Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to think £35 a month is a lot for a phone?

66 replies

KitKat1985 · 21/04/2017 21:13

So, DH needs a new phone as his old one has broken. The one he wants he tells me has a retail price of £650 new! Shock My sodding laptop that I bought last year wasn't even that much. Basically he's been told that he can have the phone for £100 upfront if he agrees to a £35 a month contract for 2 years. I think this is excessive. He's already stretched on his monthly salary due to a car loan, and I've only got maternity pay coming in until I'm back to work in November, so things have been a bit tight money-wise at times.

We could just about afford it and obviously I don't want to tell him how to spend his money, but I have a perfectly usable phone for less than half that much per month (and cost nothing upfront), and I just think a fancy mobile is an excessive expense whilst our finances are stretched. I just don't get the appeal of flashy phones. Surely as long as you can do the essentials like get texts, e-mails, check the internet and make and receive phone calls then that's all you need? AIBU to ask him to look at cheaper options?

OP posts:
MsRinky · 21/04/2017 21:56

I have a fab £150 Wileyfox phone and spend £5 a month on GiffGaff. Don't get spending more, just not a priority for me.

bibbitybobbityyhat · 21/04/2017 21:56

Yanbu. Mine is £15 and I never go up to my limits but then I'm not addicted .

StarryIllusion · 21/04/2017 21:59

It's about normal for a good phone but I think he should shop around a bit as the deposit is a bit hefty. Usually you pay monthly for the phone and nothing up front for it. What phone is it? YANBU to say that he should wait until finances are not so stretched though but if it is his money he can do what he likes with it.

IHopeYouStepOnALegoPiece · 21/04/2017 22:00

I paid £719 for my iPhone (7 plus) and pay £12pm for a sim only deal for 5000 mins and 20gb data (which rolls over any unused data to the next month... I currently have 39gb!) on Virgin

Doing it this way made far more sense (to me) then paying £48 pm plus £120 for the phone originally for the same deal

Banchan · 21/04/2017 22:01

I bought a pre owned iPhone 5 outright and just buy a five pound giffgaff goody bag as and when i need it probably once every two months, I only really need it when someone leaves a voicemail Grin as mostly use wifi for iMessage and free giffgaff to giffgaff calls. Would he be willing to downgrade to a different or buy a pre used?

Topseyt · 21/04/2017 22:01

I guess it probably depends to an extent what the phone is actually needed for.

To me £35 per month would be ridiculous when I really don't make too much of a dent in the allowances I have. Perhaps though for someone using it a lot more and perhaps for business use it might be reasonable?

Earthmoon · 21/04/2017 22:03

Shop around, use comparison website to help you find a better deal. If you want to help him and finance permit. Last year I found a good deal on uswitch for £26 a month and no upfront cost a Samsung s7 phone, unlimited calls and text with 2g data for two years with Vodafone. I used to buy handset and then buy sim only contract but found this deal to good to miss.

ragz134 · 21/04/2017 22:04

We have never paid more than £16. Over £20 is expensive to me. If you want a £600 phone, save for one. £35 a month for 2 years is £840? Plus you'd have to insure it.

Ameliablue · 21/04/2017 22:08

I spend less than £5 a month payg, so that seems quite a lot.

ShiroiKoibito · 21/04/2017 22:15

i have a Samsung 6 edge
paid £290(?) up front, and £15 per month for unlimited texts/minutes and 4 gb of data

worked out the cheapest way to do it over the life of the contract

Aderyn2016 · 21/04/2017 22:16

No one needs the latest, most high tech phone. It is lovely to have, if you can afford it but madness if you can't. I would go for maybe the second newest phone because it will still be high tech, but a fair bit cheaper because everyone wants the latest one!
Also look around for data deals. Virgin do some good ones. Sometimes what you choose is decided by where you live wrt available coverage.

SheepyFun · 21/04/2017 22:17

I confess to only getting my first smartphone last Christmas. DH tells me it was £70 second hand (it's identical to his, so we knew it would be good enough), and I use PAYG with 3, spending about £5/month, so what you've suggested seems an awful lot. I use my laptop a lot, but it was less than that too (to be fair, DH's laptop was more, but he needed a certain spec to keep up professionally).

Also, that sort of purchase would be a genuinely joint decision for us, even though it wouldn't be a stretch financially. All our money is joint money; I remain bemused by married couples where one partner has much more spending money than the other.

RealFakeDoors · 21/04/2017 22:22

There are plenty of good phones around the £400 mark. I love my Huawei 9P with latest Android, which is (after haggling with Vodafone) £25.50 per month over 24 months unlimited text / talk and 5Gb data. Sure, it's no iPhone 7 or Galaxy S8 - but my car isn't a Mercedes either!

BarbaraofSeville · 21/04/2017 22:23

It's a huge amount, especially if money is tight. No one needs all this data and the latest phone every two minutes.

I think my phone is 3 years old and it does everything and is waterproof too and it cost under £200. I have no plans to replace it anytime soon. With sim only contracts you can get unlimited everything for less than £15 pm.

It's fine to get a fancy phone if you have lots of spare money but a huge extravagance if you don't.

lavenirestanous · 21/04/2017 22:24

I have sim only on a three year old iPhone, unlimited calls and texts and 20gb of data on O2. I se my phone a lot though.

RealFakeDoors · 21/04/2017 22:24

*P9 not 9P!

lavenirestanous · 21/04/2017 22:24

Aargh posted too soon - that package is £20 a month.

Toysaurus · 21/04/2017 22:24

I pay £35 a month but I run my life through my phone. I don't smoke, drink, take drugs, have a social life etc. But I use my phone all the time. We have no TV so use Netflix on it, I use it for internet, online banking, making appointments, renewing things, taking photos and videos, Doctor Google in the middle of the night for croup, Youtubing how to mend stuff, applying for schools, dealing with emergencies. In fact, I rarely use it as a phone to make actual calls. I don't think it's a huge amount of money for the practical use I get from it.

Coverup890 · 21/04/2017 22:27

I pay 35 a month for my galaxy s7 edge but i get unlimited texts calls and 20g of data. I dont have a laptop or tablet so its my only form of communication with the outside world.

Goldfishjane · 21/04/2017 22:28

Heavy phone user in what way? If it's photos and they're important then they get moved somewhere else anyway?

ButDoYouAvocado · 21/04/2017 22:34

Mine was £200 up front and is £42pm for unlimited texts and calls and 26gb data. I work on my own so it's my lifeline. I watch tv on it, listen to podcasts, audio books and...oh it does fancy stuff I like but you will probably take the piss out of.

Point is, it's affordable for me and brings me joy. Like some people might buy fancy cars or posh perfume I guess?

Sallystyle · 21/04/2017 22:38

Mine is £35

Unlimited texts and calls, a lot of internet. Samsung Edge 7.

I love it, get a lot of use so it's worth every penny to me.

Siwdmae · 21/04/2017 22:39

That's a lot. Mine is £15 for unlimited calls, texts, plus 3 gig of mobile data. I have a Samsung 5 mini (I think!) which takes beautiful pictures. Phone was from eBay, there's just no way I can justify buying a phone for over £600!

HeLeftMe · 21/04/2017 22:40

I'm paying £33 a month for unlimited texts and calls and 5gb data with an iPhone 6S and whilst it's the most I have ever paid for a phone (never had a contract til 35 years old!)I think it's worth every penny.

My hubby is going to get an iPhone 7 on contract too.
Mobiles.co.uk gave us cheaper contracts than with the companies themselves.

Sallystyle · 21/04/2017 22:42

If you want a £600 phone, save for one.

I don't want to save up for one!