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...

Yes that's everyone that's complaining all wrapped up in one description.

How dare those filthy poor people have nice things!?

Do you think the economy is in the state its in because of a shiftless, feckless underclass squandering their money on fripperies?

It's the same mentality that thinks a 23-year-old could buy a house if they just stopped eating avocado toast. No understanding of the bigger picture whatsoever or any capacity for critical thinking.

This country and a fair proportion of the people in it depress the fuck out of me these days.

My daughter is on UC. Her 10 year old phone died. Her Grandad bought her a top of the range one for Christmas, he got a massive discount from work.

Now if it was me I would have given her money for rent etc instead, but he won't, he likes to give gifts like that and she needs a phone. The data is free as he got a bundle with his Virgin Media and gifted it to her.

I completely agree, but people don't want to hear it. They demand their luxuries. But, if they struggle with their bills whilst paying an 'essential' £20 a month for their phone, that's their own fault.
I have an old phone that I bought second hand (basically like new though) and I pay £5 a month.

Let people buy their 'essentials' - they are the ones who will struggle!!
Well, unless they qualify for government help and then they get the best of both worlds whilst the frugal idiots like me suffer.

Surely if you are watching the pennies, even an extra £10 a month counts? It's not just expensive phones; it's the tablets in additions to phones and laptops, it's the nail appointments, smoking, etc. Surely when you add it all up, it amounts to quite a bit. Either that or I guess people aren't really that hard up, which I doubt because even here on MN you are constantly reading about how posters don't know where they'll get the money to pay their bills this winter. Surely if you were really desperate, every extra pound would help, wouldn't it?

Nails ❎
Smoke ❎
tablet ❎

iphone ✅

That's me☝️
You are so clichéd you don't make sense.

Maijk, that's really interesting. I spent a lot of time in France for work and visited recycling sites as part of that. The electrical equipment put into skips for reprocessing was really antiquated and, as you say - definitely broken!

In the UK we do buy huge volumes of electrical equipment and it's replaced when it's still working - that seems to be a particular UK tendency as most of the mainland European countries operate to your experience, ie. replace only when broken to the point that it can't be repaired.

How many people complaining of no money have fake nails, fake lashes and tats. Waste of money.

Can get decent phone for a couple hundred no one needs an iphone latest model so agree with that.

Everythings going up but out all the time

Maybe they could very comfortably afford their iPhones on contract before the cost of living started to rise...

Besides, if you looked at my iPhone you'd probably say the same about me. In reality I paid it off years ago, it's 5 years old in September and still works perfectly. It's the only way I access the internet at the moment, grocery shopping, banking, etc. so it would be pretty stupid for me to sell it. It would probably fetch less than £100 so not even one month's energy bill, and I'd have to travel 40mins to the nearest bank branch every time I need to do anything. I'd also have to factor in the cost of going to get my groceries rather than getting them delivered (also 40mins to the nearest big supermarket). I'd also not be able to contact my friends and family, so I'd be miserable.

Doesn't seem worth it, somehow!

OP is not saying phone is not a necessity, but that how much you spend on it is a choice .Which I think is a valid point

OP seems really unaware of a lot of issues.

Can get decent phone for a couple hundred no one needs an iphone latest model so agree with that.

What job do you do? You didn't say.

You know some people use their phones for work. My phone is essential. It's an expensive one.

I think it’s the day to day expenses that concern people more. Lots have sim only, so they’ve bought their phone and the monthly contract is minimal.

We had two cars, now one. We’re doing the things that people do to conserve fuel and energy. We’ve given up most treats, like a takeaway or a meal out, or a bunch of flowers. We’ve reduced the shopping bill as much as we can. My guess would be that’s what those people were talking about in the garage.

fake lashes aren't that expensive unless you go for lash extensions. Can't you DIY fake nails either? Also with tattoos, they may have gotten them ages ago and sadly the tattoos stay.

I don't understand this. The energy companies might indeed make large profits. But they're allowed to charge customers. The price of energy has gone up across the world so customers charges have gone up. Customers have to pay those charges if they want energy. The average person will have to be more cautious with their spending to meet the rising prices. The op isn't saying that people shouldn't complain about the rise but that if they're worried how they are going to pay, they need to make changes to spending patterns sooner rather than later.
Even if you were correct that the companies are criminals, how does that relate to the ops argument? How is she deflecting from that?

If you didn't spend in Starbucks etc you could save about £1k a year minimum and not get fat

People that spend unnecessarily don't stop at Starbucks

If you're broke you've got no business wasting money and complaining

Also, it's the way the world goes around - some generations will be poor

I pay £13 a month for my fairly new iPhone and it's a necessity for all kinds of things for work too - it's not the same as a sudden £130 a month hike on fuel bills or food. Lots of people are given them as part of their job too.

FFS. Good point op. Let’s have nothing. Let’s live in hovels. Let’s grub in the dirt for turnips and die at 40. Why have anything nice? Why have a little pleasure in life?
Talk about a race to the bottom.
I begrudge no one anything, except people who have more houses than they can live in and more money than they can spend. They’re the parasites.

Have you heard of a contract OP? Most people with iPhones are not buying them outright. Use your common sense

I have my phone on a 3 year contract, currently 2 years in. We are struggling massively, yet I have a nice phone...
What do you expect people to do, sell theirs phones, yet still be tied into contracts paying for them anyway?
Honesty OP, you're so out of touch.

Not to mention all of my bills are paid using my phone, emails sent and received, plus keeping in touch with family.
Next you'll be condemning people for treating themselves to a coffee or the odd mcdonald's.

Talk about over the top...🙄
Where has the op said they're filthy?
Where has she said they're poor?

You're right @IRememberXanadu but you'll get a lot of excuses from the ones that complain and waste money. Up to them what they spend money on but it's the whinging.

There are some very poor people who are really struggling and then there are some people who throw money away and whinge. Give 2 people the same money and they spend on different things and different priorities.

Another goady 'poor' bashing thread.

how many is that now?

You sound quite silly OP. Who the heck do you think is spending £1k upfront on a brand new phone? (FYI it's not the people worried about paying their bills!)

Just leaving this here for those of us who understand that current difficulties are about more than iPhones and flat-screen tvs

There's 2 aspects to it though aren't there....

On one hand, it's the "flatscreen tv" fallacy - things that still have the aura of being a "luxury" item are actually fairly commonplace to the point where you'd struggle now to get a non flat screen tv, and, in some cases, like a smartphone (albeit not a top of the range one) are essential. There's also the point that these things are expensive when you buy them but have a very low resale value so you're better off keeping and taking advantage of them rather than selling for a miniscule amount.

So for people who could afford to buy whatever x item is at the time, there would be very limited

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.