Can you afford it?

[Ipad2Woman]

I sold my iPad first gen for $300 so thank goodness I dont have to pay the full amount for a 16gb iPad 2 but it's not something I can splurge on either with my bills. It will be my treat to myself

 

[stillestund]

I'm a student too and it'll be very hard, but I try to set aside money for books, computer and gadgets, and I'm telling my self that the ipad 2 (I don't own an ipad yet) will make everything about studying easier So I'm going to buy the 16GB wifi model in June

 

[Dark Lazer]

I sold my iPad for $375 on craigslist, so only spending about $125 will be easier to swallow.

 

[Chriztofor]

I will open up a Bestbuy credit card and pay for it over 18 months with 0% interest. That comes to about $30 a month. No sweat. I have the cash, just want an interest free loan.

If you have the cash and don't want an interest free loan then buy it at Target and get 5% discount by opening up their credit card. BUT you must pay for it at the end of the month or get hit with high interest rates.

To me, 0% over 18 months OR 5% off is a great deal if you are responsible and are able to make the payments.

 

[Rukuslivesagain]

I plan on selling mine on CL or eBay knowing that I will only get around 500 at best for the model I own, cash to make up the rest! Just doing my part to keep the economy going!

 

[SDM44]

My Best Buy card is paid off, so I need to put some debt back onto it (good debt = less than 25% your card's limit). Pay it off in a few months and you build up your credit score and history, with no interest against you.

I have cash to pay for it, but no point on paying it all off right away. But then I'm not a college student anymore with a tight budget, so I can play around more with my options.

 

[chiffchaff]

I can afford it, but given that I had a first gen iPad that worked fine I was still having trouble justifying it to myself - until I sold the first one online for $468. I thought that was a decent price considering the market is flooded with iPad 1s now (if I'd made up my mind last week instead of last night, I'd have done better I'm sure).

Anyway, now I can buy one without reservation.

 

[Mike_73]

I had a great experience selling all my stuff when I moved back to Germany from the US via Craigs list and selling to people I know.
I tried the same here, but it's rather hard to sell stuff here
People tend to be very sceptical...

 

[andsoitgoes]

Sold an old receiver, CD player, elliptical trainer, cable modem and have a whole bunch of steel books ready to sell, an "extra" Motorola Milestone that I got as part of signing a contract for my wife's iPhone - all together that will pretty much sum up the cost for me to get a 64gb iPad.

I got a 16gb iPad the first time around and it was a joke, I ran out of space almost immediately. I have no ability to put the movies and music I want, along with the 9 - 10gb of apps.

This will allow me to have my cake, eat it to and be stable for at least 1.5 - 2 years.

Technically I have other bills to pay off, but if I don't treat myself to something each year, I'll go bat crap insane.

So since I can't go galavanting off on a mini vacation, can't go to the comic or PAX conventions I would normally go to, that alone offsets the cost of the iPad.

Simply put, if I can get it this friday, I will. I just can't wait

 

[r12rtpilot]

I've thought about buying one since the original I Pad came out, but didn't for a variety of reasons. Now I am ready...J and I do not use credit cards and have no outstanding debt as we pay cash for everything we buy, except mortgage...

Our philosophy to never use a credit card for a toy.

Steve

 

[tzimisce]

I've thought about buying one since the original I Pad came out, but didn't for a variety of reasons. Now I am ready...J and I do not use credit cards and have no outstanding debt as we pay cash for everything we buy, except mortgage..

I received my first credit card as soon as I was legally old enough to get one, and as long as you don't fall into the black hole of racking up debt in excess of your abililty to repay, they are a great way of financing purchases:

1. You don't have to pay for stuff up front. More cash in the bank means more interest earned and/or less mortgage debt to repay.

2. You can earn loyalty points and redeem them for good stuff. About half of the flights I've taken in the last four years were business class redemptions, courtesy of credit card points.

3. You get travel and items automatically insured and/or bonus warranty if you use your card to pay. Again, if it's a feature you get for no extra cost, why not?

It also pays to do your homework to find out which credit cards suit your spending pattern the best. A free credit card might sound like a good deal up front, but offer nothing in the way of a loyalty program. One of the cards I use I pay a small premium for, but what I get in return far exceeds that small investment.

 

[lokiju]

I bought my 32gb white wifi yesterday from Target in cash just like I buy everything. Cash being paper or visa check card. If I don't have the money, I don't buy it. The only exceptions in the last 5 years have been my house and part of my Subaru forester.

It also has the added bonus of making me really giving a good amount of thought about large ticket items. Handing target 7 $100 bills yesterday made me feel the pain more than swiping a card would of.

First post ftw! I'm a old timer over at anandtech and macrumors but so far am liking these boards.

 

[iPadCharlie]

Greetings and welcome to the forum lokiju! Except for our home, we pay cash for everything. That is one of the things I learned from my parents who grew up during the Great Depression in the 1930's.

 

[dmaul1114]

Again though, if you're like me and others and just put things on a CC to earn reward points and pay off the balance in full each month (thus paying no interest) then that's pretty much the same as paying for cash.

Except I earn cash back and get to leave the money in my bank earning a little bit of interest for a couple of weeks longer.

Of course one has to have the discipline to budget and treat the credit card like spending cash so they don't run up more than they can pay off at the end of the month.

 

[epb]

ITA. I don't have one credit card. Love it.

I would HATE that. I don't do revolving credit but my AMEX gets a regular workout. I like not carrying cash all the time (can you imagine how much cash was walking around outside the typical Apple store yesterday? A pickpocket's wet-dream!), the benefits like doubling the warranty, protection for breakage and theft, and the services attached. Cash it too vulnerable in this rough-and-tumble world.

My next iPad will go on the card, same as last time.