Now, keep in mind, Flipsy is a site dedicated to helping you sell your old phones to help defray the costs of buying new ones (or helping you save money by buying used phones), so their article needs to be taken with that bit of a grain of salt.
That being said, it's a pretty interesting read, and echoes something I tend to talk to a lot of people about; it's not really the cost of the phone that really should be at worry, but your monthly cellular plan. Too often I used to see people come to me, or come in when I worked at a store saying "oooh, I can get that flashy new phone for FREE?!??!!" and no matter how much I'd remind them they would be paying like $20 more a month over the next 2-3 years. The glint of the shiny thing blinded them to some real costs.
Anyways, the article can be a bit of an eye opener, and I used to love doing these kinds of things when I used to teach Grade 11 Personal Finances math class ... the cost of small things over time.
Some of the interesting captured points are:
(note, all data comes from the US, so they're in $USD, plus they look primarily at the ... other habits I'm sure are similar to Canadians)
Interesting when you put it like that.
Source: https://flipsy.com/article/2729/75000-cell-phone-bill-5300-iphone-will-smartphones-rob-retirement
That being said, it's a pretty interesting read, and echoes something I tend to talk to a lot of people about; it's not really the cost of the phone that really should be at worry, but your monthly cellular plan. Too often I used to see people come to me, or come in when I worked at a store saying "oooh, I can get that flashy new phone for FREE?!??!!" and no matter how much I'd remind them they would be paying like $20 more a month over the next 2-3 years. The glint of the shiny thing blinded them to some real costs.
Anyways, the article can be a bit of an eye opener, and I used to love doing these kinds of things when I used to teach Grade 11 Personal Finances math class ... the cost of small things over time.
Some of the interesting captured points are:
(note, all data comes from the US, so they're in $USD, plus they look primarily at the ... other habits I'm sure are similar to Canadians)
- Cost of the phone itself
- Average price of a new phone right now is $567
- Upgrade cycle is 32 months
- Cost of the phone vs. our income has risen from 2.9% to 12.0% in 10 years (meaning you used to have to work only 3 days to afford it, to 5 days now and by 2038 it's almost 15)
- Cost of apps - $88/yr
- Cost of cellular plans of $80/mo for 60 years would be $57,600
Interesting when you put it like that.
Source: https://flipsy.com/article/2729/75000-cell-phone-bill-5300-iphone-will-smartphones-rob-retirement