Apple Finance?

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JamesUK

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Hi,

I've been considering getting a Mini for a while now, but being 15 my finances are somewhat limited.

I always endevour to get the best version of hardware I can to keep it in-date as long as possible (in terms of ability to run the latest software), so I'm looking to buy the Mac Mini Core Duo with 1GB RAM.

The price-tag this carries, however, is £669.01.

Yesterday, at the bottom of the configuration page, I noticed the line: 'Find out how to get this product for £22.86 per month.', had a look at the associated pop-up, and the deal seems pretty on-the-level; pay for the item over a period of up to 36 months with 14.9% APR.

This is probably the option I'll go for, as it's far more affordable than buying the item straight out in my circumstances (although I will, of course, end up paying more for the item in the long run - yay for interest :p).

Any experiences, opinions, or feedback you may have would be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
James
 
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J

JamesUK

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...

Hi,

Yeah, my lovely father will do it for me no problems as long as I give him the money ;).

Thanks,
James
 
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To be honest... I considered doing this 2-3 years ago as well.
I ended up taking the hard way: work, scrape & save. It didn't take as long as I thought it would and I had the benefit of knowing that it belonged to me entirely the day I bought it.

I don't really think it's a great idea to start going into debt aged 15.
Plus - do you still want to be paying for your mac mini in 3 years? Or might you want to sell it in 1-2 years in order to upgrade?
 
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L

lil

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Then you are in business :flower: In which case here is a better option:

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/page/shop/flypage/product_id/12436

They do interest free finance, basically you pay nothing for 12 months and then at the end of that stump up all the money. You won't pay any more than the cost of the product so long as you pay when the 12 months are up.

You could then get the memory upgraded elsewhere.

Would be really worth considering for a better finance deal since this is the way you are looking to pay.

The better way still though would be to scrimp and save, took me long enough myself, as when I was 15 I had a IIfx and I really really wanted a new Power Mac G4.

Some seven years later I finally have one! (though I could have had one much sooner, but I went for a PowerBook G4 first)

Vicky
 
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JamesUK

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...

Hi,

Mm, I do freelance web design/development in my spare time which brings in a fair bit, but I'm too busy with other commitments to take on new projects at the moment, somewhat limiting my options.

My prefered method of purchase is over at least 36 months, paying a smaller amount each month over a longer period. This is financially much more convenient for me, and I don't particularly object to paying the interest effectively in return for the convenience of the staged-payback.

DolphinMusic's finance option over 36 months has a rate of 19% APR, compared to Apple's 14.9% APR, so Apple still look like the best option.

Would you happen to know if the price quoted at the bottom of the Apple configuration page as the per month cost is inclusive of the interest applicable on each payment?
 
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J

JamesUK

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...

Hi,

Ahh, yes, that was a somewhat silly question - a simple £22.86 x 36 gives me £822.96 on a £669.01 item ;).

While I remember, I presume the Mini will support a DVI resolution of 1280 x 1024 without any problem?

Aptmunich:
Only just spotted your post there - sorry :eek:!

Yeah, I've considered the product life-cycle angle, and I don't feel that's going to be a problem. I've never sold an old machine, as I can always find a good use for them, and I can't imagine I will with the Mini when the time comes to upgrade.

I'm keen on small repayments over an extended period as my parents are kind enough to donate me ~£26 a month. I can use this to fund each repayment without eating into my personal bank balance, which will no doubt increase once I'm able to take on new projects, enabling me to buy my next Mac outright?

This is simply what makes sense to me, so feel free to critisize :).
 
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I have found, working in a Bank, that if you can avoid paying for things on finance then do. The number of people I see a day who come in saying they have got themselves in debt and we have to try to bail them out with consolidation loans etc. Personally, I would say that the best way to buy is scrimp and save until you can pay outright. There is no point paying extra money in interest, when you can save up and buy, coz the market will change and you'll probably get a better model for the same money once you have saved for long enough.

I say this BTW coz i am up to my ***** in debt at 23, coz i could never wait and save. Trust me, that in the long run its better to save.

Debt is a nasty thing!!
 
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J

JamesUK

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...

Hi,

Hmm, this though is a pretty small amount, and I can guarentee paying it back over the 36 months won't be a problem at any point.

Hmm...
 
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I'm keen on small repayments over an extended period as my parents are kind enough to donate me ~£26 a month. I can use this to fund each repayment without eating into my personal bank balance, which will no doubt increase once I'm able to take on new projects, enabling me to buy my next Mac outright?

That does make sense generally speaking, but you are making a couple of assumptions there...
a) you'll be more productive with your new mac
b) your personal bank balance will increase as you get older

a) Seems fairly safe to assume, but I wouldn't count on b): I seem to spend more & more on "essentials" the older I get... (rent, food, clothes, going out etc.)

I have more income than when I was 15, sure - but I spend less of it on nice things for myself than when I was 15.

Since your parents are willing to set you up with 26 pounds a month, why not save that for 6 months, ask for money for your birthday off all relatives etc. and you should already have half of what you need. Add what you earn from projects in that time and you shouldn't be far off target!

Note: I'm not pretending to be brilliant with my money, nor am I that much older & wiser than you (22) and I definitely not just trying to spoil your fun...
 
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J

JamesUK

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...

Hi,

Mm - it's a difficult decision, thanks for your input Aptmunich. My main motivation for getting a Mac atm (apart from being swayed by all their marketing material ;)) is a possible project in the near future involving quite a large amount of Ruby on Rails development. OS X is the only OS to have TextMate, and I'm sick of RadRails on Win XP :p.

Sidewinding slightly; my financial knowledge is still somewhat limited, so would anyone happen to know whether a loan agreed to be paid back over 36 months can be fully repaid at any point - eg pay monthly for 7 months then just pay off the outstanding amount in one lump sum?
 
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Ah I see, first mac...
I assumed you wanted to upgrade from an older/slower mac to a newer mini...
Tricky :)

If you could repay the lump sum before 36 months, that might be an interesting compromise...
 
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Tiranis

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Assuming you're going to keep actively webdesigning you should have no problems paying it off. As the time goes by your skills will increase, therefore your rates will increase, you'll have bigger portfolio -> more money, easier to pay off debt. I don't see any problems. This is coming from a web developer who started four years ago (14 years old) and now has his own company.

And, yeah, for RoR OS X is way better... I've had to do some Rails stuff on my PC and it's a nightmare... or at least compared to doing it on OS X.
 
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J

JamesUK

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...

Hi,

After a short talk I've come to an agreement with my parents - I give them what money I can now (£400) then pay back the outstanding (£270) over the next 12 months. This is a better deal really as I won't have to pay the £152 of interest I would have had to had I used Apple's financial services.

Tiranis - yeah, it's not hard to get work really, it's just having the time to do it at the moment. Proficient in XHTML/CSS standards based design, PHP, RoR, Javascript etc so I'm in demand ;)!

Thanks for all your help guys - much appreciated!
 
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Sounds perfect!

Have fun & good luck with your career!
 
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lil

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Seconded. That will be a sweet machine indeed. At some point I may invest in an Intel Mini at the end of the year, depends how things pan out.

Glad you got a better deal with your parents. Finance is something if you can you should steer clear of. The first few months are fine but when your 12 months down the line and have another 2 years to go, it sucks!
 
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donfanatico

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You are better off taking out a loan somewhere for 6%-9%, aren't you?

Pay off your new mac and pauy the bank even less per month or pay it off quicker.
 
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James, FYI you can repay most loans early. However the loan company will charge a 'handling fee'. This will basically be an amount to cover some of the loss that they will lose becuase you are not going to pay the full amount of interest over the original agreed period.
 

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