The launch of the iPhone 5 in 2013 caused the usual stir whenever Apple release a new product. News footage showed an army of Apple fanatics camping outside stores around the globe, desperate to be one of the first to own the shiny, new smart phone. A recent report by debt advice company PayPlan suggests the average iPhone user should perhaps think twice before queuing up for the inevitable next release.
PayPlan launched a new mobile website in June 2012 and it wasn’t long before a pattern began to emerge; a whopping 67% of mobile traffic to their site was from iPhones. This could suggest that Apple fanatics are more frivolous than most and are more likely to consider an IVA or debt management plan. A brand new iPhone 5s starts at £549 and costs as much as £709 for the 64gb model; a figure which many would not be willing to spend on their annual phone bill, never mind the handset itself!
PayPlan decided to scratch below the surface to see if there was any more evidence to support this claim. Turns out, a poll by YouGov revealed a fifth of Apple user’s bank accounts were overdrawn and were more likely to be in lower paid jobs than Blackberry or Android users. This could be put down to a number of reasons. Apple are very much a ‘must have’ item and therefore attract a younger audience who are more prone to want to be on trend.
It’s a worrying phenomenon that people are still happy to splash out on a luxury mobile phone while their debts are spiralling out of control. Time will tell whether this trend continues with the release of Apple’s next range of smart phones.
Infographic created by payplan
Sources from socialtimes.com – my.safaribooksonline.com – yougov.co.uk – nmk.co.uk – vietnamnews.vn – socialtimes.com – internetretailer.com
Actually, most iPhone users are women or kids and neither group tends to handle money well.
I am an iPhone user, and I definitely don’t live beyond my means. In fact, many people that I know are iPhone users, and I don’t think all of them live beyond their means. iPhone can be a status symbol though, rather than a tool, so I can see where this may have come from.