what you don't realize is that these installment plans are essentially contracts because the phone won't be unlocked to any other carrier until you pay for it in full and we will also brag about lowering the cost of your plan and giving you more data for less but we really just removed all those hidden fees that were paying for the subsidy of that $299 iphone you bought for all these years"

 

[Applejuiced]

yes except they've never hidden retail prices and i think it's safe to say they won't. they don't have to. like i said there are a lot of people out there who find it easier to pay 40 bucks a month than dish out 800 on an iPhone 8. I can make the same argument and ask why you didn't pay for that car in cash.

I know the retail price is not hidden, its just in smaller letter font or to the bottom side and the emphasis is on the monthly payment instead😉
About the car question there were times I paid cash for a car and other times I took a loan. Other times that I hurried to pay off the loan fast to avoid full coverage insurance etc...
Seems nowadays many tend to buy or get things that they cannot afford, they live above their means and tend to accumulate lots of debt and live their lives struggling to make monthly payments on everything from a car, to a cellphone, to a living room set and even TV's and computers 😀
And that in order to impress and show off to people that they do not even like in the first place 🙂
Not saying everyone out there is like that but some people dont even realize what they're spending and where all their money goes every month while they get more and more in debt.

 

[bueller1]

I know the retail price is not hidden, its just in smaller letter font or to the bottom side and the emphasis is on the monthly payment instead😉
About the car question there were times I paid cash for a car and other times I took a loan. Other times that I hurried to pay off the loan fast to avoid full coverage insurance etc...
Seems nowadays many tend to buy or get things that they cannot afford, they live above their means and tend to accumulate lots of debt and live their lives struggling to make monthly payments on everything from a car, to a cellphone, to a living room set and even TV's and computers 😀
And that in order to impress and show off to people that they do not even like in the first place 🙂
Not saying everyone out there is like that but some people dont even realize what they're spending and where all their money goes every month.

I don't know you from a hole in the wall. and you sound like a smart guy so I am assuming you are successful in life and can afford to buy yourself an iPhone X without the need to split it into monthly costs. I mean that genuinely. But you are in complete denial if you don't want to admit that every one you know, yourself included, lives above their means to an extent. You are in debt. As am I. In some way shape or form. Therefore, you are living above your means.
[doublepost=1509081853][/doublepost]but I will agree, that there are people who don't realize that they can't afford to make certain ends meet before signing up for things. But that sounds like a personal growing up problem.

 

[Applejuiced]

I don't know you from a hole in the wall. and you sound like a smart guy so I am assuming you are successful in life and can afford to buy yourself an iPhone X without the need to split it into monthly costs. I mean that genuinely. But you are in complete denial if you don't want to admit that every one you know, yourself included, lives above their means to an extent. You are in debt. As am I. In some way shape or form. Therefore, you are living above your means.
[doublepost=1509081853][/doublepost]but I will agree, that there are people who don't realize that they can't afford to make certain ends meet before signing up for things. But that sounds like a personal growing up problem.

Lol 😀
I know we kinda went a little further out with this conversation from iPhone prices to talking about spending habits.
But sometimes it amazes me some people I come across in my daily life that cannot control their finances and spending habits and constantly make bad financial decisions while digging themselves deeper in the hole each month.
Personally I dont live above my means and off course I can afford to buy an iphone X in cash tomorrow. But just because I can doesnt mean I go and purchase things left and right. But like you said its part of personally growing up and some either dont or are very bad when it comes to money and finances.

 

[bueller1]

Lol 😀
I know we kinda went a little further out with this conversation from iPhone prices to talking about spending habits.
But sometimes it amazes me some people I come across in my daily life that cannot control their finances and spending habits and constantly make bad financial decisions while digging themselves deeper in the hole each month.
Personally I dont live above my means and off course I can afford to buy an iphone X in cash tomorrow. But just because I can doesnt mean I go and purchase things left and right. But like you said its part of personally growing up and some either dont or are very bad when it comes to money and finances.

I agree but not every one has to live by the same standards. What’s important to you may not be important to me. Right? Personally I think ahead about these things because raising a family and building a house is whats important to me. Some people are content with rentingciti bikes and overpriced apartments, and eating out every night because that’s the life they know.and really who is any one to judge unless you have to live and/or sleep them. But it’s when they whine about how much their lives suck that gets annoying lol

 

[Michael Scrip]

This is not necessarily in reply to the OP... it's just my comments on some ideas I've seen in this thread.

I totally understand the idea of "if you can't pay for it outright... you shouldn't buy it. Don't get suckered into monthly payments or debt."

However... people traditionally base their personal spending on how much money they have each month.

Whether your paycheck comes every two weeks or once a month... you still prepare a monthly budget.

And almost everything you pay for is on a monthly schedule: insurance, utilities, cable/internet, Netflix, etc...

So... why wouldn't you consider the monthly payment of a product? The option is there.

And I don't see how it's a bad option.

You can pay $1,000 for an iPhone X all at once.

Or... you can break it down into 24 payments of $42 each. The end result is the same.

Just be certain that it falls within your monthly budget. But that's good advice in general. 🙂

 

[MEJHarrison]

I'm buying the 256GB because I have a fairly full 128GB.

I'm not thrilled about the Apple Care, but I've never broken a screen going back to my 3G. Since I drop my phone multiple times per month, sometimes per week, it almost feels overdue. Having a glass back and being rather clumsy, it will give me extra piece of mind. So I'm ok with it to be honest. Otherwise I'd go through my carrier.

You act like I'm being tricked into things I neither want nor need. But that's just not the case. I know the total cost. I know what the monthly payments will be. I know the additional costs between the different models both in total and per month. I'm good at math. There's no trickery happening here since Apple lists monthly costs and total costs. I'm just an informed shopper purchasing the correct phone for my desires and needs.

 

[flat five]

people should just focus on the monthly price instead of the total

when i focus on the monthly price, the X is a bargain.

iPhone X = $1100

cost to use iPhone X for 24months-- $70 * 24 = $1680

😉

($70 being my monthly cell bill)