Key Takeaways
I get everything I need from a smartphone without spending more than $100.Premium phones like the iPhone 17 offer better features, but the upgrades may not justify the high price.Apple customers often feel emotionally connected to the brand, which may drive them to spend more than necessary.

Apple debuted the new iPhone 17 on Friday, with prices starting at $799 and going up to $999. That’s just for the basic model. Others run up to $1199.

Excited customers lined up at stores worldwide for Apple’s new phone lineup, which also includes the iPhone 17 Pro, Pro Max, and iPhone Air. I was not one of them. I have never paid more than $100 for a phone in my life.

Sometimes when I tell people this, they treat me with pity, like I don’t have electricity in my home. But I have a regular smartphone just like you, with texting, music, and games. It just didn’t cost as much as a recent iPhone or Samsung Galaxy phone. 

Here is how I manage to participate in modern society with a phone that costs less than a nice dinner out.

A Brief History of My Phones

Here is a brief and foggy recounting of the phones I have had, and what I paid:

Pre-2003

A backwards and uncivilized time when most people had no cellphones.

2003 to 2010

Through the latter years of high school and college, I had some kind of flip phone that my parents bought me.

2010 to 2017

During this time, I worked for companies that provided me with mobile phones—first, a Blackberry, and then one or two iPhone models. Because I had no regard for my privacy and less regard than I should have for my employers, I opted to rely on these phones for personal use. Thanks to my former employers AOL and the Newhouse family for all the free data.

2017 to Present Day

The gravy train ended, and I finally had to start paying for my own phone. Since 2017, I have been a member of Google’s wireless service, Google Fi, which has a limited selection of phones to choose from. None of them are iPhones, but there are fancy options like the Google Pixel Pro, which can cost more than $1,000. 

I’ve always chosen the cheapest possible phone, which has tended to be a Samsung or Motorola model from the prior year. While they are typically listed at over $100, they are frequently on sale, perhaps because no one but me wants them.

Why I Do This

The most important reason is that I am cheap. I was raised by penny-pinchers, and for a long time, I didn’t make enough money to buy an expensive phone.  

I am not into regular upgrades. I wear shirts until they have holes, I drive cars until they are dead, and I don’t get a new phone until the one I have is basically unbearable to use.

And I have never seen the need for a fancy phone. My phone is a Moto 5G that cost me $64. It does everything I want a phone to do: text my friends, play my podcasts, navigate my city, and distract me when I’m bored. I can download apps from the Google Play store, though my capacity is somewhat limited by my 128 GB of storage space—about half the storage of the basic iPhone 17.

I don’t care that I have a green bubble in the group chat. I don’t need a high-end display or an artificial intelligence assistant.

The Appeal of Apple

But there are downsides. I am very jealous of other people’s camera phones, especially now that I have a child. I want to preserve precious memories, but my camera lens is basically made of Saran Wrap. My phones tend not to last very long, and they become pitifully and inconveniently slow as they age. 

Still, these problems are not worth an extra $1,000 to me. And there may be a reason for this, beyond me being a cheapskate. 

Researchers from the Wharton School’s Neuroscience Initiative analyzed the brain activity of Apple and Samsung customers and found that fans of the former feel emotionally connected to the brand and its community, compared to Samsung customers who mainly like the brand because it’s not Apple. I’m not less attached to my phone than people, but I am definitely less attached to the Apple brand in a positive or negative way. 

If you are looking to cut your budget, your phone could be a great place to start. You pay a huge premium for having the latest and greatest technology in your pocket. Is it actually worth it?

You don’t have to pay $64 for a brick like me, but before lining up at the Apple store, consider what you need from your telephone and whether you need to spend so much to get it.