How many people complaining they are broke have fancy devices?

[IRememberXanadu]

I was waiting to pay for petrol this morning when I overheard two ladies who were queuing up for the till next to mine, complain about the price per litre (of petrol). One way saying that she is really worried about the upcoming increase in price of electricity and gas, with the other agreeing and saying they don't know how they'll cope. While talking, they were looking at their phones - these were very expensive iPhones.

Later, I was relaying this exchange to a colleague, who said he has a friend who has also been going on and on about the upcoming price hikes and how worried he is, but also just bought (himself - it was not a gift or a work phone) a brand new iPhone.

So that got me thinking - while it's unbelievable that we are having to worry about utility prices in this country in this day and age - how many people are saying they are worried about how they will afford to heat their homes and use electricity, while still spending money on non-essentials? Of course we all need treats, but surely spending hundreds of pounds on nicer stuff when you could still buy something cheaper and put the savings towards essentials you are worried about affording, beggars belief? We are not hard up but have been thinking twice about buying luxuries when we are still in the dark about how much it will cost us to run our home, come this winter. Surely it can't be just us...

OP the energy companies are completely screwing us, as is the government who haven't put any price caps in place to protect us, like lots of other governments have done. If you're looking for bad guys and fools those are the people you should've looking at, not iPhone owners.

But do you agree, (in principle) that if the anecdotes were representative and provable, people spending a large amount on luxuries would be out of order simultaneously claiming food and fuel poverty?

I'm not judging. I don't have a desirable phone or car, but we are overdrawn most months because I spend too much on non essentials.

in response to the yogurt point - 12 fromage frais in Tesco is 79p. So no, its never cheaper to make the equivalent number of egg custards.

also, my granny had baking day Monday, laundry day Tuesday, pie day Wednesday etc. these days many, us included - work a 45 hour week each. When I was a child we were cash poor but my dm and granny were time rice - every school drop off and collection, every meal cheaply homemade. It just is not the same.

*But do you agree, (in principle) that if the anecdotes were representative and provable, people spending a large amount on luxuries would be out of order simultaneously claiming food and fuel poverty?

I'm not judging. I don't have a desirable phone or car, but we are overdrawn most months because I spend too much on non essentials.*

I can't see how you can argue that someone spending a large amount on luxuries and simultaneously claiming food and fuel poverty, wouldn't be out of order.

What I question is someone going in on strangers
they nothing about
who's circumstances they nothing about
citing 'expensive phones' as an example.
It sounds ignorant and out of touch.

I wouldn’t agree with this. Food and fuel costs are absolutely ridiculous and they shouldn’t be.

A smartphone is an essential part of modern life.

Well if this is true how come I have never owned one?

@Belindamccartney have you needed to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance in the last 4 years? If you you’ll be wholly aware of the requirement to log all job search activity through the app.

banking for many is now online only (my nearest branch is 16 miles away)

emails regarding job interviews
school homework
school updates - all app based
nursery diary for my child’s daily experiences - all app based
zoom meetings through work
work calendar syncing so my assistant knows when to book me into meetings and I can update while on the road

surely. Just because you’ve never owned one, you can see the requirement for others to need one.

Because you've got a laptop/tablet plus wifi instead, which, when coupled with a landland or non-smart phone is the equivalent of having a smartphone.

I have an 8 year old tablet and an old Nokia dumb phone. I have access to my DH's secure Macbook if I ever need to buy anything on line (I rarely do).

I can access the school app on my tablet and I check my emails on my tablet or on the work computers.

I use automated telephone banking rather than internet banking. I use Paypoint at my local shop to pay for school trips etc.

My point is - smartphones are not absolutely essential for everyone. And certainly not fancy ones that cost a fortune. If I ever need one I will buy one but it will be the most basic model available. I don't buy stuff I don't need. Except chocolate 😁

@Belindamccartney a smartphone is certainly cheaper than the MacBook you have access to though isn’t it

iphones can be very expensive if you buy them outright. I always go sim only. Never seems worth it to be being stuck in an expensive contract.

@Belindamccartney you seem to be missing the point so much that it’s worrying tbh.

Tou have an EXPENSIVE computer at home you can use. You have a tablet - also expensive. Of course it’s nit necessary fir you to have an amazing smartphone or evens smartphone. That’s because you have SOMETHING ELSE just as expensive if not MORE EXPENSIVE at home 😆😆

Now imagine fur a second…. A lot if people don’t have a Mac at home. They don’t have a tablet I’m working order. They just have their phone to do all the forms. I challenge you to try and fill a benefit form on a phone tbh. Hard enough to do on a computer.

Imagine that like tou they have a ‘fancy smartphone’ that is actually a few years old fir them, and they bought second hand.

Is that still that awful fir them to have a fancy smartphone???

I know, it's like "I see all these poor people riding around on fancy motorbikes, but you don't actually need a fancy motorbike! I do just fine with my bicycle, or if I need to go a long way or get there quickly, I get in my little runabout or my husband takes me in the Merc."

Damn near everyone needs decent transport of some kind, whether that's a car, high quality public transport, taking taxis, or for shorter distances bikes and walking. The best mix for each person will be different but almost everyone needs access to transport. If you can't access convenient and affordable transport to the places you need to go, your life can be very limited or difficult.

Similarly, in 21st century UK damn near everyone needs access to the internet (barring a few holdouts who services are still catering to, to some extent, and of course there are people for whom the internet is difficult to access for non-financial reasons) — without it your life can be more limited and difficult than it otherwise would be.

The best mix of internet access options will be different for different people, and could include home broadband or mobile data, accessed using desktops, laptops, tablets, games consoles, phones etc., public internet access in libraries, WiFi in cafes and shops, and so on — but the easiest way to get affordable, reliable and convenient internet access for the majority of people is a smartphone. Sure, you can have a dumbphone, a tablet, and a MacBook, and access internet through (presumably) home broadband, but lots of people couldn't afford that, or prefer just to have a smartphone.

I'm one of the ones who piped up to say they have a new iPhone having upgraded several years after the last. Having said that... the OP has a point for some people. When I did debt recovery I remember two debtors who filled out their outgoings. Their mobile bill was £260 a month. They had 4 children aged 5, 7, 9 and 13. Being generous you could say the 9 year old had a phone but that's still a lot for 4 people. I remember having to say to my boss that it was all well and good saying to get rid of the phones but if they were locked into a contract, they were locked into a contract. I still wondered what possessed them to pay those prices. I was paying £10 a month for my contract with a basic smartphone I bought myself because that's what I could afford at the time.

Saying that. I still reserve my right to question how I'll cope with the upcoming increase in prices while holding my iPhone mini 13. I'm looking at a DD increase from £70 in January to £350 next month and who know there after. I'm not using that much obviously so it's building credit as a cushion but the fact energy companies think I need that much as a cushion for the winter is absurd.

This is like boomers lecturing young people to cancel netflix so they can save a house deposit for a house which is now 8x their salary!!

"However what that doesn't excuse is the vast majority of people spending money on luxuries when they had the opportunity to save at least a proportion of that instead. Yes most people probably need a smart phone, no hardly anyone needs a top of the range one, and the cost difference is huge -a tenner on a top range samsung compared to 50 or 60 quid per month on the newest iPhone, plus insurance. Running an old reliable car you've paid off versus renting a range rover at 500 quid per month. In 2019 the average brit went on at least 2 foreign holidays a year. Etc etc. Look at the amount of people who did non necessary house renovations over lockdown or bought a hot tub or who spend fifty quid on a takeaway every week.
If you could afford to do any of those things then you had the option to save a fair whack at some point over the last 5 years when outgoings were relatively cheap, which would now come in very helpful."

I agree with this. Phones are necessary but top of the range aren't. A car might be necessary depending where you live but top of the range isn't. Eating out every week is ok as is going out drinks/clubs/theatre etc but then don't complain you cannot afford to save for a deposit. The bank of mum and dad is often used just to enjoy more holidays by some who then say they cannot afford to buy.... umm

I would just like to point out that using a really old device is a security risk as they don't receive security updates past a certain point (3-5 yes usually but varies by manufacturer). Since so much data is on phones and ppl do their banking and other personal life admin on there this is a serious consideration. So sure you can use an old model for a while but eventually it would be a good idea to replace with a newer one. I don't agree with it in principle as its wasteful when the hardware is still fine but unfortunately that is the reality.

*3-5 years