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this post was submitted on 21 Jan 2026
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Technology
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It's cheaper, no? You just go on ebay or any other used marketplace.
I know it's a slightly higher initial cost (depending on the phone), but phones last years, you'll be saving way more over those years.
This is the whole being poor keeps you poor thing.
You can't afford $200-300 outright, but you can afford the monthly plan that costs $20 more but ends up costing $490 instead of $250 .
You can't afford the $300 winter boots, so you buy the $100 ones that fall apart in 2 seasons instead of lasting a decade.
Kinda depends. If you buy the phone outright it's usually pretty similar in price, but most people finance, and then it is cheaper to buy separately because interest hits like a truck :D
I know a lot of people who can't necessarily afford $200 minimum to drop on a phone, though, and that's for one that really starts to struggle after 2 years to do anything other than the most basic call/text functionality
My S20 is doing fine...and I almost exclusively buy a phone a couple years old for 150/200 total. I haven't seen any changes in new phones that make upgrading worth it and it's much easier to replace an older phone you break than a brand new phone you break.
I've mostly used new budget phones, personally. My current phone is the most expensive one I've owned, and it was $400 xD I probably should do used more, but phones do usually last me a while, and I normally use a wallet case so they're fairly well protected against drops