Comment by vel0city

> The iPhone is not a status symbol

I already said I largely agreed with this.

> major carriers can and do give them away in various schemes and did so in the past and will continue to do so in the future

They only do if you're financially illiterate.

> You’re anchoring yourself to one payment scheme and ignoring others

I'm being honest and taking about the real deal instead of blindly repeating marketing bullshit and lies.

> freely available

A commitment to spend thousands of dollars isn't the same as freely available.

The bank gave me this free house all I have to do is pay this mortgage for thirty years. But hey the house was free!

Once again, was the deal that you could walk into the store, grab a new iPhone, and walk out without signing a contract or other form of commitment? If not, it's not really free. It's bad financial advice for people struggling financially to get one of these "free" phones, they're often more expensive than buying outright and getting a much cheaper (or potentially even subsidized!) plan. Especially if you're just needing one or two lines. Many of these postpaid plans only really make financial sense once you're at like 4+ lines on it.

I'm reminded of seeing all those cell phones in the RadioShack mailer ads back in the day. Only 99¢! Dad, can't I get one? It's only a dollar!.

If you spent hundreds of dollars on box seats to a sporting event and they had a complimentary buffet, is that food really free or did it cost you hundreds of dollars? Would you tell someone struggling with money they could get free food, they just need to go spend hundreds on sports tickets first?

Maybe one shouldn't be so willingly close-minded to the truth.