Parents ughh. (Macbook Pro Controversy)

[dolphindolphin]

Alright so here's the deal,

I saved up about 2100 for a new mpb and im obviously waiting for the new release. I told my parents about my intended purchase with great enthusiasm, but they weren't as optimistic. They told me to wait until college, and I responded saying that it was my own money. For some reason they think that they have control of what I do with my own money. I also tried telling them the whole spiel about macs having a better os, specs, more versitile, etc. They still were adamant. Any ideas?

Thanks a bunch,

matt

 

[mattyb240]

Yeah,

Tell them Bollocks its your money! Do what you like! Rightly or wrongly its your money you do what YOU want with it. Go ahead and get it. They can hardly stop you buying it.

 

[Radio Monk33]

And how old are you?

 

[dolphindolphin]

thanks for the quick replies. Im currently 17. I tried to use the "its my own money i will do what i wish" speech, but they arent taking to it.
P.S I dont have a credit card, or a car so i sort of need their help/credit card

 

[aethelbert]

Uh... if you're going to college next year, you really should wait. Four years pushes it on the life of a computer anyway. That machine probably won't be able to do what you want it to in five years when you're still in school...

 

[mobilehaathi]

What exactly are they objecting to? You getting a computer? Or you getting a Mac?

 

[thegoldenmackid]

Wait. You could at least get the edu discount if you wait another year.

 

[mobilehaathi]

Wait. You could at least get the edu discount if you wait another year.

This is also an excellent point.

 

[tingly]

I'd have my kid wait til summer, spend it on a plain MacBook and save the rest. You're getting off easy. They do have control of your money, being parents over a minor, BTW.

 

[chill.]

it sounds to me as if you parents are not opposed to you getting the mac, but are more opposed to you spending (possibly wasting) your money now when you may need it in the future

you have to ask yourself:
do you need a laptop right now?
do you need a laptop in college?
will you have the funds to get a new computer if you need a new one in a few years?

your parents are just concerned you don't make a bad purchase. but it's your own money, you'll make your own mistakes and learn from your own experiences. it's great to see you showing some initiative and responsiblity, and i bet if you stick this to your parents, they'll agree to drive you/use their credit card to support you - though they might not support your decision.

i'd say do what you really want. you only live once, you'll regret not doing things when you had the chance (i know i did), rise up to your life and live it!

 

[mattyb240]

If you have the money why do you need there credit card?? And get a train or a bus.

Yes you should wait for edu discount. But as i said do what you want! I respect my parents but if i have earnt the money myself my parents respect my decision to spend it on what ever the hell I like, and have me deal with the consequences if it was the wrong thing to do.

 

[skubish]

Wait until college. You don't need a mbp unless you have a job that requires it.

 

[stevehp]

I agree it's annoying that your parents aren't allowing you to use your own money to buy a new MBP.

BUTTT - If you plan on having this machine throughout college, I would ABSOLUTELY wait until the summer. You will never use a notebook to the same degree as when you're going to and from the library/class/meetings, etc and you'll want to start off school with a brand spanking new MBP.

The question you have to ask yourself is - "If my parents weren't an issue, do I reaallllly need this computer now/when the new MBPs come out this month"?

 

[thegoldenmackid]

If you don't need one the Specs will be much better if you wait another year...

 

[srl7741]

Ask them what you can do to accomplish your goal? Parents love it when their kids have goals and work towards them.

That may help?

 

[Chris Rogers]

What are you going to use it for? Chances are you're going to be wasting your $ when/if a macbook would suffice.

On top of that you can get the student discount(10% ish)/free ipod next year.

That's what I'd tell my kid.

If you want to go a step further, I'd tell him to finance it from somewhere with 0% (realistically, Id probably finance it since he wouldn't have any credit yet) and earn interest on that money in the bank instead of just using it.

 

[drossad]

Since you are 17, and still a minor, you are still under their house and rules. Although I think they may be stiff arming you, they are still your parents and want the best for you.

If you don't absolutely need it right now, wait it out and keep talking to them (respectfully of course). If they see you are serious, they may be more prone to agree to help you. After all, they aren't telling you not to buy it at all, they just want you to wait until a better time (in their opinion) to get it.

One more question, do you really need a Macbook Pro? If not, I would go with the Macbook and save some money for other accessories and such.

 

[Manatee]

It's a tough situation. I wanted high-quality things that cost a lot when I was your age. When I was 16, my parents let me buy a HP scientific calculator for about $300 when my classmates were paying half that (or less) for TI models (this was 1976.) It proved to be a good investment. When I was 17, they let me buy a new Fiat X1/9 for $5500. What a stupid (but cool!) choice.

I can relate to wanting a new MBP at 17. If laptops had existed when I was 17, that's probably the one I would have wanted. It's probably not the best use of your money, though. A base MacBook should do everything you need, unless you're doing high-end graphics, and in that case you should be looking at a good desktop machine.

If you were my kid, I'd try to sell you on buying a cheaper laptop now, or waiting until you're about to start college to commit to the MBP -- but if you still insisted on the MBP, and could afford it, I'd let you buy it. And no, I won't adopt you.

Best of luck, Matt. At least you have good taste.

 

[Karpfish]

If you want the lappy now, don't wait for nearly a year until you go to college. Gather up your cash, find a friend with a car, and head to your nearest apple store. Its really that simple. You earned the money, you have control over it.

 

[swingerofbirch]

The fact that you worked to raise that much money on your own shows you are a stand up guy and I think your parents should be thrilled that you care enough about something in life to work for it so hard and make an informed decision. I know people who got things handed to them (and I was one of them) and people who had to work for things, and what I saw was they kept working hard the rest of their lives taking responsibility for their lives.

You can pay by cashier's checks or money orders when you buy from Apple telesales.

You can also fill up a pre-paid debit card with the amount you need to make the purchase.

Show your parents this message from me: BE PROUD OF YOUR SON FOR CARING ABOUT SOMETHING IN LIFE AND WORKING HARD FOR IT!

 

[dolphindolphin]

Thanks so much to everybody who responded. This is really the best mac community out there. Anyway, due to some very persuasive posts, I have decided to wait to get a new computer. I am still very curious to see what the new mb/mbps look like though!. Again, thanks for the advice.

Matt

 

[Chris Rogers]

great move.

It's not goodbye, it's see you later

 

[Diseal3]

I agree With everyone else here for the most part. The computer will only be good for so long, wait until next year and then buy the computer. I mean 4 years is pushing it at the moment. On top of that, mac dosent have no crazy specs that other computers dont have. They are borderline, what you are really paying for is the OS and the light up apple logo. Don't get me wrong I have one, but im talking about a purchase that has to last you in most often case the most debt of your life =/.

 

[mathcolo]

All of this is true...

However I would really push the point that you should just buy a MacBook and not a MacBook Pro. What kind of things would YOU need a MacBook Pro for? Even I don't need an MBP...

 

[Vulcan]

You made a good move. College isn't far away, and you'll be able to get it next summer with probably this revision and one after.

I was considering getting a titanium PowerBook before college, I waited a little and got a wonderful aluminum one instead