JAMES FRANCIS, CAMBRIDGE
Q Should I get a phone contract, Guru?
A This is by no means a question with a cut-and-dried answer. You are you, and thankfully Guru is not, meaning only you know if a phone contract would be a better choice.
Do the maths. You already know full well that a phone is going to cost you a bit more in the long run if you acquire it as part of a contract with a network. For example, spreading the costs of an iPhone 15 Pro Max over a 24 month contract with EE would set you back around £1,250 total, with an extra £28 per month on top for the 25GB data. Buying the same phone outright from Apple would cost £1,200. Tie it to a SIM-only deal with (say) Giffgaff, and you’ll only be on the hook for £10 per month for the same volume of data. So… slightly less money.
But this glibly avoids all the extras
