Help: Cheap way to buy new iPhone every year

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  ChadHominem on 22/09/2021 - 13:16

  Why don’t you buy refurbished from coles or something and just stay a few generations behind? Buy an iPhone X. Next year buy an XS etc.
  Should be a similar cost to your $500 android phones every year and they’ll always be running the latest software and stuff.

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  pandaoncoffee on 22/09/2021 - 14:40

  Trading in the iPhone 12 Pro Max for the 13 Pro Max takes about half the price off for the 128gb. Not sure how the 512gb would fare in trading in for future upgrades.

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  Pelicannn on 22/09/2021 - 22:12

  +3

  Salary Sacrifice for sure combined with discount gift cards will actually get me a new phone every year and I manage to make money doing it. For this to work you have to be able to salary sacrifice a phone for work purposes, and you should aim to purchase the phone with discount gift cards as the receipt will say full price, even though you've actually paid less by getting say 5% off on gift cards for JB as an example. Here's the approximate maths:

  Dec 2020

  Bought the iPhone 12 Pro 256GB for $1,869. Except i paid for it with JB gift cards, 5% off is minimum I aim for on all of them, but some I got on marketplace for 10% off brought it down to ~$1,700 net cost to get me the gift cards.

  $1,869 was Salary Sacrified - meaning I paid no income tax on the money and I paid no GST, with no FB tax or anything to worry about later on. Just a $50 device fee from SmartSalary.

  $1869 - GST = $1,699 charged to my pre-tax salary

  Normal salary fortnightly around $6,000 per fortnight before tax. Netting about $4,100 after tax

  $6,000 - $1699 - $50 (fee) = $4,251 taxable income that fortnight, after tax about $2,869. Same fortnight of pay, SmartSalary reimburses me $1,869.

  $1,869 + $2,869 = $4,738 in my account.

  Originally out of pocket $1,700 for the vouchers, and I've made a $638 gain from the tax man getting their hands on it.

  Net phone cost to me is $1,062.

  Sep 2021.

  I have purchased the new iPhone 13 Pro for $1699. This time I didn't go JB vouchers, I went Woolworths rewards for the 25,000 QFF points (value to me is $500 in reward flights on an average day).

  I will soon list the iPhone 12 Pro for sale, based on current sales history (I just use ebay sold history - it's close enough) a 12 Pro 256GB in excellent condition, as well as 15 months of transferrable Apple Care with box, receipt etc will go for a minimum of $1,200, and on average $1,300 - $1,400.

  I sell the old one at worst case, $1,200 and the new one cost me $1,062. The $138 is free money and a brand new phone.

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    lovepub on 22/09/2021 - 22:49

    Awesome detail and calculation. So in theory this can be done annually to save money.
    I will have to look at alternatives as I can't salary sacrifice as I do my own tax return and I am a low income earner. (I think this might gets me negged).
    So might have to see if my employer can do salary sacrifice as the company is a 2 men family biz. Tax deduction obviously won't work for individual…but might be able to claim it for the company as expense and pay less tax.

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      Watto23 on 23/09/2021 - 08:41

      it has to be through your employer. There is no real downside to your employer.
      You can salary sacrifice OR claim as a work expense on your tax, but not both.

      Salary sacrifice is in you pay when you get the device. No GST is paid, and its for the full value of the device less GST.

      Tax deductions are based on the % usage of the device for work. You won't be able to claim 100% unless you have a personal and a work phone, which is silly…. so if you refresh yearly you'll be able to maybe claim half the cost as a tax deduction.

      The last thing is resale on iphone is much better than resale on midrange androids.

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  JungliChilli on 23/09/2021 - 07:51

  Don't buy an iPhone, simples 😁

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    lovepub on 23/09/2021 - 07:59

    +1

    Yeh, if iOS wants to work with Android in data and app sharing.
    Airdrop and airplay for example. Some of these functional apps should be universal.

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      JungliChilli on 23/09/2021 - 10:05

      Agreed, however software changes such as that might be unlikely though. First step in the right direction would be to use an interface that is widely in use across many manufactures, eg USB-C

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  Flying Ace on 23/09/2021 - 08:30

  This is what I do, and I've been doing it for years through Telstra:

  Sign up for 2-year contract.

  At end of first year, cancel contract and sell iPhone privately to pay out the remaining cost of the handset. I usually end up with more than what the remaining cost is.

  Sign up to new 2-year contract. Rinse and repeat. I've been getting a new iPhone every year this way.

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  kaleidoscope on 23/09/2021 - 09:02

  +1

  Just curious if anyone has ideas on the best ways to do it annually as I think $2400 for a mobile is a bit silly each year.

  What’s silly is your habit of doing it each year without a second thought. Are you at least making any professional use out of it?

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    lovepub on 23/09/2021 - 11:35

    Just lots of use, what do you mean by professional use? Browsing on ozbargain count as one? And i agree it's a stupid habit. That's why I stick to midrange androids.

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      kaleidoscope on 23/09/2021 - 11:55

      what do you mean by professional use?

      Do you have a need for the pro model that you can’t or have difficulty or limitations to do with normal iphone series at professional capacity (making videos, take photos)? And do you use it to make money.

      ymmv ofcourse as people have different needs and wants.

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  sp3ctr41 on 23/09/2021 - 11:32

  You get a new phone every half year? I'm no green-fanatic, but that is just too wasteful. OP stop being a consumerist sponge, your phone is not going to show battery degradation until two years out minimum. Take better care of your device and put a case on it if you're that clumsy.

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    lovepub on 23/09/2021 - 11:39

    I should say I get a new phone when sh-t happens and the repair cost outweights the phone itself. So there is not much point repairing it.
    That's why I use mid range android which cost less than $500. But now a 2k phone means I have to really really take care of it. Big challenge for me as how I use my phones are different. So might better off with a cheap New Apple.

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  Eeples on 28/09/2021 - 18:10

  +1

  I'm cheap I buy a 2nd hand iPhone every 5 years or so.

  Iphone SE 2016… then….Iphone X (current phone)…. will get a 'new' 2nd hand iphone in a few years.

  In my brain no phone is worth more than $500.

  I buy outright and have an aldi $25 plan.

  Claim a proportion of the plan as a tax deduction.

  (Lots of ppl here seemingly salary sacrificing the purchase of the phones. Surely it should be proportionate to the work/home use of the phone).

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    lovepub on 28/09/2021 - 19:12

    You are not a heavy phone user I am guessing

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      Eeples on 28/09/2021 - 22:44

      Ummm, well it's pretty relative I suppose.

      Let me think.

      My phone plan gives me unlimited text, calls, including overseas and 20GB/mo with roll over. (I use the extra data when away camping)

      I am not working at the moment my Screen Time says 3hr 8min daily average. It also says for today 1hr17min social, 46min games and 18min other.

      I use it for work (when I am working) throughout the day. (Work email is on the phone and a few calls)

      I do pay a small amount for a bigger cloud.

      (I use mac mini, macbook pro, iPad mini at home; so my iPhone sits well here.). [Although my main computer at home is PC; mainly because work uses Windows apps]

      Always worth getting a proper cover…. https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/483402

      Paid $29 for a OtterBox Defender Case for iPhone X - Black (Another advantage of buying a non new phone; covers get cheap).

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