[shaboinkin]

“Sixty-three percent of adults said they would cover a hypothetical $400 emergency expense exclusively using cash or its equivalent, unchanged from 2022 and 2023 but down from a high of 68 percent in 2021.”

https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/2025-economic-we...

$999 is a lot of money.

[JustExAWS]

Hardly anyone in the US pays full price for the iPhone up front. They either use 0% carrier financing - usually with offsetting credits - or through Apple.

[ashdksnndck]

I don’t understand what that survey question is supposed to be indicating. I have lots of disposable income, and by default I spend using a credit card.

US net worth at the 25th percentile is >$20k, it’s not the case that 32% of people literally don’t have the wealth to afford a $400 expense.

[fragmede]

net worth isn't cash flow. the point of that question is that many Americans actually can't just pay off an unexpected $400 charge.

[sosodev]

Net worth is a bad comparison. It’s easy for people to have $20k in assets but very little cash on hand.

[matwood]

> $999 is a lot of money.

Which almost no one pays up front or at all in the US with the carrier deals and trade ins.

[jb1991]

There sure are a lot of comments in this thread pulling out all sorts of random and arbitrary statistics that have no connection with what is actually being discussed here. I’m finding that very strange, frankly.

[astura]

You must be new here.

[qmr]

Standard HN bikeshedding.

[zuminator]

Installments?

[helqn]

Not when you will buy the phone on credit which many people interpret as getting it for free.

[hbn]

Or those god-forsaken monthly payment plans that exclusively exist to get people who don't know how to budget racking up more debt