Hey everyone. I want to know if it will be possible for me to afford a smartphone while I'm going to college. It's freaking me out because I have a very crappy blackberry phone (not a smartphone one) and I'm super impatient to get a much better smartphone (looking at getting a galaxy note 5). I'm about to graduate high school and I'm going to be attending a university, and with the ridiculous costs of attending a university, I feel like it would be nearly impossible to afford a smartphone and I'll be stuck with this blackberry for a very long time. I have a job that pays minimum wage and I work around 30 hours a week, so I make anywhere between $150-$200 a week, and I'll have all summer to save up money. Despite that I still feel like I won't be able to afford a smartphone while having to pay college funds and buying textbooks. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Huawei has sent you blessings from China
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16875606072&cm_re=huawei-_-75-606-072-_-Product
ASUS ZenPhones are pretty cheap.
I think your approach needs a little work, Typically you don't ask if you can afford an item and choose one of the most expensive items out there (The Note 5). Also typically if you have to ask yourself if you can afford something usually it would be a risk, and only you can weight how much risk you would want to carry. I would suggest getting something a little better priced. For a recommendation I would need to know your service type (Verizon, T-Mobile, Sprint etc...)
My current smartphone is Sony Xperia E4... It costs me 12$ every month. If I decide to buy it today, it will cost me about 120$... If I get it with phone carrier contract - 20$...
Can you afford a smartphone? Sure you can. As long as you don't look at the highest of the high end. Do you need 500$ smartphone? Mine have quad-core 1,3 cpu, 1GB ram, 4GB internal storage and I have added 16GB microSD card... 5MP back cam and 2MP front cam, 5" IPS something something screen...
My point is you can get decent phone for cheap...
As a student you won't be able afford anything, period. That won't stop you buying tons of crap you don't need and drinking a truckload of beer though :-)
Unless you are buying a flagship phone don't buy samsung,sony or htc. Other companies make better budget phones.
Check out Asus Zenfone 2 if you want price/performance or Lenovo P70 if you want good battery life.