[Coda]

I wouldn't spend $1000 on a phone (I think $800 is the highest I've ever gone) and I wouldn't spend $3000 on a car (I think $8000 is the lowest I've ever gone). There's a sweet spot in both cases, balancing how long it's going to last (and you have to pay more to fix/replace it) against what you get out of it (no sense in paying money for features you don't need).

Originally Posted by Espy

I'm currently shopping for a new phone and a bit peeved that there aren't any good deals with the "free phone with a two-year contract" plan. My mom and I have used those plans for the past decade.

And now I'm just left sitting here, screaming at phone prices.

You still get basically the same deal with one of the $0-down phones. It mostly just means that the contract when you're not paying for a phone is cheaper, and at the end of the term the phone is yours to keep.