after spending all day obsessing over how i could manage to afford an iPhone, or not, all day, back and forth, Christopher put it into perspective for me on the car ride home:
me: oh, fuck it. i should just go buy a cat.
him: there’s probably an app for that.
so, yeah. $44.80 each month is standing between me and some iPhone-y goodness. it wouldn’t compromise any of my current financial goals (accelerated debt repayment, emergency fund padding, car repair/replacement saving), but it would cut into that nice little “extra” i have after paying the bills and putting money away each month. you know, the buffer which gets used for gifts, clothes, emergency pizza delivery.
it’s not a hardship, but i still find myself balking. i have a perfectly working cell phone (if you don’t count it’s complete and utter crapness at texting) and a super magnificent iPod Touch which isn’t even six months old yet. but… constant access to the internets. oh, data, you seductive temptress. that’s why i’d get the iPhone. data.
the cheapest Telus plan, with the unlimited texting and caller ID add-on would cost me just $44.80 more than i currently budget for my pay-as-you-go Virgin phone. it would give me twice as many minutes as i would ever think of using and 500mb of sweet, sweet data (which, by all reports would be entirely suitable for my level of usage).
i think it’s just the concept of paying over SEVENTY DOLLARS a month for a portable phone device. it seems so… excessive.
anyway, i just can’t seem to decide, so i’m not. i know, you guys choose for me! i know you’ll come up with the right decision! go forth and comment your choice!
update:
my friend Colene showed me a way to get the iPhone for less than half the regular price AND save on my plan to get it under that onerous $70 monthly total (not by much, but it’s all psychological anyway). now my choice is just that much harder! ARGH!
I was actually the same way.
Everyone else bought their iphones last summer, when the 6 gig deal happened. But not me – I had a perfectly good cell phone which *did* have data, sortof, I could get my email and I could even look things up on the internet if they were REALLY important because it was REALLY convoluted. I didn’t need to be frivolous.
And then, one day before Christmas, Reilly bought me one as a present. And I felt REALLY REALLY STUPID for not getting one earlier.
The thing is just so useful and easy. I rarely use it for phone, but I am on it constantly. I can check my email on the go like I could before, but way faster. I can read attachments. I can text like no tomorrow. I can keep up with the twitters and rss’ and facebooks when I need to, and especially when I’m standing in line or otherwise wasting time.
On a more practical front, the damn thing is a GPS. I am never lost. If we are in a weird part of town and I need to know the nearest cobler or butcher or wig shop, I can. If I need a phone number, I can look it up. If I need a phone number of a place I can’t really remember I can google for what I do know and find it. I can even use streetview to look at the damn street to read the sign off the window of the random place I’ve seen but don’t know the name. I can read reviews – and check the health inspection reports – of restaurants before trying them. I can check ferry schedules and transit schedules and arrival times of planes when I go to pick someone up from the airport. I could take photos of my cat when she was being cute and I didn’t want to move to go get a real camera, and now I have a cute Luna photo as my wallpaper because she’s gone.
I didn’t need a replacement phone, because I also had a perfectly decent phone. What I gained, however, was a complete transformation of the way I get to live my life in regards to staying informed, communicating, and most importantly reducing time. I sound like a total salesperson I know, but it’s true!
And, as of today, in the nearly 12 months that I’ve had my iphone I’ve used exactly 2.99 GB of transfer TOTAL – as in, in that entire time. I’m on it constantly, 500mb/mo is twice what I use, so unless you’re watching TV all the time you’ll never come near the limit there.
Get the iphone.
Cheers!
Having spent about three years to date working with animal rescue and/or veterinary groups — a cat will cost you WAY more than $44/mo, and it will usually end up coming out of your emergency fund.
And there’s a very good chance that the iPhone will be more rewarding to come home to.
Then again, I’m a dog lover.
Well, personally I’d advocate waiting a bit – realizing that as soon as you get it, there will be someone else to take its place as the next item of obsession. If the pull is still there in a month or two, then go for it (esp. if you can put aside that $45 each month until you decide – that’ll make the impact of that “extra” money not being on hand clear before you’ve committed it indefinitely).
But, then, you’re the budgeting goddess between us, so what do I know?! :-)
Unless your prospective cat is the kind who will give you an iPod Touch, I say stick with Christopher.
Your friend Colene (oh wait, she’s my friend too!) should pass along the tips! :-)
Just curious what you decided about the iPhone? I’ve got the iPhone itch bad. Real bad. But I too have a perfectly good “regular” cell phone. But I hear such great things. And it looks so wonderful…