My 17 year old daughter wants 35k for an iPhone. My wife thinks i should buy it, but i disagree.

What would you do in this situation?

UP2U ... and your finances, but if it's in the budget, and she is worthy,  and responsible enough, grades ... bla bla bla

... Why not

 

... IF her first phone, or if prone to losing things and or need replacing every year...

... hell NO, let her lose some <10k baht phone before going all in expensive.

 

Also, at 17, will she actually use the features, or is simply chit chat, msging, IG, then any <10k baht phone would do.

 

Don't need 35k baht worth of features, if 10k baht phone will do.

Seems simple, let your wife buy it for her if she wants and can afford it.

 

If your daughter is working perhaps you could share the costs with her if the money is not a concern for you. 

 

At 17 the sense of working hard and earning something could be of value.

 

Curious though to what extra value a 35k phone would offer over an 8k phone to a 17 year old.

 

Just say no..

1 minute ago, Bangel72 said:

At 17 the sense of working hard and earning something could be of value.

I agree and that is how i was brought up. My family would not indulge me.

However, part time work in Thailand pays peanuts.

16 minutes ago, Bangel72 said:

Curious though to what extra value a 35k phone would offer over an 8k phone to a 17 year old

exactly - my son is 15 and most of his classmates have top model I phones purely as a status symbol. 

30+k on a device to play games and send silly messages to each other.

 

I gave him 5k for a phone as a new year prezzie - he added to that with his own savings and got a 9k phone.

when i was 17 i wanted a corvette....i got a dying uncles 1949 dodge..in hindsight the dodge was better as the back seat was like a huge velvet sofa and lot more room to do the things a 17 y.o boy hopes to do with a 16 yo girl...i have long forgotten the girl but will never forget my dodge...steele was so thick you could jump up and down on the hood with zero damage to the hood...also had fluid drive and a radio that could pick up stations from hundreds of miles away on a clear night...

 

play u can't always get what you want by mick for her...then remind here that if try sometimes you just might find you get what you need

What does she need it for?  Are there iPhone Apps that she needs to use at school that won't work on an Android phone?  (It is usually the other way around.)

 

She probably just wants it to show off to her friends.

7 minutes ago, Bangel72 said:

Curious though to what extra value a 35k phone would offer over an 8k phone to a 17 year old.

It's just a status thing. Big face in front of friends.  

 

 

Nothing says love like an iPhone.   She will really be happy, instead of content with anything under say 15,000.   I’d do an iPhone for like 20,000 but shop with her.

 

of course, if it’s a lot of money, tell her.   
 

I didn’t just buy my daughter an iPhone, I bought the company Apple.  5555555

 

20,000 you can get an amazing phone.  Under 10k and it’s ok or horrible.  
 

when she’s 60 she will get the minimum……17 must have status

My Mrs buys 5 year old iPhones for my birthdays. Still fully functional. At next birthday my old 'phone goes to my 23 year old university graduate stepdaughter who is extremely grateful. 35,000 baht is too much for a 17 year old. Used iPhone is the way to go IMHO. 

Maybe put a down payment on one for her high school graduation.  If she gets all A's and a job, give her a loan if she really wants to spend that kind of money.  A loan to be paid back to you of course, unless she can get a loan at a bank.  I got a $1000 USD loan from my Dad to get a car when I was 17, but was already working part time after school

 

Assuming this is in Thailand, some thoughts on phones: 

Xiaomi redmi phones are great for under 10K IMO, same or more storage than an iPhone.  Apple products do seem to last, my son has an iPhone 7 and still works great.  

To many Thais its a status symbol !

Worshipping the brand badge and little else.

 

Your money, your daughter, but for me a decent device as the times require these days is sufficient in my view, Apple is just not worth it for most teenagers, IMHO

20 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

However, part time work in Thailand pays peanuts.

Yes but you learn the value of work. No don't buy her an I phone for her first phone. As others have said no point if its mostly for social media, games and audio/video. If she is going to use it in her studies or has the knowledge of all the bells and whistles on an I phone okay. 

22 minutes ago, Callmeishmael said:

She probably just wants it to show off to her friends.

Yes.

15 hours ago, Skallywag said:

Apple products do seem to last, my son has an iPhone 7 and still works great.  

Agreed. My stepdaughter now has my iPhone 7 and thinks it's great!

18 minutes ago, BananaStrong said:

I’d do an iPhone for like 20,000 but shop with her.

That would be an iPhone 11, released in 2019.

43 minutes ago, Bangel72 said:

Seems simple, let your wife buy it for her if she wants and can afford it.

 

If your daughter is working perhaps you could share the costs with her if the money is not a concern for you. 

 

At 17 the sense of working hard and earning something could be of value.

 

Curious though to what extra value a 35k phone would offer over an 8k phone to a 17 year old.

 

Status symbol.....

55 minutes ago, Bangel72 said:

Seems simple, let your wife buy it for her if she wants and can afford it.

 

If your daughter is working perhaps you could share the costs with her if the money is not a concern for you. 

 

At 17 the sense of working hard and earning something could be of value.

 

Curious though to what extra value a 35k phone would offer over an 8k phone to a 17 year old.

 

The value of "Look at me, I have an I-Phone"  it's all about being in with the trendy gadgets.

57 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

UP2U ... and your finances, but if it's in the budget, and she is worthy,  and responsible enough, grades ... bla bla bla

... Why not

 

... IF her first phone, or if prone to losing things and or need replacing every year...

... hell NO, let her lose some <10k baht phone before going all in expensive.

 

Also, at 17, will she actually use the features, or is simply chit chat, msging, IG, then any <10k baht phone would do.

 

Don't need 35k baht worth of features, if 10k baht phone will do.

This poster is right.

 

She wants a 35k iPhone as status symbol, and your wife supports it because status symbols are important for most Thais. Did your wife already ask you for a new car?

If your daughter takes reasonable care of her things, has an understanding that 35k is quite a bit of money, and you can afford it, then you can of course buy her the status symbol.

If any of these points doesn't apply, you could tell her that you can buy her a cheaper phone (a 10k Android phone is perfectly fine), or she can find a job and save money until she can pay for half of the phone and you will pay the other half.

 

I switched from a one year old 10k Android phone to the newest 50k iPhone... the pictures look better, but that's already the biggest advantage that I noticed.

Two things to be grateful for: Only one child wanting an iPhone and she managed to get to 17 before asking for one.

 

One thing to rue: iPhones are expensive.

 

Will you be able to give one to your daughter without giving one to your wife, too?

4 minutes ago, FriendlyFarang said:

If your daughter takes reasonable care of her things, has an understanding that 35k is quite a bit of money, and you can afford it, then you can of course buy her the status symbol.

She broke the screens on her other phones.

 

4 minutes ago, Etaoin Shrdlu said:

Two things to be grateful for: Only one child wanting an iPhone and she managed to get to 17 before asking for one.

This is not the first time she has asked.

2 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

 

 

This is not the first time she has asked.

Well, at least you managed to put this off until she was 17!

 

I wasn't so lucky with my children. 

2 minutes ago, stubuzz said:

She broke the screens on her other phones.

I think you know the answer by now. You admit its a status symbol to your wife and herself. You now say she has broken the screens plural of other phones. 10,000 baht gets her a new Samsung A 73, hopefully she will love it. 

 

Ask her why she prefers Apples IOS to  an Android operating system and see what kind of answer you get.  

Buy yourself a nice top-of-the-range Ferrari and then explain you have no money left as you spent it all on an unimportant trinket. I'm sure she'll understand...

1 hour ago, BananaStrong said:

20,000 you can get an amazing phone.

Correct, I use an Iphone SE in conjunction with an Apple watch and an Ipad Air. 

I've told my wife and kids that I will never buy anything Apple. Mostly because none of the current tech in the house (and there is plenty) is Apple and I don't like their ecosystem..

 

I've bought them all decent Samsung phones of a quality that matches their ages (anything from 8k to 35k) and the son got a 30k PC for Christmas, which he knows will also be his birthday present.

 

Your cash, do whatever you will. For someone of that age I'd probably tie it to an achievement though, as some others have suggested.

Top-Tip, make sure you / daughter gets a phone case, the fold over ones are best.

 

Is she your daughter or step daughter? how old are you? 
 

She wants an iPhone at 17, that’s pretty reasonable, at 17 you’re off to university and a smartphone helps a lot with school.

 

probably doesn’t need one but it sure would make her life easier. It’s not 1990’s everything is technology these days. 

1 hour ago, stubuzz said:

That would be an iPhone 11, released in 2019.

and yet still an IPhone or did she asked for the latest one, year and model