Straw poll - How much have you spent on technology in the last 12 months?

"ncasolowork2" (ncasolowork2) 10/25/2013 at 10:49 • Filed to: None

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Debate on the front page from Aaron Foley's article. I am suggesting that millenials spend more money on technology and thus do not have finances for cars. I suspect everyone here is a car owner so the answers might not help my theory, but if you feel like adding your age go for it.

Myself: Age 33

Phone $240 ($20 a month service)
Tablets and Computers: $0
Video Games: $200
TVs, Blu-Rays, and other electronic devices: $0
Digital Media: $0

What categories have I failed to consider?

Certainly I'd like to spend more, but the reality is the money isn't in the budget for it right now.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 10:54

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27

Phone/year about on par with yours (part of a family plan, ancient LG flip-phone)

Tablets and computers: $0

Video games: $probably more like 300

TVs, Blu-Rays, etc. ~$60

Digital Media: $0

I know I'm grossly atypical, though. Almost nobody I know my age is like that except some farming sorts.

Casper > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 10:57

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Age: 28

Phone $1080
Tablets and Computers: $0
Video Games: $0
TVs, Blu-Rays, and other electronic devices: $0
Digital Media: $20

It's not because of what they buy, it's because they have no real jobs. Without a real job they both lack excess money for a car as well as a need for a car.

PatBateman > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:00

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Me, 36 years old, father of three, husband.

Internet: $50/month
Cell phone: $0 (wife's company pays for ours)
Tablet: $30 bi-monthly (4G LTE Service)
Video games: HAHAHA Please... $0
TV, Blu-Ray, other electronic gadgets: $0
Digital media: $8/month for Netflix

My former nanny, who was 19, said that she wanted to upgrade her iPhone 5 to a 5S. Why, I asked? "Because it's newer and faster!" I think the Millenials are being brain washed into thinking that if they don't have the newest laptop, the newest phone, the newest tablet, and the newest gaming console, they are sub par human beings.

PS9 > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:01

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The comparison isn't really valid, because a car - any car - is going to be orders of magnitude more expensive and incur significantly higher ongoing regular costs than any piece of technology can. Even under worst case senario (64 GB iPhone off contract + Full price large carrier bill with two year obligation) is still somewhat cheaper than a car you must buy, insure, regularly refuel and fix when it breaks.

Another reason this comparison isn't valid; cars do not compete with technology. Cars are technology. Millenials aren't picking iPads over Corollas out of some kind of fad. They're buying the iPad because it's $500 once every few years vs. $10,000 up front, or a $2,000 down + 5 year agreement + shitty APR (because, as a millenial, you are swimming in college debt, or have no credit history to begin with) + all the other ancillaries I already mentioned. They're not buying new cars because new cars cost tons of money they don't have.

chuck07 > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:02

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Myself: Age 24

Phone: $200(device) + ~$1000(service)
Tablets and Computers: $0
Video Games: $0
TVs, Blu-Rays, and other electronic devices: $150
Digital Media: $0

Other electronic devices includes a bunch of toys.

I have spent more than that on my cars.

quarterlifecrisis > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:02

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26

Phone: $900ish (70/mo plus the occasional data overage)
Tablets and Computers: $300 on new monitors
Video Games: $60 (gave in and bought GTA V last week)
TVs etc: nada
Digital Media: I'm going to say maybe $20...bought both of DeMuro's ebooks this week and an album a couple months ago

Somewhat me specific...camera equipment/lens rental: About $1500 in the last year on a new body and renting some pro lenses for racing events.

I'd love a new TV, so I could put my current one in the "office" at home. But, funds aren't there. Same as I'd love to throw some parts at my car, but not the right thing to spend money on right now. To go just a little deeper, look at the actual hours I'll spend over the lifetime of the one video game I've bought in the last year...on a /hr basis, its not exactly expensive fun.

Jayhawk Jake > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:04

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Including buying gadgets? Shit.

Phone: $1200 ($100/month)

Cable/Internet: $1400 ($140/month)

Home Enternainment: $1500ish? (Home theater system ~$700, Movies/Games ~$400, Xbox $300)

I also own a car though, and make payments on that. And I have other hobbies. I go to movies a lot, that adds up, all my RC stuff I sink more money than I should into.

Here's my theory: cars are expensive, the economy is shit. That's why people don't have cars. Not all of the people my age have great jobs, many are working low paying jobs so they just don't have the money for a car - period. Especially when you consider how expensive everything else is, especially living in a bigger city. My rent is cheap for what I get, and I have a good job, so I've got money to spend on things. My brother lives in LA, he pays twice as much rent for half as much space. If I was making the same pay there, I wouldn't be able to afford a new car.

There isn't one reason millenials aren't buying cars, there's many reasons, but honestly it all simply comes down to basic math: cars cost money, some people don't have enough of it.

ncasolowork2 > PS9 10/25/2013 at 11:05

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You've also missed the point.

I would argue that if you look at how much some people actually spend on technology that they could easily afford a car by changing their spending habits.

New iPhone $700. New iPad $500. 4G service for iPad $500. Cell service for iPhone $1200. If you're someone who needs the newest stuff every year what I just listed is nearly $3000 in expenses and that ignores all the other stuff you can spend money on. That's a LOT of money towards a car and maintaining it.

ncasolowork2 > PatBateman 10/25/2013 at 11:06

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And that upgrade would cost her $700 less whatever she gets for her 5.

PatBateman > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:08

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Yup. Her poor decision-making abilities is also the reason why she is my FORMER nanny.

ncasolowork2 > quarterlifecrisis 10/25/2013 at 11:09

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Don't get me wrong I think that a video game is the absolutely best entertainment value for your money anywhere. Depending on the game the number of hours you get out of it for your investment into it you're looking at great value.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:16

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I'm 23 and in the last 12 months I bought 2 Nintendo 64 games (Bomberman 64 and Kirby 64) and a few games on Steam, though I don't really remember which ones. They were all kinda old and on discout though.

I didn't spend much, to be honest. Most gadgets have been out of my reach since the early 2000's, so I'm still practically living in the 90's.

ncasolowork2 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 10/25/2013 at 11:19

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Here's the big question then. Do you own and maintain a car? If you didn't own and maintain that car you'd probably be able to afford a few nice things.

J. Walter Weatherman > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:22

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Myself: Age 30, plus wife, age 29

Phone: $2000 ($170ish a month service)

Digital Media: $150ish

Cable TV, internet, Netflix: $2000 ($170ish a month)

Um.... that's all I can think of, really. Don't ask me how much I have spent on cars though... or bikes... or beer...

quarterlifecrisis > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:23

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I figure when (if) GT6 comes out, that will be a huge time waster for me...down to pennies on the hour quickly! Note to self...get a life.

jmgadget > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:31

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Myself: Age 24

Phone $80/Month - $960
Tablets and Computers: $400
Video Games: $100
TVs, Blu-Rays, and other electronic devices: $300
Digital Media: $400

I will add:
Camera: $900 (This was a one time purchase though)

Car: 2013 Chrysler 300S

Gamecat235 > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:32

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Age: 38 (also, wife, 2 children, one of whom is 14)

Phone: $2100 ($180/month, 3 lines, all with data)
Internet: $600 ($50/month)
Entertainment: $250 (Netflix, Hulu, Xbox Gold)

Both cars are paid off. Which is great because with my wife out of work, money is tight, and to be honest, the phone budget at this point has essentially meant that my beer budget is non-existent.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:42

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Yup, I got a 95 Tipo Sedicivalvole, but maintenance isn't that expensive to be honest... It burns around 90 reais in fuel every two weeks, and, aside from that time I had bodywork done after a minor crash, repairs so far have been limited to a blown fuse and three blown light bulbs. I spent like 30 bucks to buy the stuff and replace it myself. I think I spend more money in parking fees at college than in maintenance and taxes per se.

I also didn't have to buy it, as it was my father's old car and he passed it on to me, insurance costs are zero because no one will insure a 20 years old Fiat in Brazil and, due to its age, IPVA (ownership taxes) stay around 80 bucks per year, with a large portion of that amount returned because the car never had any citations.

As for affording more nice things, maybe, but I'd never be able to justify the purchase of a game console, for example, as I can justify owning a car. In my situation, owning a car is a damn near necessity.

ncasolowork2 > BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion 10/25/2013 at 11:46

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With a console if you actually look at the cost/hr of entertainment video games are quite cheap.

BlazinAce - Doctor of Internal Combustion > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 11:52

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Maybe, but in Brazil they're still far from the cost benefit of a PC. You can get a really nice desktop from Dell, which will run most new games, for around 2000 reais, while a PS4 or an XboxOne will go for twice that amount, at 4000 reais.

Plus, PC games have historically been sold here for 99,99 reais on physical stores and much cheaper on Steam, while PS3 and Xbox360 games can go for as high as 280 reais on physical stores. I don't know how much a PS4/Xone game will cost, but logic dictates the prices will go up, so I'd say 300 bucks for a game isn't too far fetched.

Zymurgist > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 12:05

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Age 3, married no kids

Phone $1440 ($120 a month for wife and I)
Tablets and Computers: $800, built new computer
Video Games: $110, Battlefield 4
TVs, Blu-Rays, and other electronic devices: $0
Digital Media: $1286 ($8/mo Netflix and $100/mo for Cable)

We are in the market for new phone as well. If that matters.

To Aaron's point on the FP is that if I were not in the job that I am in now, I would not buy 3/4 of this stuff. I would make due with whatever I had and would use it until the wheels fall off. My cars are a 2001 and a 2004, both with over 150k on the clock, basically waiting for said wheels to fall off. When they do, the toy purchases will slow down as the car payments start up again.

This post really made me realize I need to cut back on my phone bill and cable.

PS9 > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 12:16

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New iPhone $700.

Off Contract, and worst case scenario. On contract, the upfront costs can range from $200 to nothing depending on which iPhone you get.

New iPad $500.

Or New Nexus 7; $200 Or even a very good Sero 7 for half that if you can't swing it.

4G service for iPad $500.

Or wifi where ever you can get it; $0. If all the places you go have wifi, there's no reason to shell out for extra service, and it's a completely viable option considering that even freaking gas stations are starting to give free wifi to their customers.

Cell service for iPhone $1200.

... In a 24 month contract which comes out to $50/month per your estimate. That's actually half of what I pay for phone service off contract, but $25-$50 would still be almost nothing. When I had a car, it was around $35 a week just for fuel.

You've also missed the point

Here's the point so's we both don't miss it; for $500, I can get a serviceable (but by no means high end) smartphone, a high end tablet, and still have money left over for exactly one whole year of smartphone service per my current rate. Also, the service is the only on going cost; all that other stuff I buy one time and never have to shell out again for it, unless/until something breaks, and all that stuff was cheap to begin with, so it's easy to replace even if it does break. That will never be true for any car you buy, ever.

In the world of cars, $500 is almost nothing. In the world of new cars, $500 may as well be nothing. You are not going to get that kind of mileage out of such a tiny amount of cash in the car market. Even the super-predatory buy here pay heres don't want to give you the time of day if that's your initial offer. Ask me how I know.

But $3000 is a lot, right? Yeah, sure. Here's a millenial-ish car I could get with $3000 down. I can even get it with 0% APR despite shit credit, because my dad owns the dealership and the financing company. After everything is set up, It's $155/ month + insurance (which is mandatory in my state) so, $250/month. I now have to buy fuel where I didn't before, so at $35/a week, it's $140/month for that. I now have to consider maintenance as part of the equation, and should be saving in case of vehicular emergency, but between rent ($425. Did you think that was free?) and now the car and everything needed to keep it on the road ($390), my monthly obligations are now a whopping 80% of my average monthly income . The car by itself costs 16x what my cell phone bill does. It would take me a years to save up for a transmission failure, so while working the two jobs I have to afford some ramen and maybe some tuna and soy sauce every once and a while to spice things up, I just have to hope nothing shitty happens for the five year term of the loan. A smarter thing to do instead of getting a car, would have been to get into a employment training program and get some more marketable skills so I wouldn't be so squeezed all the time ( the one I'm looking at is a year long and costs $3k. Hmm. Imagine that) but nope, getting a new car was more important for some reason.

+$390/month, over your current monthly obligations. 80% of your monthly income. For five years. I am repeating these numbers because I do not want you to gloss over them. No amount of 'but-but-but-teh iPadz!' are going to make these numbers make sense. A universe with no advanced portable communication technology in it will not make them make sense. These numbers are why I currently do not and will not be getting a vehicle any time soon. These numbers - best case scenario numbers for car ownership - are also orders of magnitude more money than I could ever spend on any iPad. That's the point.

Addendum: So why am I focusing on a new car? Am I some kind of entitled douchebag who thinks he deserves nothing but the untouched brand new never before used things? No. I focus on that because, as reported on jalopnik earlier, companies like ford, GM, and others are concerned over millenials not buying new cars. For reasons I hope I will not be asked to explain, buying a foxbody mustang or a 5 year old Altima might help you and profit the car sales industry, but does nothing at all for Ford and Nissan today.

'Millenials' aren't just a cohort. They're going to be whos left after the baby boomers die. If they continue their trend of disinterest in new cars, the rate at which new cars are being bought and sold today is unsustainable and will meet sharp, permanent declines in the future. If your job is to make new cars for a living, this is bad. If your job is to monitor the economy for future growth and dips, that sounds bad.

Getting millenials to just get used cars is not a solution, since this will just deplete the supply of cheap used cars and inflate the prices of the ones left over. One of the major reasons to buy new is that a new car has considerably more value than a used one, given equal criteria. If that stops being true, used cars start competing more aggressively with new ones. If you manufacture cars for a living, this is also bad. These two points are at the heart of the millenial issue. We cannot gloss over them.

Klaus Schmoll > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 12:22

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Phone: € 360 (bought outside of plan)

Laptop: € 500

Car: Winter tires €400 + tire change and oil service €200 + road tax and insurance € 1000

JEM > ncasolowork2 10/25/2013 at 13:22

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Age: 38

New phone - $10 (Galaxy 3)

bigger USB drive for car stereo - $15

I honestly can't think of any other "tech" bits that I bought. Don't play video games except free ones on my phone, and all my screens still have tubes (hey they work!)

J. Walter Weatherman > Gamecat235 10/25/2013 at 17:25

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Sorry to hear about the beer budget :(

There is still a bottle of Cantillon in my beer fridge with your name on it if you ever have a chance to meet up for a pint.

Gamecat235 > J. Walter Weatherman 10/25/2013 at 17:46

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It is hopefully a short lived experience. And my brother has been good about supplying me with the occasional care package (i.e. I just tried all of these beers and these were the best two, so I bought you a bottle of each), which is really nice of him.

We do need to meet up at some point soon. Though Cantillon doesn't really get worse with age, just more tempting.

Also, strangely, I didn't get the notification about this comment. But I stumbled across it.

J. Walter Weatherman > Gamecat235 10/25/2013 at 17:52

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Though Cantillon doesn't really get worse with age, just more tempting.

Indeed. Which means that if it sits there too much longer, it might magically transform itself into an empty bottle of Cantillon with your name on it. :P

Gamecat235 > J. Walter Weatherman 10/25/2013 at 19:27

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Well, though I am approaching broke, my dance card is a bit hectic in the immediate future.

New Hampshire for work next week, then NIN in Phoenix (with my son and my brother, would feel awful bailing on this), then NIN in Vegas (with wife and brother. non refundable tickets, and non-refundable deposits on room).

Stupid paying for things months ahead of time.