The 3 year old phone..

[travelover]

.................Stop complaining .......

Are you new here?

 

[rayinpenn]

Stop complaining and figure out what works for you!

Hardly complaining as my texting is deliberately limited
“On my way”
“yeah pork chops are fine”
“This is going to take longer than expected”
“German Pancake sounds good”
“What aisle are you in?”

You know critical stuff.

 

[DrRoy]

Still using an iPhone 7+ that is about 3 years old.

 

[dixonge]

You can do that in the near term, but I think over time, because of the way the world is evolving, you're going to want the most up to date smartphone you can reasonably afford.

Within 5 to 10 years at most, paper money usage is going to be almost non-existent, physical credit card usage is going to go way down as well. The government, banks, credit card companies, and anything finance related will be moving everyone and everything digital.

If you have a budget friendly model, it's not going to be sufficient for doing anything other than making/receiving calls and text messages. Today it's easy for many of us to say that's plenty. However, over the coming decade it will not be.

First, even budget phones can do transactions. All they need is apps. The iPhone SE is only $400 or so.


Second, even Dave Ramsey knows cash is still king...


https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/cashless-society

 

[JoeWras]

+1 to the Motorola "G" series budget phones that sell in the ~$200 range. DW and I have both been using them for the past several years without major problems.

I had good luck with a Moto G phone, but I know some people have not.

For the price, the Moto G has been fantastic. DW and I have had them for about 7 years. They are not perfect. I've had to replace my first two at about 2 to 3 years because the GPS sensor crapped out. My current one is now at exactly 2 years. So far, so good, but not perfect. The Android update caused my phone to slow. The only good solution was a complete re-image. That was a bit of a pain. Otherwise, I'm hoping to make it last another year or two.

All this said, I've spent about $600 over 7 years. That isn't bad. I'm hard on my phones anyway so they are going to have to be replaced some time.

One final note: Moto G series do not support NFC. I believe that NFC based payments will get really important over the next few years as touchless transactions become standard. This will make me think twice about staying with the G, unless they add NFC.

 

[njhowie]

First, even budget phones can do transactions. All they need is apps. The iPhone SE is only $400 or so.


Second, even Dave Ramsey knows cash is still king...


https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/cashless-society

First, you need your phone to be supported. The minute an app doesn't support your phone, or manufacturer doesn't provide for an updated release of the operating system installed on your phone, you're through as far as that app goes. Over time, manufacturers stop supporting phone models and they can no longer be upgraded as far as the Android release. I have such a phone. Received a message from one of the biggest banks in the country last week that I can no longer use their app because my Android is not new enough and manufacturer does not support the phone or have an update to newer Android. Sure, I can root the thing and go from there, but I'm beyond that and don't do that stuff any longer - not worth my time.

"iPhone SE is only $400"? You must be on the wrong thread, my friend - this is about "budget" phones, and sorry, $400 is not on the playing field.

Second, although I appreciate what Dave does for the folks who truly need what he offers, for those who are able to handle things on their own, many of Dave's suggestions are misguided - this one as well. "Cash is King" is agnostic when it comes to medium, whether physical paper money, credit cards that are paid in full monthly, debit cards ... or digital. When we speak about "Cash is King", we are talking about the strength a monetary medium holds when a buyer goes to a seller wanting to purchase something. In fact, in many instances, non-physical cash carries more strength than physical cash. Ever try to go buy a car or house with physical cash? Good luck with that. A plane ticket? Rent a car? Not going to happen these days. Going forward, it's going to trend even more towards digital. Physical cash is inefficient. Most everyone accepts that. Some of you folks can fight it and lash out all you like, but in time, you'll either join the rest of the world as it transitions, be left behind, or pass away as it happens.

 

[target2019]

Hardly complaining as my texting is deliberately limited
“On my way”
“yeah pork chops are fine”
“This is going to take longer than expected”
“German Pancake sounds good”
“What aisle are you in?”

You know critical stuff.

Yeah, you might also be worried about college costs, weddings, and all the rest. Still, get a decent phone like Pixel 4a or whatever it's called, and enjoy yourself. Even a used Pixel 3 will suffice. Yeah, everybody recommends what they're using.

You're gonna see more deals as the holidays progress. Great time to be alive.

 

[teetee]

You can get a new unlocked Moto g7 play or Moto e (2020) for around $50 (deal ends 2020/12/31):
https://slickdeals.net/f/14431031-amazon-100-unlocked-cell-phone-stack-promotion-0-01

My Moto g5 plus from 2017 (64gb model purchased for $119 refurbished) still works without any problem.

Honestly people spend too much money on smartphones.

 

[mckittri2000]

We use Tracfone and the annual cost is around $125/yr for each one of us. We hardly ever use the data but the DW does text a lot. It all depends on your usage as to what works for you. We both have LG smartphones also.

 

[OldShooter]

Yeah, you might also be worried about college costs, weddings, and all the rest. Still, get a decent phone like Pixel 4a or whatever it's called, and enjoy yourself. Even a used Pixel 3 will suffice. Yeah, everybody recommends what they're using.

You're gonna see more deals as the holidays progress. Great time to be alive.

Did you miss my question, post #24?

 

[aja8888]

Three years ago I switched to Cricket Wireless ($30/month unlimited phone and texting plus 2 GB data/month free). Cricket gave me a free LG smartphone for porting my phone number over to them from Verizon.


My free Cricket phone has calling and texting and internet, and a weather app front and center. But I never need directions so I don't even know if it has whatever would be needed for that.

Love my phone, love Cricket. (Thanks again for the suggestion that this plan might fit my needs, REWahoo!)

My free LG phone is fine so far. When it craters, I can get a new LG phone from Cricket that looks pretty much the same, for $79.

We have 4 phones on Cricket for $100/month out the door. That includes talk, text, and data.

All four phones were bought used on Swappa.com for $200 or less each in mint condition over two years ago (iPhone 6S's, Samsung 7's, etc).

 

[JoeWras]

Honestly people spend too much money on smartphones.

+1

There's another active thread right now that makes my spin. I guess I'm missing out on a lot. Not exactly sure what.

I know I'm not missing saving thousands over the last few years.

 

[Music Lover]

+1

There's another active thread right now that makes my spin. I guess I'm missing out on a lot. Not exactly sure what.

I know I'm not missing saving thousands over the last few years.

My GF's daughter is paying $125 a month for her plan which includes the latest iPhone which she says she absolutely HAS to have. She says all her friends have large phone bill and "that's the way we do it these days".

I replaced my perfectly fine Samsung S7 (mostly because I wanted a larger screen) but got a brand new Samsung A11 for $200.

 

[dixonge]

First, you need your phone to be supported. The minute an app doesn't support your phone, or manufacturer doesn't provide for an updated release of the operating system installed on your phone, you're through as far as that app goes. <snip>

So you think the transactions will all go digital, but the means to do the transaction (by phone apps) won't keep them updated? Why not?

Sure, Android OS updates lag behind, but then I wouldn't have another Android, especially if it constantly caused me to lose access to my money...

"iPhone SE is only $400"? You must be on the wrong thread, my friend - this is about "budget" phones, and sorry, $400 is not on the playing field.

To be fair, 'budget' does not mean just 'low budget'

However, in a world of $1000 phones, $400 ain't bad! 60% discount. Depends on what you want.

Some of you folks can fight it and lash out all you like, but in time, you'll either join the rest of the world as it transitions, be left behind, or pass away as it happens.

I'm no fan of Dave and merely used that link due to convenience, however - just because I don't think cash is going away any time soon doesn't mean I'm 'fighting' it. I don't care either way. I love paying for everything with my Apple watch and Apple card. My cash usage is infrequent, unlike my time in Mexico over the last several years where they have so far managed to keep Apple Pay out and cash truly is king!

 

[Bflotomny]

Consumer Cellular has a NEW iPhone SE (64gb) for $250,
+1 on Swappa: I have purchased 5-6 from Swappa without a problem, the Swappa site allows you to sort by condition, price.

 

[pb4uski]

For the price, the Moto G has been fantastic....

+1 We are on our second set... we first set in 2016.... a $180 G4 for DW and $160 G4 Play for me and a little over a year ago upgraded to G7 Plays ($170 each).

I recently dropped my G7 Play and cracked the screen badly (though it still worked). To replace the screen was $135 but I bought a brand new one from BestBuy for $120.

Given how good these sub-$200 Motos perform I cannot for the life of me understand why someone would pay $500-1,000 for a cellphone!

 

[pb4uski]

You can do that in the near term, but I think over time, because of the way the world is evolving, you're going to want the most up to date smartphone you can reasonably afford.

Within 5 to 10 years at most, paper money usage is going to be almost non-existent, physical credit card usage is going to go way down as well. The government, banks, credit card companies, and anything finance related will be moving everyone and everything digital.

If you have a budget friendly model, it's not going to be sufficient for doing anything other than making/receiving calls and text messages. Today it's easy for many of us to say that's plenty. However, over the coming decade it will not be.

You have a crystal ball? IMO your statements are speculative, not facts. ...

My 2c. I think Howie is right on the part of paper money and eventually physical credit cards going the way of the dodo bird.... I can see that emerging in that our cash burn is negligible with most everything on credit cards and only a small subset of our credit card transactions are using the physical plastic credit card with the rest online.

But I think that will still likely be reasonable cost phones (like my $120 moto G7 Play) that will do the trick for transactions and that reasonable cost phones will not necessarily be limited to calls and texts.

Let's compare notes in 5-10 years and see.

 

[OldShooter]

My 2c. I think Howie is right on the part of paper money and eventually physical credit cards going the way of the dodo bird.... I can see that emerging in that our cash burn is negligible with most everything on credit cards and only a small subset of our credit card transactions are using the physical plastic credit card with the rest online.

But I think that will still likely be reasonable cost phones (like my $120 moto G7 Play) that will do the trick for transactions and that reasonable cost phones will not necessarily be limited to calls and texts.

Let's compare notes in 5-10 years and see.

Nothing wrong with any of that & I tend to agree. Everyone has opinions and some of us will be right on some of the stuff. My issue is more that @nj states his opinions as if they were facts. Which they are not. There are no facts about the future, only speculation and opinions.

I am reminded of the Dunning-Kruger effect in psychology, the gist of which is that the people who know least about a subject have the highest confidence that their opinions are correct. None of us know much about the future.

 

[njhowie]

My issue is more that @nj states his opinions as if they were facts.

Honestly, I am humbled that what I say or how I say it has made such an impression with you that you've deemed it necessary and important enough to address with multiple posts.

Surely you have better or more important things to be posting about, don't you?

 

[Jerry1]

I haven’t seen it mentioned yet. For me, I could consider a budget phone only if it can handle Apple or Android play in my car. Calls, text, internet, all good, but the most impressive app for me is the ability to connect with my car and have Waze on my car’s screen. Slicker than any built in OEM navigation I’ve ever had.

I’ve stuck with Apple and use Sprint for many years now and been satisfied with both cost and service. Sprint, and I’m sure others, often have really good deals on phones, like two for one, if you lock in to a couple year contract. Not the cheapest option, but a pretty good value overall.

 

[Freedom56]

We have two unlocked Moto G6 Plus phones that we bought in 2018. They work fine. I had to replace the battery on my wife's phone a month ago and I just ordered a battery for my Moto G6 Plus this past week. The batteries cost just $10 on Ebay but require disassembly of the phone to replace. I had no issues replacing the one on my wife's phone but had to use tools like a heat gun to remove the back cover and had to replace the adhesive seal on the back cover. I found this video on Youtube that shows how to replace the battery on these phones:

 

[teetee]

My GF's daughter is paying $125 a month for her plan which includes the latest iPhone which she says she absolutely HAS to have. She says all her friends have large phone bill and "that's the way we do it these days".

I replaced my perfectly fine Samsung S7 (mostly because I wanted a larger screen) but got a brand new Samsung A11 for $200.

Sorry for those who bows to peer pressure. Good thing most of them are young and have lots of opportunity to practice how not to care about what other thinks or require others' approval of their selfworth.

Most important of all, she will have a chance to learn how to manage money. My Moto g5 plus phone was from 2017 (bought refurbished and unlocked for half price) and my company is paying for the monthly usage. Even with that, my monthly plan is $6 [emoji23]. With working from home full time and google voice, only minimal payment is needed to keep the service alive and for rare road side emergencies.

 

[travelover]

.......... Even with that, my monthly plan is $6 [emoji23]. .........

Big spender. My Pageplus plan is $10 every 120 days.

 

[Another Reader]

I bought a mid range Samsung yesterday (A 51, $275) and it is already having problems. This morning it wanted to do a software update and requested being signed in to wi fi, which I did. When the update finished I was presented with a screen that says "this app is using the full screen..." and I can't get out of it.

I bought it at Best Buy to replace the Motorola with the broken screen that the cell repair people could not get the screen shipped. I'm sick and been in and out of the hospital. Pro tip: do NOT go to the hospital without a cell phone. I can't solve the problem by searching on-line for the solution. Anyone have this issue and/or know how to fix it?

If I can't fix this, it's back to Best Buy. I can't drive, so I have to ask a friend or take ride share. It's unconscionable these device manufacturers allow their devices loose on the market with this type of problem. And $275 is NOT cheap.

 

[Montecfo]

Big spender. My Pageplus plan is $10 every 120 days.

Luxury!

I use 2 cans and a string.

Pros:

-Free

Cons:

-Limited range
-Sound is "tin-y"