T-Mobile, AT&T oppose unlocking rule, claim locked phones are good for users

The moral of the story is never buy your phone from the carrier. Buy it direct from the manufacturer and you won't have to deal with this drama.

That's like telling someone to pay cash for a car, or not to finance their home. So many people can afford a monthly fee, but not the large one time payment.

It's not your finances, and it's not your place to tell someone else how to spend their money.

Or better yet, buy your phone from the used market. Get a phone in perfect shape that was $800 two or three years ago for $200. Put a new battery in it.

Though I'm seriously considering going back to a $50 flip phone and enjoying the 2 weeks of battery life and general indestructibility. My current phone spends most of its time sitting on my desk doing nothing. It's hard to get excited about a newer and much BIGGER phone for $500 that will also spend most of its time sitting on my desk, doing nothing.

I'd argue that you should be seeking a used car if you're cost sensitive. That's sort of outdated advice in this absurd market, but the monthly payments for a car off the lot (new or used, if that's a thing) will probably be worse than saving that monthly payment yourself for 6 months and buying a beater to hold you over.

These are the same people often trading in a perfectly fine iPhone [n-2] for the latest iPhone n.