Are there any iphone deal for impoverished families?

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Level 1

9 points

Are there any iphone deal for impoverished families?

Hi! So recently my 'dumb' prepaid phone started to die on me. I can't afford to replace it with anything but another very crappy phone for my $35 unlimited talk and text plan on Verizon. Due to my mountainous area sadly Verizon (very overpriced I know) is all that works for me as they own a lot of signaling stations. That being said, my mom recently got an iphone from her sisters who went in half and half for a two year contract through verizon to pay the $200 on the iphone 6s. We aren't made of money. They saved for it under the assumption I had one, without asking me, and since my Mother didn't have a cell phone before, she's going to keep it. Understandable. Over the next two years I simply cannot afford anything but bills, loans, credit card debt, and food, and I know they have kids to take care of and had to skimp and save. I'll be the first in my family to get a college degree, while also working full-time (gotta get a head start on that loan interest) actually. So my question for you is, does apple have a program for impoverished folk to help pay for any version of an iphone so I can use it on my cheap prepaid plan and video chat with my Mom who doesn't own a computer and hasn't seen my face in God knows how long? She's 5 hours away so usually I can't even afford to drive down to NJ to see her so obviously this means a lot to me and after asking the Verizon forum I got no where. I'm convinced fewer and fewer people can afford to pay out of pocket for iphones because they cost as much as a really nice desktop computer. I digress. I feel absolutely horrible but I can't afford a $200 phone and do not want a 2 year contract. Does anyone have any helpful tips on how they afforded to pay for one, or what not? I also cannot afford monthly payments as I'm already super tight on money doing 3 monthly payments for loans and credit card debt. Also, I'm not looking for the most recent model or anything. I just wanna have an iphone so I know everything is compatible with mom and we can even game together on those free apps as it would be fun to bum some time with her teaching her how to play a video game...from her 29 yr old daughter lol. I know Verizon will not offer free phones unless you were already a contract customer and can trade in an old iphone. I'm not. I also want to keep my number and be able to transfer my contacts which I think you can do with any Verizon compatible phone. Anywho, I already work full time and go to college full time so please be kind to me and do not suggest I 'work more' to afford one. I can't drop below an A average or I won't get into the grad program I want to be in as funding is very competitive for ecological field research.

Posted on Oct 23, 2015 7:42 AM

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Answer 1

ckuan

Level 10

120,914 points

Oct 23, 2015 8:04 AM in response to Vjw24

If you can't afford then you can't afford.

Good taste is alway expensive.

There's a second hand market, look there.

Read this first before you buy: What to do before selling or giving away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

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Answer 2

KiltedTim

Level 10

224,904 points

Oct 23, 2015 7:46 AM in response to Vjw24

No. There is no such program. Stick with what you can afford. A smart phone is not a necessity. The human race got by just fine without smartphones for hundreds of thousands, if not millions of years. The same goes for "dumb" cell phones, for that matter.

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Answer 3

Vjw24 Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 23, 2015 7:52 AM in response to KiltedTim

Oh I don't disagree. Actually all of the natural world got along fine without us until we decided to "conquer" it and shape it in our vision creating this dichotomy of man vs. nature. But that's a whole other topic. I just want to be able to see my Mother and I know she can't afford a computer, and she is disabled so she can't easily get around where she is. NJ isn't very library friendly, or just disabled friendly so that's why her sisters went out with no thought, saved, got this stupid phone, and now I still can't even see her. It's roughly 100 in gas to travel to NJ so that's always out of the question every holiday season. Hence why I'm figuring this would be the cheapest route to consistently "spend time with her" despite how yes, we got along fine without them before. But also back in the day general kids didn't, or couldn't move, 5 hours away from their family for university and to just live somewhere they love. I live in the country of NY 🙂 and I'm never going back to NJ lol.

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Answer 4

Vjw24 Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 23, 2015 7:57 AM in response to ckuan

Thanks but I can't afford another bill of 32 monthly payment. That payment doesn't include the phone plan or taxes and actually if I click on it (I did this first before coming here) it will ask for your carrier and it directs me to the prepaid area of verizon since I have prepaid and they do not offer discounts on their phones for prepaid even if you've been with them for 10+ years. The only discount is $200+ dollars or $150 for a iphone 5, even androids with video chat are about the same cost (mind you, refurbished) and those do not offer payment plans. I can afford $45 total a month between the payment plan and phone plan, which I know Verizon doesnt' have. Sadly I've used AT&T, Virgin Mobile, T mobile, Cingular, and none of them get me teh reception I need to call back to NJ on the flat *** piece of land my Mom lives on and I need a cell phone for my field research so I can contact my boss and advisor, so just getting a land line and dropping my cell phone isn't an option. 😕 Thanks anyway.

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Answer 5

Oct 23, 2015 8:06 AM in response to Vjw24

Given your budget, you should pick the best free phone offered by your carrierl or a cheap/free phone with a prepaid VMNO. From what you post, you simply cannot afford an iPhone now. Take solace in the fact your education will eventually change that situation, but you are amongst the poor student masses for now. I have 3 degrees (BSc, MSc, PhD) so I've been there too. Live within your means while a student as you don't want to be dragging consumer debt around for years nor have it digging into your paycheck once you graduate and do have a good job finally (you also don't want to go into the workforce with cruddy credit because you dove in too deep before you had the income to support your tastes).

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Answer 6

Limnos

Level 10

427,151 points

Oct 23, 2015 8:17 AM in response to Vjw24

I kind of feel that having a smartphone and being able to video chat is perhaps putting expectations a bit high if you are really that strapped for funds. It's like somebody saying they don't have enough money to pay for food because they have to pay the cable TV bill (get a set of rabbit ears!) I only got my first cellphone this year and it is a glorious no-contract phone that cost me $10 to buy and another $20 every 3 months to keep activated and put 2 hours of talk time on it. Even now I consider it a minor luxury item.

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Answer 7

Vjw24 Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 23, 2015 1:09 PM in response to Michael Black

Thank you for sharing your experience. I guess I'm just upset at my own poverty and my families as it's been several years since I've seen my Mom and Dad due to travel expenses so the phone seemed 'cheaper' relatively speaking for the gain I would get to actually see my family via video chat rather than get to talk a few minutes here and there and taking pictures to mail snail mail or email. I mean I see everyone with these darn things I had assumed there was some plan out there for poor folk because I know a lot of poor folk who have them, and when you look at India, for example, they have more smart phones than toilets. Which isn't solely because of them living out of their means and more of a matter of how their country prioritizes things..e.g. they slack on proper education and infrastructure. Anywho I digress. *sighs* Oh well. I had this plan to surprise my Mom during X-mas with a video chat 😝. lol. I just have the very very basic internet so I can't even run Skype or google chat without crashing otherwise I was thinking maybe i could call her that way now that she does have a smartphone with chat...but I guess she'd need wifi and she doesn't have that...Hmm....anyway. I'm glad I'm nto the only one who's just fed up being poor and going to colleg eto not be poor, but the time isn't nearly here soon enough when I can 'live comfortably' ya know? hehe

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Answer 8

Oct 23, 2015 1:59 PM in response to Vjw24

In the USA and elsewhere, there are far more people living beyond there means than you may think. Here, many just have never learned to distinguish want from need, and the concept of a budget and living within means are wholly alien concepts. That is why, despite the recent recession, this nation still has millions of people carrying billions in consumer debt. And those same people will bemoan how they never have enough money, how they have no savings, no security, no hope of retirement.

Get your degrees, focus on getting the most from your education and your day will come. If it were easy, everybody would do it, but it's not and so those who stick with it benefit in the long run while others will forever live paycheck to paycheck.

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Answer 9

carl wolf

Level 6

14,631 points

Oct 23, 2015 2:06 PM in response to Vjw24

Rather than spending $1000 for an iPhone, and another $1500 for service, I suggest you purchase a cheaper, more appropriate phone. You may quality fro a free phone and service via Medicaid, and it would behoove you to ask.

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Answer 10

Vjw24 Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 23, 2015 5:51 PM in response to Michael Black

So essentially all of the poor people I am seeing with outdated smartphones got them by just charging them rather than through some subsidized program, like how companies refurbish phones and sell those dirt cheap, OR provide them for free with a 2 year contract? When you think about that, it's really sad. I haven't even charged car repairs when I have needed to and instead just shifted money from food so I wouldnt sacrifice my A+ average to work more than 40 hours a week plus full time classes so I could get into the grad school I want. That's just stupid. Charging food if you're desperate and literally starving for days is one thing, going hungry for a day or two or just eating eggs and quinoa for 3 months straight like I have is a whole other thing. Ugh.

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Answer 11

frazzm737

Level 9

55,410 points

Oct 23, 2015 6:02 PM in response to Vjw24

My advice would be to keep working hard for your education. You aren't the only one who had to work from the bottom up. Buy only what you can afford! Rely on yourself, not on the charity of others. Stick with the phone you can afford--no one here or at Apple is going to give you a smart phone and service for nothing.

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Answer 12

Oct 23, 2015 6:25 PM in response to Vjw24

yup, many people honestly do not make the distinction between want and need. Fewer and fewer companies are offering any sort of corporate discount, as they have shed their own bottom line of such perks for employees. Credit card debt has dropped somewhat since the recession, but not a whole lot, and is climbing again reportedly - many people never learn there is no free lunch.

Also, have you looked into prepaid (eg. ATT gophone) smart phones and plans as they can be much cheaper. You do not need an iPhone for video chat or skype or such. However, you do need a decent connection, and wifi would be best. If you have a cruddy connection on your end or the person you are calling, then the device is moot as the connection is what matters for any sort of video chat or call.

What does your university offer - anything? Any decent wifi hotspots on campus you could use? Or with ATT, you may have access (depending on plan) to public wifi hotspots that may be better than your own internet connection.

An iPhone is a high-end smart phone, but there are alternatives if you really shop around hard - they may not have all the features of an iPhone, but they may have those few features that matter most to you. Regardless, if you cant afford something, you cant afford it, period.

Life has limits, and always will. I'd really like an Audi A6, but I drive a Honda Accord (albeit a V6). When I was in grad school (MSc) I really wanted my own Mac, but I owned some local hack-built 286 clone. However, living within your means and being happy with what you have and avoiding debt can be priceless.

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Answer 13

Vjw24 Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 24, 2015 8:26 AM in response to Michael Black

Thanks for the suggestion. I don't know if my university has good wifi because I use a cheap desktop so I don't actually have a device that I can use wifi on. I do know without a doubt that they do not allow video chats. I have treid video chatting my partner who's deployed and their firewalls prevent it. If you have a labtop they will require you install a particular virus software but they will allow it. I do not however have a laptop. It did dawn on me that one of my aunts has wifi because she has two kids and they are both in HS and a lot of their assignments are submitted online for their honors classes. My mom does visit enough that I feel I could catch her fairly often...if I had a device to wifi video chat from. What type of phone would work to have a clear video chat connection? I know iphones can use pretty much any application, and androids. Apart from those two types I haven't heard of any 'cheap' alternatives to just get the job done for enhancing video chat between you and yours.

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