I just recently bought my first macbook and that is for school and taking around class so now I want to get a iMac desktop for the home office but I don't have enough money for it so is the payment plan good and if any has used it just give me some details about how they take the money out your checking account or whatever.
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Apple Payment Plan
- Thread starter falcon1
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i'm doing the payment plan on my macbook. as far as i know, they send you a bill each month (its through mastercard i think). when they receive payment they send you an email. i dont know these things for sure (its my stepmom's name on it and i just give her 39/month). anyways, when we were applying they tell you if you've been accepted and what the interest rate will be. i can ask my stepmom more about it if its necessary.
falcon1 said:
he was suggesting an external monitor (and peripherals) that you could hook up to your lappy when you're at home. that way, you get a "desktop feel" without having to buy a second system.
The payment plan is basically just a credit card with a pretty high interest rate. You'd be much better off buying it outright, which would require you to...<gasp> save your money </gasp>. You can also do this. Get two credit cards, one of which has a balance transfer promotion on it. Pay for the computer with Credit Card A, transfer the balance from Credit Card A to Credit Card B for a fee (usually 3%, max $75) and pay the balance off for Credit Card B. I did this with my $5,000 Quad a while ago. I paid it off as it sat on a 0% APR, and it only cost me $75 to transfer the balance to the card with the 0% promotion on it (which calculates into a 1.5% APR).
Well, the thing is, it's basically just like any other credit plan, only with really high interest, from what I've seen. If you have good credit and can get lower interest somewhere else, you might want to look into using a different credit card for the purchase.
Edit: Dang, beaten by a minute!
Edit: Dang, beaten by a minute!
Well my stepmom is buying the iMac for me now and she has pretty good credit so i'm thinking she can get a pretty low rate. Also i'm only 17 so I can't get a credit card and I go to school and I don't work so I don't know how in the world I would pay it off.
falcon1 said:
Well this says to me (and probably the rest of the people here, too) that you probably shouldn't get a second computer. I mean, if you don't know how you would pay off a credit card I'm not sure how you are expecting to pay off the Apple loan.
Why is it you think you need this second computer? The iMac won't really be any faster or better than a 17" MBP, so you're not gaining anything there
I can make a $60 dollar month payment with no problem but I can't pay it off in full is what I mean. I don't have thousands of dollars to invest into a computer in a minutes time. I don't really need a second computer but the MBP is for school and I take that to school and to other school related work and the iMac would be for home and for papers and stuff.
Gaining nothing ... except a faster desktop drive, but that solution can be had with an external FW HD for extra space.baby duck monge said:Why is it you think you need this second computer? The iMac won't really be any faster or better than a 17" MBP, so you're not gaining anything there
I thought he had a MacBook, but with a MBP 17 it does get a little sillier to go into debt for another machine.
falcon1 said:
You can't use your MBP in your house??
It seems a bit silly to me to chain yourself to this monthly payment when you (1) already have an excellent laptop, and (2) you'll (probably?) be heading off to college and the 'real world' here soon - before you'll have this iMac paid for - and you may actually need the 60 bucks a month.
If you need a bigger screen, get an external. If you need more space, get an external. If you want a mouse or keyboard, get an external... you could get ALL of these for cheaper than the iMac will cost you, so why bother with a second system?
OR, just save the 60 a month until you can outright pay for the iMac yourself - you'll get a newer system to upgrade to (from your MBP) AND you'll save yourself TONS in interest.
falcon1 said:
Ok, as someone who has both a laptop and a desktop I can admit that it's nice to be able to take one computer around and have another set in its place waiting for you to do work on. That being said, I didn't have to go into debt to buy either of mine and neither should you.
I would strongly advise that you think about just using the MBP for all your computing. I can assure you that's it's more than capable as both a laptop and a desktop. This would also save you from having to make sure you kept all your files current on both machines.
If you think it would be easier to work on a desktop than a laptop for extended periods of time, it would make the most sense to get a separate keyboard and mouse to work with, and perhaps another monitor so you could span between them. This setup can be had for $200 or less, and I don't think you will really miss having a desktop.
We're all just urging you to think about if you really need a second computer - especially one you can't exactly afford - when you already have such a nice primary machine.
With interest you'll end up paying way more than the value of the computer, stretched out over many years. You should definitely think about whether or not this is something you need before you get it.
Not to mention, do you really want to be paying for that computer in 3 years when others are lightyears ahead of it? It's REALLY foolish to buy an iMacin your case, especially if you have a 17" MBP.
EDIT: I got beat by one minute this time.
EDIT: I got beat by one minute this time.
I think the 17" MBP is a better computer than the current Intel iMacs. I would save for a while instead.
falcon1 said:
You're not really thinking this through very well, are you? You're a student with no job, have a high-end laptop, and now you want to purchase an iMac because...?
This is all very foolish. The best advice you've received thus far is to forget about it.
falcon1 said:
That's the most ridiculous thing i've ever heard. You want to buy a $1300 + computer for "papers and stuff?" Do yourself a favor, buy a BT keyboard, type your "papers and stuff" on that, save thousands of dollars.
Still wants vs. needs...adk said:
But with most Apple computers sold, we tend to buy and go into debt based on wants more than needs.
A student should think of needs, more than wants -- but the lure of a shiny bauble tends to shortcircuit their brains.
Only old age brain atrophy and actually learning from a financial fiasco can cure this -- or a big stick used to train the student by beating him, but that tends to be temporary since the student is a hard to train as a dead dog.
---
Of course looking at what the bankruptcy and student debt reforms did to borrowers, I'd wouldn't use any of that money if I could avoid it. Nasty stuff there.
If you needed this for work or something and needed to seperate your work from your fun i'd understand...but you're a student! You don't want to be paying this off for 3 years. When you get to college, $60 a month will be a lot more than you think it is. I'll go out on a limb and say this would just be stupid for a 17 year old.
rather than going with Apple's Payment Plan, why not just apply to a new credit card like American Express, Discover, etc that give you 0% no interest financing for the first X amount of months. I know American Express can give you up to 15 months depending on your credit.
This is definitely a better way than just signing up for a new credit card that starts charging you interest on day one. Not including I heard SOME credit companies even charge you more money if you pay off the debt too early.
This is definitely a better way than just signing up for a new credit card that starts charging you interest on day one. Not including I heard SOME credit companies even charge you more money if you pay off the debt too early.
ya didn't read the whole thread before posting, didya?wako said:
he's only 17, so he can't actually get a credit card. he's having his stepmom do it for him.