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Original poster

How many people complaining they are broke have fancy devices?

318 replies

IRememberXanadu · 08/08/2022 13:46

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 posts:
TSIFT · 08/08/2022 15:32

MarshaMelrose · 08/08/2022 13:57

I can't believe the amount of money people spend on phones. And most of it is just chasing after status. Buy a phone outright from a cheap seller and then get a sim only contract. So much cheaper and not tied into anything.
To be fair, though, when you're used to a certain amount of disposable income, it's really hard to motivate yourself to cut back. Much easier to moan about upcoming increases than to actually make sacrifices to prepare.

I usually earn more than most employees in my positions - I have a cheap Motorola phone - the actual model is more than 5 years old.
I drive a second hand car that cost less than £5k.
However, some of the low earners find this funny.
I don't think it's so funny with their expensive phones, getting upgraded every year, cars on finance, worrying about fake tans and fake eyelashes.
With mortgages they can't afford, shitty careers as well as their partners, no desire to do better, crying about childcare.
Going on holidays on finance!
No pension pot.

Instead of wasting money on crap at least stick it in a pension.

Their situation isn't even funny, it's just pathetic.
I always smile and think at least I'm not a broke loser.

SavingsThreads · 08/08/2022 15:33

All the posters on here deliberately (or more worryingly, no deliberately) missing the OPs point and harping on about their old, ridiculously cheap phone.

Crikeyalmighty · 08/08/2022 15:33

What is killing peoples finances are high mortgages (unless you live somewhere really cheap and have owned for years) mental rents (same issues as houses and far worse in some parts of the country) rising food costs, (but that at least is kind of workable around and not fixed) fuel costs, ludicrous utilities and council tax and the amount of insurances you need to have on car (s) and homes to protect yourself.

It is not the £25 or so a person spends on their mobile bill .

onthefencesitter · 08/08/2022 15:33

I think worrying about price hikes is very different from being able to afford XXXX. The price hikes people are worried about are regular payments/bills. When you buy a consumer good like iphone or even pay for a haircut, you just pay the ticket price and if you have the spare money, you can afford it. I don't have an Iphone but I bought a fridge freezer for £1000. There was no rule that I was bound to buy an expensive fridge freezer any time in the foreseeable future. Yes any savings you make now on consumer goods can be used to pay bills in the future, but paying bills from savings is not sustainable. if the war in ukraine rages on for another ten years and wages don't rise in sync with inflation, if you can't afford bills directly from your income, i don't think it is inconceivable that you can go into arrears very quickly and your savings will dry up.

JennyForeigner · 08/08/2022 15:34

I have an iPhone. It came with my job.

What's your problem with that?

ClumpingBambooIsALie · 08/08/2022 15:36

latetothefisting · 08/08/2022 15:31

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.

If everyone had done that the economy would've tanked.

MarshaMelrose · 08/08/2022 15:36

sunglassesonthetable · 08/08/2022 15:21

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 have a Samsung A series. Cost 225. Which I think isn't cheap. I do use it quite a lot. Too much! But I don't need it for work so that might make a difference. So could I ask what apps/programmes on your phone you need for work that requires an expensive 700 phone? Maybe even more? I'm not being snarky, I'm genuinely interested because I've heard people say they'd never buy an expensive phone but they need it for work and I've wondered what that meant in practical terms.

Zibbydib · 08/08/2022 15:41

You can still worry about the price of essentials going up whilst enjoying luxuries. It just means there will be less money for luxuries

Wealreadyknew · 08/08/2022 15:43

@MarshaMelrose people that have iPhones are ‘chasing after status’?!

Yes, a £20 a month phone is the new Patek philippe you know.

MarshaMelrose · 08/08/2022 15:44

@TSIFT
Haha. My dad was like you. He drove a 25 year old car with pride. 😁 I learned my saving ways from him. I never understand why when two articles look and perform the same, people will go for the more expensive one because it has a brand name that people feel give them status. I guess marketing depts have done their jobs well.

Lioupin · 08/08/2022 15:45

My kids learn in primary school about the difference between a want and a need!

Phones are a need but an old phone on a sim only deal for £10 a month not £50 month for an iPhone 13.

We live in such a materialistic society and it’s so sad. No one can tell how rich you are by the phone you use, the clothes you wear or the car that you drive. Doesn’t that defeat the whole point of all of this?

Sartre · 08/08/2022 15:46

They will be contract phones, highly doubt they bought them outright. We all have iPhones and pay £100 a month for all five of them so don’t think that’s too bad, we’re with sky who have very reasonable prices.

Mangolist · 08/08/2022 15:47

I've only got an android so can afford loads of petrol and electricity. Obviously!

Wealreadyknew · 08/08/2022 15:47

@TSIFT you sound very unkind and judgemental, calling people pathetic and broke losers.

You can live your life however you chose but judging other people in such a nasty way isn’t a particularly nice trait.

Mangolist · 08/08/2022 15:48

But our cars were £500 and £550 each so we are 'good people' I reckon 😆

sunglassesonthetable · 08/08/2022 15:49

Filming
photography
Edit functions
Note taking

All correspondence
Files
Scans
product search

All done on the move

Need big memory
good speed
fast charge

I used it everyday/ most of the day out and about.

I could in theory use a note book and pen, a camera and any old phone. But I feel the phone i have makes my work life more efficient, streamlined and effective. And just easier.

@MarshaMelrose

Miajk · 08/08/2022 15:50

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe · 08/08/2022 15:16

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.

100%, when looking at Europe the UK is the closest to the US when it comes to overconsumption habits.

It's clothes, electricals, lots of things really. Even things like eating out & takeaways are not as common in most EU countries compared to the UK.

No one should struggle to pay bills but I do think that the outlook on luxuries in the UK is quite crazy.

ClumpingBambooIsALie · 08/08/2022 15:50

Lioupin · 08/08/2022 15:45

My kids learn in primary school about the difference between a want and a need!

Phones are a need but an old phone on a sim only deal for £10 a month not £50 month for an iPhone 13.

We live in such a materialistic society and it’s so sad. No one can tell how rich you are by the phone you use, the clothes you wear or the car that you drive. Doesn’t that defeat the whole point of all of this?

It's much easier to be happy being seen in an old car, dressing your kids from charity shops, using an old phone, if you're very obviously solidly middle class and not struggling financially. It's obvious that you're doing those things because you want to, not because you have to.

If there's a real possibility that doing those things will make people see you as struggling, then you've got to be mentally quite strong to do those things and not care about what people think — either that or you genuinely have no other option.

Avidreader12 · 08/08/2022 15:50

I run 2 iPhones on a 17 pound contract a month for both it hardly breaks the bank. A lot of people get reconditioned tech and it might look expensive but isn’t always brand new.

NC12345665 · 08/08/2022 15:52

Colette · 08/08/2022 14:50

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

But OP doesn't know how much they spent on their phones.
She doesn't seem to understand that.

MarshaMelrose · 08/08/2022 15:52

Wealreadyknew · 08/08/2022 15:43

@MarshaMelrose people that have iPhones are ‘chasing after status’?!

Yes, a £20 a month phone is the new Patek philippe you know.

IPhone has a status name. Its not even considered the best phone on the market but people but it for its name. Patek Phillipe watches might be expensive but basically they just tell the time. Asda £10 quid watches perform the same function but with less status.

Where are you getting an iPhone 13 for 20 quid a month?

DaphneSprucesPippasClack · 08/08/2022 15:52

Samsung s21 but I hammer my phone. It gets heavily used and is my main item of technology. Because of this I decided a while ago that its worth the spend

Livelovebehappy · 08/08/2022 15:54

Bonkers reading some of the posts on here saying they ‘need’ their £800 phones. These are the people OP is directing her comments at. What does a £800 phone do extra that a £80 phone doesn’t do? It’s about status. People do judge you by what phone you’re using. Just like judging you by the car you drive. Others on here though are being deliberately obtuse and mis interpreting the point OP is trying to get across.

Miajk · 08/08/2022 15:55

Wealreadyknew · 08/08/2022 15:43

@MarshaMelrose people that have iPhones are ‘chasing after status’?!

Yes, a £20 a month phone is the new Patek philippe you know.

20 a month for 3 years = 720. If you got an iphone, that's even more, not sure where 20 came from if we're discussing flagship smartphone.

You could spent 300 on a smartphone that works just fine instead of an iphone and free up 700 towards bills, food, fuel?

sunglassesonthetable · 08/08/2022 15:55

Bonkers reading some of the posts on here saying they ‘need’ their £800 phones. These are the people OP is directing her comments at. What does a £800 phone do extra that a £80 phone doesn’t do? It’s about status. People do judge you by what phone you’re using. Just like judging you by the car you drive. Others on here though are being deliberately obtuse and mis interpreting the point OP is trying to get across.