Let me just get the grumpy part of this post over with right off the bat. It aggravates the heck out of me that phones are $700 and up and they don’t last any longer than they last. I know some people have an old phone that’s been around forever but that doesn’t seem to happen with me. Maybe it’s me .. maybe it’s not the phone but the phone I currently have . . when we bought it 2-1/2 years ago, it cost more to pay cash for the phone than it did to pay it over time. I stood there and argued with the AT&T lady and she stood her ground and before you tell me to use someone besides AT&T . . they’re the only show in town.
So, I still have 2 more payments of about $22 to make on the old (2 years!) phone. I had it about 6 months and it quit making calls. It looked like it was making a call, but it didn’t so I took it back, they tried everything and switched it for a refurbished phone which worked until about 6 months ago. People would say “I tried to call you!” and I would say “The phone has been right here. It didn’t ring!” The other day my mail lady said “I tried to call you SEVEN times!” No missed call . . no ring . . nothing!
This past week, it quit sending texts. It would receive texts but not send my responses.
When we were in San Angelo, we looked at phones and there was a Samsung Galaxy S7 (the S8s are out now) marked down to $500. We were kinda in a rush so Vince said we would look at them at Sam’s. We got to Sam’s and the same phone was $700. Forget that.
Last night we were in Walmart and we passed by the phones and they had an iPhone that was either marked down or something . . that’s what caught Vince’s attention but I didn’t want an iPhone so we stopped and talked to the very nice and very helpful young man. Dude . . forget it . . I’m not even going to say what I’m thinking.
Anyway, we ended up getting an S7 Active for less than $400. I was happy.
Gold Phone
I don’t know if you can tell from the picture but it’s a gold phone! The young man said he had gold or black. I looked at Vince and we both said “Gold!”
There’s an ongoing joke and I’m sure I’ve mentioned it here before but when we lived in MO, there was an elderly lady next door to us and she had a gold Lincoln. She had several friends that would come by from time to time and they all drove gold cars. She had a bridge group that met at her house and one day she told me “Honey, don’t be alarmed when you see a bunch of cars over here. My bridge group is a bunch of widow ladies who all come to my house on Tuesdays.”
One day Chad and Vince had been outside and they both came rushing in, each trying to talk over the other one. They had decided that when the husband dies, the wife buys a gold car and that sends everyone a message that the husband is gone and the wife is free and has all his money to spend!
We make a joke about what kind of car I’ll buy when it’s time to get my gold car. We’ve decided that a can or two of gold spray paint on the old Highlander will be just fine. So, before I could say it in Walmart last night, Vince said . . a gold phone to go with her gold car!
Seriously, I think my life has gotten so much easier. I take almost all my blog pictures with the phone. I really don’t like taking my phone outside to the garden, to the chicken coop, out in the woods but my old phone, even though it didn’t do so great for texts and phone calls, it took great pictures and even without a SIM card, I can still send pictures by Bluetooth to my computer or my new phone. How cool is that? The old phone for picture taking, the gold phone for calls and texts . . and pictures if I’m out and away from home and only have it with me.
Both phones use the same charger . . I’m pretty happy with this new setup.
Cathi in Texas says
The cost of electronics is rediculous. The frequently are out dated when you walk out of the store. I have a friend who works for a major IT company & he told me what it really costs to manufacturer. The screen saver on my phone cracked awhile back. A new one in the store would be around $50. He ordered one for me & it was $1 – $2. I keep my electronics to the very end whenhey quit working.
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Cathi in Texas says
Sorry about the typos!
Alycia @Quiltygirl.com says
I am SO with you ( and I have 4 phones to purchase ..kids!) but the Gold!! I LOVE that! My car is Pearl colored right now – and we joke that that is the only way I am getting pearls….
Joyce says
I hate it when “marked down” is $500. That is just ridiculous! Like you, I also hate having to finance a phone on my bill. I hope mine still works after it is paid off…
Gale Yawn says
Judy, I have that same Gold Samsung S7. I got it right after it came out and I love it. Hope it continues to work after it is paid off. I love gold and wear only gold jewelry, so it made sense to get a gold phone.
Dar in MO says
I just went through the same thing with getting a new phone after my old one had so many dead spots on the screen. It was 6 yrs old though and I had replaced the screen once already. I got a LG which was $200 and is bigger than I would like. I also have AT&T but most of the phones they want to sell you can be purchased outright for the SAME cost as spreading it out over 2 or 3 years. I think the cash outright offer should be less. I heard that Walmart has a phone system that is much less costly per/month with everything being unlimited – calls, data and texts. You can use any phone that you own. Your gold one sounds neat.
Angie says
Judy, I wait until Apple introduces a new iPhone, they usually have a great trade in deal for about a month or so when they are first introduced. Last time I got my iPhone almost free! I had to pay sales tax and activation, and that was about it. I’m looking at the receipt right now, and it was $61.68 total. I use Verizon though—it was their deal. I’m waiting for the new iPhone 8, and I’ll trade up then. I did skip the iPhone 7 because the new 8 is supposed to be their anniversary phone, and I want that model. I hope your new phone last a long, long time. I loved the Gold story!
moneik says
I have the S7 and love it, but agree it should be cheaper to pay outright. The cost is outrageous, but we all want a cell phone and they get us. I would highly suggest an otter box case. Though expensive, they go through a lot and Otter box will replace the case parts if they break for a small shipping fee.
JudyL says
We always use Otters and I have had to have at least two replaced and there’s always “no questions asked”. The S7 Active doesn’t need a case. It’s built with extra protection and has gorilla glass.
Diana G says
Nice: gorilla glass ..way to go .. I have a Samsung Note S5 and I love it as when I am at a meeting I can write down notes, take a message. Yep I know what you mean about having to be a phone, I was told many of them are not going to lease a phone to anyone… So Sprint has a buy one get one free on the IPhone 7, but I am an android kinda gal. I am waiting to see what ATT comes up with in the next 6 months as I am not going to get rid of this phone unless they have something compatible and the bill comes down as its doing on all the other carriers. One of the carriers is like 30.00 for unlimited data and talk. I am checking into a plan that is ATT backed and is cheaper so we shall see.. But I cannot change till September when my phone contract is up.