Won't happen in the states. Too many retailers, including ones that sell Apple products, have partnered with banks to offer 0% interest deals for decades here. It moves more product and is generally low risk.
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Apple No Longer Offers Interest-Free Financing in Canada
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Why do people "need" to finance phones?
Probably for the same reason that people are driving around in $80,000 vehicles and paying rent in tiny homes in bad neighborhoods.
Instant gratification and not planning for the future.
Did this person just admit to obtaining property by false pretenses?
"Earlier this month"? Must have been just in the last couple of days. We have an M2 MacBook Air arriving tomorrow that's still at 0%. We only did it because there was 0% financing. I even opened up their website and checked all the retailers that offer 0% financing, and as of Sunday (I think), Apple was still listed there.
Hope they can (and care) to find another partner. Financing a Macbook at 0%, especially if using it earns you money, is a nice little bonus.
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I dunno where people get stuff like this from. You have no idea what the financial circumstances of any forum poster here is I suspect.
Why not leave the money some where else and only put it where needed.
You sound like a friend I had that claimed he never did anything on credit. I asked him how he bought his house.........
And the money some thought saved, end up not happening. Probably spend a bit more after all.
Agreed.Precisely what I mentioned as well. Those that buy upfront usually lose money than those that buy on instalments. Smart money always win
Considering the latest phone has no true value when you are done with it beyond a less than $200 while the cheaper phones have no value at all when you are done, paying up front is all opportunity cost. Deciding “I am willing to pay $x per month” to use a phone and then doing that is the smart money.
Nope. You’re pro stealing from Apple because you’re dishonest.
Houses are not consumer products. And yes, although I could afford a car, I ride a bike. The last time I drove a car was in 1998. I hated it. So I decided that as long as I am physically able, I will ride a bike. And when I am old, all cars will drive by themselves anyway.
That’s a very interesting way of living. Sadly this mode is near impossible to exist unless you are in big cities.
And yeah, house is not consumer products. Idk what are those guys thinking. And exactly why other similar arguments end up being people bickering with each other.
Yeah, but you started with “nobody should ever finance electronics”, and then your disclaimer contradicts the whole “nobody” part. “Nobody” is a more specific word than you seem to think.
I’m in the US.
I financed my iPhone 14 Pro Max through AT&T because they were willing to give me a $1000 trade in credit for my old iPhone, and as long as I commit to 36 months, it only cost me $2.77/mo (or $100 total) for my new phone. There’s no way in hell I’d have been able to sell my old phone at the same price I paid for it otherwise (or anywhere close to $1000 trade in), and my new phone would normally be $1100 full price. And then I’ll probably end up doing the same three years later.
Doing the aforementioned allowed me to put that $1000 elsewhere, such as my high yield savings account, so now I get to have my cake and eat it, too.
Financing is really good if you actually know what you’re doing with money. You can not only get some excellent deals, but you can keep that money in your pocket earning you interest elsewhere while you reap that deal.
I do agree, however, that if you cannot afford to buy the phone outright, then financing is only going to worsen your financial issues, and you shouldn’t buy the device at all. Use financing to save you money, not to get you the next shiny thing you can’t technically afford.
It’s a shame that this is no longer an option in Canada.
I financed my iPhone 14 Pro Max through AT&T because they were willing to give me a $1000 trade in credit for my old iPhone, and as long as I commit to 36 months, it only cost me $2.77/mo (or $100 total) for my new phone. There’s no way in hell I’d have been able to sell my old phone at the same price I paid for it otherwise (or anywhere close to $1000 trade in), and my new phone would normally be $1100 full price. And then I’ll probably end up doing the same three years later.
Doing the aforementioned allowed me to put that $1000 elsewhere, such as my high yield savings account, so now I get to have my cake and eat it, too.
Financing is really good if you actually know what you’re doing with money. You can not only get some excellent deals, but you can keep that money in your pocket earning you interest elsewhere while you reap that deal.
I do agree, however, that if you cannot afford to buy the phone outright, then financing is only going to worsen your financial issues, and you shouldn’t buy the device at all. Use financing to save you money, not to get you the next shiny thing you can’t technically afford.
It’s a shame that this is no longer an option in Canada.
Hard disagree. Sometimes something breaks and you have to buy a new one but aren't prepared for it financially, or you don't want to drain savings. Interest free promotions do wonders in this regard. I had to get a new laptop unexpectedly but didn't have the $2100 to fork out so I did interest free for a year and paid it off within the year. I could afford to drop the $180 or whatever it was a month to pay it off in that time.
Renting doesn’t mean anything. I rented for years because my job would have me move and it was way easier to rent.
Now that I have a job and I don’t get moved around, I now own a house.
I have yet to see someone rent in a bad neighborhood and own a $80,000 vehicle also. And so what if they do, is it your money they are spending? No. People really need to worry about their own money instead of how others spend theirs.
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Wow I’m shocked to see that so many people are agains interest free options… It’s basically “free money”
While you are right, they make a lot of money when someone is unable to pay in full, if you plan for the purchase it is far better to take advantage of 0% financing. Using your use case, if you take advantage of 0% financing on your next iPhone purchase and take the monthly payments out of your 4% interest savings account, you are coming out ahead. You can still use that savings account to budget your purchases ensuring you have the amount to cover the new device before purchasing. You will continue to earn 4% interest on the amount in your savings which will be more because instead of taking out $1200, you’re only taking out small monthly payments.
There are these high and mighty people who think you should never take a loan out. I just think what ever works for you, go for it.
This should be the takeaway, and I still dont think financially vulnerable people should bother financing a phone. For those who are already financially comfortable, good for them to get extra mile on their money. Canada getting out of this 0% interest rate thing is sad, and Apple Australia uses Latitude, which, last time I check, suffers a cyber attack recently. I think I just save up and buy my next iPhone outright.
