I just had a chat online with an Apple expert. He said that if I use Bill Me Later, I can spread the payment for the iPod out across several months. I just wanted clarification on this, is there any catches, any special things I have to do, anything he didn't tell me?
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iPod touch Using Bill Me Later for iPod Touch
- Thread starter Anon1mus
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The catch is that you pay interest. It's a credit account - basically a credit card without the card, and AFAIK the terms are very unfavorable. Avoid unless you want to give a lot of extra money to a large bank. Don't buy an iPod on credit or, if you absolutely have to because your life depends on it, you could probably get better terms/rates from a local credit union.
Yes he did not tell you that financing a $300 device is a bad idea.
But if you want to pay more for the device than the actual sticker price then go for it. How long would it really take you to save $300?
If you want to do it that way you're better off trying to find a credit card that has 12 months 0% APR.
Yeah, paying by Apple credit account for a $300 device smacks of poor financial planning to me. If you don't have $300 handy, or a regular credit card to put it on, then save up for a while until you do.
A common trap is to think to yourself "Oh, I'll have it all paid off in just a few more weeks so it's not a big deal". Would be true, except that a few weeks tends to turn into a few months, and in the meantime Apple releases a new Touch or tablet computer or iPhone II or something, and since you allowed yourself to do it once, you figure it wouldn't hurt to put that one on credit too, and suddenly your $300 turns into $3,000 and takes years to pay off. Not to mention all the interest you're paying on it.
It sounds ludicrous when you read it on paper like that but how many people do we all know who've been there, done that? Myself included. My little 12" PowerBook G4 probably cost me on the order of $5,000 if you include the three years of debt and interest payments that it threw me into.
A common trap is to think to yourself "Oh, I'll have it all paid off in just a few more weeks so it's not a big deal". Would be true, except that a few weeks tends to turn into a few months, and in the meantime Apple releases a new Touch or tablet computer or iPhone II or something, and since you allowed yourself to do it once, you figure it wouldn't hurt to put that one on credit too, and suddenly your $300 turns into $3,000 and takes years to pay off. Not to mention all the interest you're paying on it.
It sounds ludicrous when you read it on paper like that but how many people do we all know who've been there, done that? Myself included. My little 12" PowerBook G4 probably cost me on the order of $5,000 if you include the three years of debt and interest payments that it threw me into.
Well, nobody knows you better than yourself. If you're level-headed and disciplined, then you might be fine in terms of using credit. But, if you're level-headed and disciplined, then it shouldn't be difficult to just hold out until you've got the cash
It's just a particularly tempting situation for someone like me who loves tech toys and have a hard time with the concept of delayed gratification
It sounds trite, but it's true.